Hey guys, I have an 88 camaro w/ 350. The original owner converted the car to a carb, and therefore the fan doesn't work. He wired up an external switch with a probe, but it must have been defective because it never switched anything on, even when I heated the probe in boiling water or a torch.

Anyway, I bought a fan switch to go in the engine where the older cars have it (and the newer ones with dual fans)- between the 6 and 8 cylinder, passenger side. I was all ready to wire it up, but I cannot remove the plug for the life of me-its stuck.

I'm assuming that the cars had that hole plugged from the factory, and that thing is painted over. I tried running the engine to heat the metal, and even heating the area with a torch. Nothing. I also tried penetrating catalyst, of course. I tried a socket wrench and a long torque wrench.

Is there any way I can get that thing out? Or should I just drill and a tap a new hole? I was thinking of doing one on the intake manifold right after the thermostat so that I can catch the metal shavings without getting any in the engine. I'd rather remove that plug, though.

It doesn't turn at all, and I'm starting to strip it with all of my attempts.

 

can you get your box end over it? if you can then put a pipe over the wrench for leverage to make it turn easier. if you can get a deep socket over it then use that, sockets will prevent stripping. if you strip it then your pretty well screwd so be carefull and go easy. get the socket and ratchet and put a pipe over the ratchet and give it a good push, you can get a bar like 2feet long, but use 1/2" drive ratchet and socket.

 

The biggest problem is that it isn't a bolt- it is a square drive recessed plug. It seems to be a quarter inch, since my socket extension fits in relatively snuggly.

I cant get anything to stay in there strongly enough to really torque it, but occaisionally I got good traction with the torque wrench. Its about 2 feet long.

 

just get a cresent wrench, a 2 foot metal pipe that will fit on the back of the wrench, soak the head of the thing in WD-40. let that WD-40 sit there for a while to work, then huff and puff and twist that punk off!

 

A crescent wrench wouldn't work because its an "inny" (in belly button terms, lol)- the plug has a recessed square hole that you turn, not a bolt. Also, the plug sits flush with the engine, so there is nothing to grab onto. I'm really leaning towards just drilling a new hole and tapping it for the fan switch.

I guess my other option is to drill the plug out, tap it with some sort of reverse thread, and thread in a reverse threaded hex bolt, if those even exist.

Any other ideas?

 

I'm in the same boat with my 85 trying to convert it to electric fan. I tried a few twisties, saw some metal shavings and backed off mine. There does, however, look to be enough exposed on mine to get a vise grip on it if I remove the manifold. I'll be back at it in a few weeks when I have the time.

Just wanted to ask you to post back if you succeed. My number two option is to try to find an adapter to install it in the temp vac switch on the water neck vacated by my EFE (which is a larger bore), but you may not have this.

 

I just went back out there and tried heating it for a long time with the torch. I don't think it'll work since there is coolant right behind it to cool it down and keep it from getting orange.

I have three options that I'm debating:

1. Drill a hole in the intake manifold right after the thermostat. Tap it and be done. Drawback- it will look goofy.

2. Get a tee fitting that has the same threads as the water pump and thread it on. I am leaning towards this since it is not permanent. I just have to figure out if the coolant at the water pump is a fair indicator of the water inside the block. My fear is that it is after the heat exchanger for the cabin, so the coolant will be cooler than it is in the engine block.

But, my switch is for 210, so it may be alright if the coolant is a little colder than the engine. I dont know if that'll work if the heat is on full blast in the car though, since it may cool the coolant too far.

3. Waste more time on the plug using "easy outs" or, even worse, drill the entire plug out and thread in a heli coil or some other insert. Any of this will take very long since it is not a very accessible area.


I'll let you know what I do and how it works out. I'm dying to start driving this thing again, but leaving the fan on all the time like i do now taxes the electrical sys too much and the battery drains.

 

Are you going to keep the carb?? If you are going TPI you can put the sensor into the intake manifold in the front by the coolant temperature sensor.

 

I'm planning on using megasquirt for fuel injection in the future, but I'll be keeping the carb for a few months until I'm ready to do it.

 

Well, back to the drawing board. I used a plumbing tee and hooked the switch into the fitting where the coolant leaves the engine and goes to the heater hose. It just doesn't quite get hot enough there. Now, I can either buy a lower temperature switch, or try a different location.

I wish there was a cheap digital programmable fan switch. One with an electronic probe, not the mechanical relays with dimetal switches. Maybe I'll look into building one from radio shack parts- it probably wouldn't cost more than $20.

Or, I'll just relocate the switch to a different location and try again. I think the megasquirt setup controls fans, so I just need a bandaid to hold me over.

 

ok if its 1/4" square, heres what u do. go to a metal store and buy 1/4" "key stock", its perfectly square and is exactly 1/4" in size. get about 6" of it, then go home and stick the piece in the hole and use your crescent wrench to turn the piece. if that doesnt work or you strip the hole out, then drill a hole and get some "easyouts" at your local hardware shop, drill a hole thats just smaller than the plug itself (if the drive is 1/4", try something like a 3/8" drill). drill very carefully. put grease on your drill bit so the shavings dont go into the water jacket.

 

Update: IT WORKS!

It looks rediculous, but it works, somewhat. I noticed that for the first cycle, the switch does not heat up as fast as the engine. So, for the first 10 minutes or so of driving, I have to switch the fan on manually once or twice. Then, once it heats up, it holds the temperature at exactly 220 for the rest of the drive.

One snafu- make sure that the switch gets its positive power source from a switched circuit. I originally had it hooked directly to the battery, but this allows the fan to run when the engine is off. And, since the coolant isnt flowing, the fan will take a while to cool the switch off.

Is it perfect? No way. But, it will hold me over at least until I install the aftermarket fuel injection, which controls a fan anyway, I believe. I'm still looking into an adjustable electronic fan switch that uses the factory temp gauge as an input, but who knows. Here is a pic of my ghetto-ization: