The pipe plug on the deck surface towards the back of my block is leaking... You know the one half covered by the head on the left side of the block. Is there any tricks to tighten this or does the head have to come off?? Is there enough material on the head to grind a 1/8" out of it and get a allen wrench on it at like a 30º angle?? It is leaking about a quart every 400 miles.

 

Have you tried pulling the plug and resealing the threads?

 

I am wondering if theres a way to tighten it.. like a trick to it. The pips plug is half covered by the head, i cant pull it out without removing the head. I am wondering if theres enough material on the base of the head to grind a 1/8" so I can get a allen wrench on the plug.

 

I had the exact same problem. Leaked like a siv! Unfortunately you have to pull the head to get to the plug. I used a shorter plug, applied thread seal to the threads, screwed the plug in below the deck line, and filled the rest of the hole with epoxy. I never wanted to have to deal with it again.

Hope this helps!

 

well after spending 2 days tearing the motor down to get to this plug. replacing gaskets etc. etc. I got it all back together and running tonight. Leaks exactly like it did before I started. I used the permatex aviation form-a-gasket - which I was told was the best stuff for this typa thing.

I hate my life

what did you guys use to seal this thing? what kinda epoxy did you use DNSTA?

 

also, anyone know what size this plug is? I'm not sure if it's 1/4" NPT or 3/8" NPT

 

That's a BIG MISTAKE.... now you can't get it out to clean debris out of the oil passages, if necessary.

The right thing to do is to just put good-quality thread sealer on it. I prefer to use a brass plug.

IIRC it's 1/8" NPT.

 

you can use a brass plug in an iron block? I figured the differences in expansion would be bad for getting a good seal.

 

No it is not a problem.

The advantages of brass are, it's soft, so it compresses and deforms to fit the threads in the block; and it doesn't rust, so you can get it back out any time you want without it being some kind of a war.

 

Right. I like that thinking. I just thought there'd be some kind of problem with expansion.

I'm tempted to try brass but man if it doesn't work .... it's a hell of a job pulling the head and intake for a little plug.

I was reading that loctite makes a stuff called "PST" that mixes with their regular loctite. It's teflon based so you get the benefit of teflon lube to get it nice and tite, and the loctite fills the spaces.

 

I've been using brass for over 3 decades now, haven't had a leak yet.

The "PST" product doesn't exist any more, there's a new name/number for it; but it's a good choice. It doesn't "mix" with anything else. "PST" stood for "pipe seal with Teflon". It's a white paste that you just put on the threads, basically high-quality pope dope.