How much material is there to tap into (how deep is the hole)? I seems one would be best off with a plug or plugs that fill the hole as much as possible. It also seems to make sense to not tap all the way through, leaving some untapped hole to seat the plug against. Maybe even not to drill all the way through...
My First Galley Plug Fix
- Thread starter Eporter
- Start date
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gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
Think that the hole goes all the way through to the head bolt hole. Most will not tap all the way through but enough to get one, if not two, short plugs in. Mine is sitting just fine without any weeping but figure that I will probably end up running the valves next summer so will take care of this at that time.
I also used the same set screws which are 3/8" long. With both that would be 3/4" to get flush to the front face. I had about one thread out from the front face of the block so I was just shy (didn't want to push my luck anymore and break a tap). I did still have a bit of a stop for the first set screw though which I did prefer.
Bump, so I don't have to search again while at the depot. Going to tackle this today...
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
Good luck dude.. this is on the summer agenda when I plan to do carb rebuild and manifold gasket.
Thanks Greg, I'll post back today, hopefully sooner rather than later...
I did mine and it still leaks. Going to have to look at it again here pretty soon!
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
If it is still weeping that means that your seal between the bolt or whatever you put in place of the plug and your threads is not good. You should take care of this ASAP to avoid any type of blow out.
Well, got her done today. Took a while, as I have yet to pull the air cleaner assembly until today. There is a lot of hoses and vac lines attached as many of you know. Definitely took my time, fielded some calls, and paid attention! Went with the same drill bit/ tap combo as the OP, Eporter. Good write up for sure! I also went with the 5/16"-18 plugs, they were 3/8" long. I drilled all the way through the plug, it came out easily. Then had to continue drilling until I reached the shop rag that was stuffed in there (also taken from the OP's technique.) I got a depth to run the tap by sticking the drill bit back in until I could see the shop rag move, backed it out a bit and marked it with a sharpie. Transferred this depth mark to the tap and went at it. Since the tap was tapered and I stopped at the mark, the threads did not go all the way through. This helped with the plug seating against the non threaded portion of the hole, bottoming out. In went the second plug, bottoming out on the first. I was able to tighten both fairly well including red thread lock on both plugs.
I ended up having to disconnect the heater hose hard line that goes through the firewall to get clearance for the right angle drill I was using. I didn't want to buy an attachment just for the job. Didn't really get a bunch of coolant on the ground, but once everything was back together she took a 1/4 to 3/8 gallon of 50/50 to get filled, got some good burps out of the radiator. It helps that my driveway puts the front end up higher than the rear. All in all not too big of a job, keep the drill bit and tap greased up to collect the metal shavings!
Edit: I just now realized Eporter used Stainless Steel plugs, mine were not, they were just black in color. Crap... But after a lengthy warm up and run time in the driveway I must report that there were no leaks. I will continue to monitor this and report back with the plug performance.
I ended up having to disconnect the heater hose hard line that goes through the firewall to get clearance for the right angle drill I was using. I didn't want to buy an attachment just for the job. Didn't really get a bunch of coolant on the ground, but once everything was back together she took a 1/4 to 3/8 gallon of 50/50 to get filled, got some good burps out of the radiator. It helps that my driveway puts the front end up higher than the rear. All in all not too big of a job, keep the drill bit and tap greased up to collect the metal shavings!
Edit: I just now realized Eporter used Stainless Steel plugs, mine were not, they were just black in color. Crap... But after a lengthy warm up and run time in the driveway I must report that there were no leaks. I will continue to monitor this and report back with the plug performance.
Great thread... Inspired to tackle this over the weekend. Thanks for posting!
I'm looking at this thread knowing my plug is also original. Probably should do this fix, but I'm wondering if there's a simpler way. Anyone considered simply extracting the original plug, knocking in a deeper one, and then cross-drilling a small (1/32") hole through the angled bulge in the block where the plug lives? You could hammer in a small dowel pin, and that would hold the new plug in place. Bonus: no removing the valve cover to access the galley bore.
Hell, the plug bore itself looks about 3/4"-1" deep. Simply hammering in a new tapered lead plug of equal depth should be a permanent fix, no?
Hell, the plug bore itself looks about 3/4"-1" deep. Simply hammering in a new tapered lead plug of equal depth should be a permanent fix, no?
If it's a plug that is failing, I wouldn't want to replace it with another plug. I consider a dowel pin similar to a plug in this application. Probably of no relation, but there is a "killer dowel pin" in Cummins motors that works its way out and falls into the motor. Dowels= no good to me.
The threads are the added security IMHO.
The threads are the added security IMHO.
I used JB weld on the threads when I did mine - no leaks. Great writeup!
I'd say whatever plug to replace the existing plug is a good idea. The plug can't fall into the motor, the head bolt is behind it, also, the galley is pressurized, but not to the same extent that the oil pressure gauge would read. This would not be the place to tie in an oil pressure gauge
Just did this- 8x1.25 here, too, because, well, it's a metric truck, mostly....
Mine was drilled very close to the block, so the hex plug idea's the only way to go.
I think the biggest advantage of a threaded anything is that, though it might leak,
it'll never pop out like the plug could. Mine wasn't lead- it was maybe hardened aluminum,
but it took some drilling to get out, where a lead one would have just gooed itself to
the bit and given up.
Great write- up, still, 3 years later...
t
Mine was drilled very close to the block, so the hex plug idea's the only way to go.
I think the biggest advantage of a threaded anything is that, though it might leak,
it'll never pop out like the plug could. Mine wasn't lead- it was maybe hardened aluminum,
but it took some drilling to get out, where a lead one would have just gooed itself to
the bit and given up.
Great write- up, still, 3 years later...
t
Do it and let us know how it works out...
