There is a pipe plug in my passenger side head that was installed by my engine shop back when I had the motor built. It is taking up the fan switch hole and I'd like to get rid of it now because I have a new Hypertech cool fan switch to go in there, and I would like to remove the constant drain on my battery by having my fan relay jumpered.

Problems I'm having is it is a sqaure head, and it is not 3/8" drive (too big), 1/4" is too small of course. Someone local recommended a piece of bar stock but I'm not going to buy every random size.

Has someone removed these nicely before? What tool was used?

I'd like to know because a family member obliterated one with a screwdriver in his old car and it was stuck permanently and I don't want that to be the case here.

Plug in question is circled in red in the first pic. Thanks!

 

Thats supposed to be a 3/8" ratchet job. Maybe its just dirty/damaged and thats why it doesnt fit.

 

Another way of dealing with it is to drill a hole in it, and use one of those GREAT BIG bolt extractors on it.

Heat helps A WHOLE LOT. In fact, no matter what you try to turn it with, I'd suggest getting it just about red hot first; and maybe rapping on it with a hammer to break the rust.

 

Someone had a similar question this past week or so. One of the knowledgeable guys (Apeiron) posted the answer with the following link. I bookmarked it as the original question had to do with a Vortec head and so I expect to need the tool mentioned soon. Apparently the specialty tool market has gone way beyond the 3/8" and 1/2" drives. Do your best to measure the actual size.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....9&group_ID=259

Thread I referred to: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...ghlight=square

 

I have a tool at work that is slightly angled to be able to pound into a plug like that, for differentials covered in rust. it's got a chamfer on each side, to allow material to slide through. It never fails. But yes, that's a 3/8" square plug. Try getting a little screwdriver in there to remove all of the excess crud.

 

if you hvae a bench grinder and are good with your eyes/hands you could make a tool out of a solid bar
grind one end to a hex or square for a socket or big wrench, and the other end to a tapered square to fit in that pipe plug


and even better yet if you have a welder you could weld a nut on one end of the bar and still tapered square grind the other end

make the length of the bar as short as possible so that leverage doesnt mess you up and make it angle off on you


heat up the iron around the plug with a little propane hand torch and shove candle wax into the threads



good luck

 

Ooo, Ooo, I can help, I was the one with that same question last week.

F'Bird88 suggested using a bench grinder on a 3/8 extension. Thats what I did. Worked pretty well.

I didn't have a grinder at the house so I had to carry my extension with me to work 2 times before I got it just right.

I ground my extension with a slight taper to it, so I could kind of tap it in. Worked pretty well, and cost much less than the Snap on stuff.

Thanks Guys!

 

Went with johnsonm's plan and just gound this cheapo harbor freight 3/8" extension down, slapped that on a 3/8 breaker bar and it worked great. Hyperjunk Fan Switch is in and werkin'.

 

What possible reason could there be to go from a 12/32 AKA 3/8 to a 11/32 square drive pipeplug drive. Other than the obvious one of creating a market for a new tool.