I have water/antifreeze leaking from the back of the motor onto my exhaust. I was told it was probably coming from my water jacket. I have no idea what that is or where it’s located. Can someone please tell me what I’m looking for and how to tighten it? Appreciate the help.

 

Look at the freeze plugs , you don’t tighten them

 

where are they located and do I need to replace them if leaking?

 

Several on a sbc, on the side of the block , front of block and rear of block.

 

Here's what the side of your block looks like. This is the pass side; the driver's side is exactly the same except different.



And here's what the front looks like:



And again, the rear is much the same. Back there, the plugs are inside the transmission bell housing.

The "freeze plugs" are the large round things that are brass in both of these motors. They're not really "freeze" plugs, although that's what they're usually called; they're actually sand drain holes, for allowing the sand used in the casting process, to drain out. Factory ones are made of steel, not brass, and they rust out from the inside, particularly when the coolant isn't changed regularly and is allowed to build up acids which make it corrosive. Poor-sealing head gaskets, such as steel-shim ones, exacerbate the process, by allowing minute amounts of combustion gases into the coolant. The carbon dioxide in the exhaust is the same acid that makes Coca-Cola and other sodas able to eat metals and do various other chemically active things. Eventually they rust all the way through and leeeeeek.

Resist the temptation to replace just one, unless you're really desperate to keep this car on the road. Reason being, there are 2 on the side where the leeeeeeek is, 2 on the other side, 2 on the front, and 2 on the back; all 8 have been immersed in the exact same coolant with the exact same amount of acid for the exact same length of time and are likely to be in the exact same condition. What will likely happen is, you'll change out the one, and then next week, another will fail; and the next week, yet another; and so on. The only exception to this would be, if it's winter, and you let the engine freeze up by not having enough antifreeze in the coolant, and it got pushed out by the ice. Butt almost always in that case, there's worse damage anyway, usually cracks in the block.

Not a pleasant situation to arrive at, butt It Is What It Is, and sugar-coating it won't help.

 

Appreciate the info. Next question do I have to pull the engine to replace all of them? What is the process of replacing them?

 

Not necessarily, but that's BY FAR the fastest, easiest, cheeeeepest way of doing it. I can't imagine the level of self-flagellation that it would take to do it without removing the engine although no doubt it's possible.

Remove them; a big prybar, a sheet metal screw and a slide hammer, or whatever else, will do. Sand out the holes they go in. Paint the holes with good quality primer, such as POR15 or marine primer, followed by engine enamel. Drive the new ones in with a large socket or the like, just smaller than the inside of the plug; coat the outer surface with some kind of non-hardening sealer such as Permatex 200 or thread sealer with PTFE, NOT silicone of any kind. Make sure the socket you use is enough smaller that when the plug gets squashed by the drive fit into the hole, the socket doesn't get stuck in it. Maybe 1/8" less diameter.

https://www.autozone.com/external-en...014/245318_0_0

When you see the plugs it'll become REAL obvious what you're doing.

They make expanding rubber ones for emergency repairs, butt I think you'll agree once you see what you're up against, that they aren't a good idea in this case. Might be OK on the front of the block butt not on the sides or rear.

Of course, before doing ANY of this, find the leeeeeeeeek, POSITIVELY. Don't just guess and jump to the worst possible conclusion without actually finding it. Could be, for example, a head bolt (the threads of all 17 on each side go directly into the water jacket), or head gasket.