Galley plug mod expiration date? (1 Viewer)

[Hammer45]

I ordered a High(er) performance 3fe from Man_A_Fre. It won’t have the galley plug mod done. I spoke with Rick who states that these engines are oil pressure tested prior to shipping which is cool. I did this mod on my current 3fe which was a challenge in the vehicle and out of the engine bay should be a lot easier. My question is, are these things still falling out of engines after 36 yrs or was it primarily a thing that happened 20+ yrs ago and rarely if ever occurs now? I suspect the answer is “no big deal insurance.” But if there is a problem with the engine, I would certainly hate to mess up the generous 1yr warranty by drilling a hole in the head.

 

[NookShneer]

I ordered a High(er) performance 3fe from Man_A_Fre. It won’t have the galley plug mod done. I spoke with Rick who states that these engines are oil pressure tested prior to shipping which is cool. I did this mod on my current 3fe which was a challenge in the vehicle and out of the engine bay should be a lot easier. My question is, are these things still falling out of engines after 36 yrs or was it primarily a thing that happened 20+ yrs ago and rarely if ever occurs now? I suspect the answer is “no big deal insurance.” But if there is a problem with the engine, I would certainly hate to mess up the generous 1yr warranty by drilling a hole in the head.

Wait until day 366. Then put it in.

Anyone rebuilding these should know to do this mod. I would question the rebuilder the reasoning behind not having the extra peace of mind behind eliminating that possible failure point.

 

[DrRock]

This^^. I have -3k on a rebuilt engine and noticed some weeping around the oil galley hole. I just did the update with two M8 set screws which was really straightforward with a right angle drill. Do yourself a favor and do this with metric hardware. PM me if you want some metric set screws as I have extra.

Cheers, James

 

[Hammer45]

This^^. I have -3k on a rebuilt engine and noticed some weeping around the oil galley hole. I just did the update with two M8 set screws which was really straightforward with a right angle drill. Do yourself a favor and do this with metric hardware. PM me if you want some metric set screws as I have extra.

Cheers, James

Yikes! Man that was a good catch! Maybe I’ll ask if this would void my warranty and if not, do it early and if yes then weigh the benefit vs risk of premature failure on another part of the engine. I certainly wouldn’t claim a warranty if I do the mod and the part I worked on causes failure. Day 366 is another great option and I recognize the Torfab reputation behind the suggestion. Thanks guys.

 

[3_puppies]

it is a lead plug that is jammed into a hole, friction and deformation is the only thing holding it in place

will the 1 yr warranty cover the loss of the oil galley plug if it does come out?????

 

[Hammer45]

it is a lead plug that is jammed into a hole, friction and deformation is the only thing holding it in place

will the 1 yr warranty cover the loss of the oil galley plug if it does come out?????

Never thought about that. Thanks for being my external hard drive brains guys.

 

[SteveH]

When I drilled mine out, the factory 'glob of metal' in the hole wasn't very strongly in place. That was all the justification I needed. It had been in place for 235K miles and many years, but you'd sure hate to have it pop out on the highway and blow the engine.

After I removed the factory plug, I started the engine and let some oil run out of the galley to chase out the metal bits. I drilled/tapped/cleaned and installed a plug (with JB Weld on the threads) and it's been fine since.

 

[Spook50]

it is a lead plug that is jammed into a hole, friction and deformation is the only thing holding it in place

will the 1 yr warranty cover the loss of the oil galley plug if it does come out?????

Good call.

What I would do is

1) Make absolutely sure the warranty will cover any potential failure should the plug come out.

2) If #1 is a no, confirm that doing the plug fix yourself will NOT void the warranty and if it won't, go ahead and do the fix as soon as you can for peace of mind.

 

[Skniper]

Rare occurrence, sure.

That said....I'm a survivor of a blown factory oil plug. Just pulled off the highway and parked, then opened the door to see a river of oil in the parking lot. If it had popped minutes earlier on the highway I probably would've smoked my 3FE.

So, yea...it "happens".

 

[OSS]

they don't all blow out and leak. Mine didn't at 300k but another guy's LC I saw gush oil before 100k

 

[Spook50]

Rare occurrence, sure.

That said....I'm a survivor of a blown factory oil plug. Just pulled off the highway and parked, then opened the door to see a river of oil in the parking lot. If it had popped minutes earlier on the highway I probably would've smoked my 3FE.

So, yea...it "happens".

Mine blew shortly before pulling into my driveway 18 years ago. I think I was just over 200K miles, but just by stroke of dumb luck saw my pressure gauge bottom out as I was getting home. Shut down my engine and big big mess of oil.

VERY lucky mine happened when and where it did so I was able to catch and fix it before any damage had been done.

 

[Hammer45]

Good call.

What I would do is

1) Make absolutely sure the warranty will cover any potential failure should the plug come out.

2) If #1 is a no, confirm that doing the plug fix yourself will NOT void the warranty and if it won't, go ahead and do the fix as soon as you can for peace of mind.

When I drilled mine out, the factory 'glob of metal' in the hole wasn't very strongly in place. That was all the justification I needed. It had been in place for 235K miles and many years, but you'd sure hate to have it pop out on the highway and blow the engine.

After I removed the factory plug, I started the engine and let some oil run out of the galley to chase out the metal bits. I drilled/tapped/cleaned and installed a plug (with JB Weld on the threads) and it's been fine since.

Never thought of using JB weld. Good call.

 

[Hammer45]

This^^. I have -3k on a rebuilt engine and noticed some weeping around the oil galley hole. I just did the update with two M8 set screws which was really straightforward with a right angle drill. Do yourself a favor and do this with metric hardware. PM me if you want some metric set screws as I have extra.

Cheers, James

Kind offer. There is a great bolt shop here in town. No worries

 

[3_puppies]

this is a thread from 12 years ago as to what can happen:

hole in block?

a friendly reminder to fix this before it comes out on it's own. or check out the results. this just got delivered today, I was told a rod went thru the oil pan. looked at the oil galley plug and it wasn't there. First engine I've seen that it was gone. It should be a top priority to get...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Hammer45]

this is a thread from 12 years ago as to what can happen:

hole in block?

a friendly reminder to fix this before it comes out on it's own. or check out the results. this just got delivered today, I was told a rod went thru the oil pan. looked at the oil galley plug and it wasn't there. First engine I've seen that it was gone. It should be a top priority to get...

forum.ih8mud.com

duly noted. Thanks! dh

 

[NookShneer]

Never thought of using JB weld. Good call.

I pulled the valve cover and head bolt.

Used a heavy duty zip tie with a shop rag and poked that down below the galley blue port into the head bolt hole. You can drill and tap and then pull the zip tie out to clean out the hole.

I used two inserts and between the two I put “The Right stuff” to make sure it wouldn’t have a leak.

I agree that a right angle drill is a great investment for this job.

 

[Hammer45]

I have mine from when I did it a few yrs ago. Since it will hopefully be sitting on my garage floor, I am hoping to not have to do all the bending and twisting. Thanks for the tips.