My First Galley Plug Fix

[Seth S]

Grease the drill bit, grease the tap, take small bites then back out and clean. Clean it out with a cotton swab. Let the oil filter catch the rest.

Yep. different people do it different ways. The only right way is the one that you/he/she/they/them/gender-nonspecificed is comfortable with

 

[4runner2FJ60]

Just completed this today finally. I feel better about something threaded in there staying put with red lock tite. BUT.....the press plug was not real easy to let go. Pliers with a small hammer did it! I stopped short of the head bolt hole so the first screw went in tight. Ended up using 3 screws, could probably fit a 4th. Used 1/4" long ones. Easier than i expected but this thread made it that way with all the pointers.
Here is another pic or 2 for the board. I was expecting the plug to be much thinner than this was!

 

[4runner2FJ60]

No affiliation or advertising here, just showing what always helps my tap projects. Cutting 1/4 turn and backing off is the sure way to thread as well.

 

[kblomquist]

So up front apology here if its been discussed in this thread or others, but this is something I have not come across before. See lots of threads on how to fix this oil galley plug, but not really any on why is it there in the first place. What's it purpose? Is it simply a plug to correct a mistakenly drilled hole in the casting process, or does it have an actual purpose. Did the mothership engineers discover these heads prone to cracking right at this spot and 'fixed' it by putting a hole to allow for expansion and a wad of aluminum to keep oil in? Why on earth would a potential direct path for oil to shoot out exist on this engine like this?

Also, for those of you who have experienced the plug actually blowing out, was there any indication on the oil pressure gauge this was happening? Stories I have read seem to indicate the plug blows out, and the only evidence this has happened is the trail of oil you leave behind as you drive along along and your engine seizing up. Seems like by the time it happens its too late even to shut the engine down to save it. I could imagine that your oil pressure gauge would read low pressure as the oil begins to pour out, but am not sure it if it does or not not having experienced my plug blowing out. My 2F does not have the galley fix done so I am with others on if this is something I should proactively do or leave well enough alone. How common is it to have the plug come out. Seems like the oddest quirk about these engines to me. Thanks in advance for replies.

I experienced the plug actually blowing out. I was lucky! My teenage son wanted to take my 1974 fj40 with his buddies down to the creek. Landcruiser was parked behind our shed (100' from our driveway) and I asked him to bring it to the driveway and we would do a "once over" on it before leaving. As he pulled up, I saw oil POURING on to driveway. In that 100' the Cruiser puked out about 3 qts of oil. Did I mention I was lucky! There were no signs (weeping plug) or anything before this happened. I followed the oil path back to the shed and it appeared to have blown out on start up. Cruiser had not been started in about a month. Did I mention I was lucky? No doubt I would have had a seized engine if luck was not on our side. Its not if but when this plug will blow. FIX IT ASAP!

 

[Ian Crawford]

I experienced the plug actually blowing out. I was lucky! My teenage son wanted to take my 1974 fj40 with his buddies down to the creek. Landcruiser was parked behind our shed (100' from our driveway) and I asked him to bring it to the driveway and we would do a "once over" on it before leaving. As he pulled up, I saw oil POURING on to driveway. In that 100' the Cruiser puked out about 3 qts of oil. Did I mention I was lucky! There were no signs (weeping plug) or anything before this happened. I followed the oil path back to the shed and it appeared to have blown out on start up. Cruiser had not been started in about a month. Did I mention I was lucky? No doubt I would have had a seized engine if luck was not on our side. Its not if but when this plug will blow. FIX IT ASAP!

Man! I’m buying some lottery tickets just hoping to get some luck from that lucky story!

 

[Gundo]

Just completed this oil galley fix today after completing the pushrod gallery cover. Easy peasy with these instructions from way back when in 2010

only thing I would add is that WOW, a lot of metal filings and shavings wind up in that head stud tube.

Would be a potential issue if doing this the lazy way (without taking the valve cover off)

 

[Borrego]

How have these galley plug fixes held up??? I had a head rebuilt a few months ago at a local old school head shop. The guy said he's come across a ton of heads with similar galley plugs across all makes and models, and he cautioned against taping and plugging the hole. He said he has seen similar fixes end up cracking the head because of the different metals (head and the plug) and the way they expand and contract under heat. I opted to have mine re-plugged (like from the factory). I figure the original held up for 300k miles without weeping or blowing. For peace of mind, I cut a piece of scrap steel, drilled a hole in it and angled it into the galley plug, bolted to the head, so if the plug does give way, the steel will stop it from popping out and it will just weep. I'll just check it every oil change for any weeping.

