I just flushed the cooling system on my '89 Formula. Everything went great until I went to put the drain plug back in. It won't thread in. I know it ain't the plug because it will work in my camaro just fine, but my camaro's won't work in my birds either.

I guess I must have messed up whatever the plug threads into in the radiator. Has anyone had this problem? I'm going to pull the radiator out tomarrow and take it to a shop Monday to see what can be done.

 

.

[This message has been edited by Keith5 (edited November 05, 2000).]

 

Keith,

My drain **** doesn't turn out completely. I have the type that is a thumbscrew that turns 180° and is fully opened like a spigot. If you have a "regular" pipe plug in your drain hole, it may not thread into the straight SAE /JIC fitting in the radiator tank. If you have an older radiator, it may have a tapered pipe plug port, but I haven't seen those on GMs since the '70s.

So, what type of plug do you have?

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

Apparently, the board's software filters won't allow me to use the correct spelling for the words "Drain Kock". If we ever have an occasion to post a thread concerning male chickens stuck in the intake, make certain you refer to them as "roosters". If the conversation is about male pheasants, we're totally phukked!

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

[This message has been edited by Vader (edited November 04, 2000).]

 

My car's plug is like a thumb screw but it has to turn more than 180 degrees to open all the way, I think, I'll have to check tomarrow. I unscrewed it part of the way and then decided to just unhook the lower radiator hose. My brother's 94Z28 has a thumb screw type that has a spout for the anifreeze to come out, but mine isn't like that.

------------------
1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula W6S LO3 TBI 305.

1985 Camaro IROC-Z LB9.

 

Keith,

Try pushing inward on the drain VALVE CORE while turning it.

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

I fixed it today. The plug screws into a plastic clip that snaps into the radiator. I unscrewed it too far and the plastic clip fell into the bottom of the radiator. All I had to do was take out the radiator and turn it upside down to get the clip and reinstall it.

I guess I'm just a radiator rookie. Well you have to make mistakes to learn. Thanks for the help Vader.

------------------
1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula W6S LO3 TBI 305.

1985 Camaro IROC-Z LB9.

[This message has been edited by Keith5 (edited November 05, 2000).]

 

Thanks for the laugh also Vader!