 

[Gundo]

Not sure, but when I was researching this fix, I didn't see anyone commenting that their galley plug fix had failed.

 

[emac]

I have seen plugs on other engines in which they put JB weld on the plug to prevent it leaking or coming loose.

 

[Borrego]

Not sure, but when I was researching this fix, I didn't see anyone commenting that their galley plug fix had failed.

I didn't see any comments on it failing either. Just curious. I hope I don't regret my decision down the road, considering I already had the head off...

 

[Gretsch]

The guy said he's come across a ton of heads with similar galley plugs across all makes and models, and he cautioned against taping and plugging the hole. He said he has seen similar fixes end up cracking the head because of the different metals (head and the plug) and the way they expand and contract under heat.

I seem to remember hearing this as well and seem to recall seeing a photo of an actual cracked 2F head around where the updated steel plug was put in at one point, although I cannot locate it now. Will update if I do. Always seemed to me Toyota chose aluminum for the material of this plug for a reason. Maybe purely an economic move but seemed plausible to me that adding steel where aluminum used to be could cause issues. Maybe aluminum threaded plugs would be better? Likely a rare occurrence based on how many folks have used steel plugs.

 

[4runner2FJ60]

Holding up great. For what its worth I put SS in mine. Not sure what is worst, cracked head or blown out plug?

 

[bmorefj40]

Just did this fix after finding some significant weeping from the galley plug after the most recent oil change. Everything went well(thanks to all the great write ups here). However, I haven’t had my valve cover off in many years and after consuming a lot of mud threads in that time, I noticed that my head looked different. I’m assuming someone’s been inside that at one point in time. Never seen a 2F head painted on the inside. Or did some Toyotas head come like this from the factory?

 

[Spike Strip]

That paint is called Glyptal. It's an electric motor paint but some use it in oil galleys to improve flow.

 

[reddog90]

My truck only has about 130k miles but I opted to do this fix as PM. The factory plug was not weeping. I drilled a hole in it easily, then promptly broke a small screw hook off in the plug. So I redrilled it, then broke off another screw in the plug... Now I was sweating. I drilled the plug completely out with a lot of patience and then tapped it. I put in two set screws with red locktite and it was fine for a while, then started weeping. So I puled the outer set screw, cleaned everything as best I could, globbed some JB weld on it and put it back in. No more weeping, and I know I won't blow a plug randomly one day. I think it's a 1 banana job following this thread if your plug is already on its way out. Mine did not want to budge.

 

[JramFJ]

This is a great thread. I was lucky and had my plug blow at a grocery store that's 2 miles from my house. Made it home and contemplating going this threaded plug route. Seems like a no brainer to do it, but I'm a little nervous about the tapping after disconnecting everything to a point that I can tap it. Anyone have success not removing the valve cover and tapping in a new plug?

 

[Ackcruisers]

It’s nerve wracking tapping into the block. You need to remove valve cover to stick cloth down the hole from the top to catch debris from the tapping process.

Go very slowly with the tap and clean it more than you think with each few rotations.

 

[JramFJ]

It’s nerve wracking tapping into the block. You need to remove valve cover to stick cloth down the hole from the top to catch debris from the tapping process.

Go very slowly with the tap and clean it more than you think with each few rotations.

I hear you on nerve racking. I'm not looking forward to the tapping, but it has to get done. Last time I tapped something this critical was on aircraft stuff in the Air Force long ago. Thanks again for the tips. Going to tackle it this weekend.

 

[Spook50]

I hear you on nerve racking. I'm not looking forward to the tapping, but it has to get done. Last time I tapped something this critical was on aircraft stuff in the Air Force long ago. Thanks again for the tips. Going to tackle it this weekend.

I'm exceedingly paranoid about things like that. Just take the time to grease your drill bit and tap, and when tapping, remove to clean and apply new grease every half to three-quarter turn in. This is how I did it 17 years ago and I've had zero indication of any shavings-induced problem since.

Plug I installed is still in there solid as a rock with absolutely no seepage.

 

[mdw83fj60]

what @Spook50 said , go slow and clean the tap often. When I did mine was the first time I had used a tap.