I have an 89 L98 iroc that I am trying to swap engines in. The new engine that I bought has plugs in some of the sensor holes on the block, including the one for the oil pressure sending unit. The other plugs have come out so far, but the one for the oil pressure sending unit by the oil filter was in so tight it just rounded out. It is a plug with a female hex type hole in it.
Will the car run without it? Does anyone know of a good way to get that plug out? I would hate to drive around without it, but at this time I dont see a way to get that rounded out plug out of there. I think its cross threaded in the hole anyway.
Thanks
Mike

 

Is the plug your referring to by chance an allen bolt.(not that it matters just trying to get the whole pic)Is ther any chance you can get a pair of vice grips on it.I only suggest this as a last resort.But if it is cross threaded as you suspect you could be screwed if you do get it out.If they have a plug in it then that leaves to believe they where running a machanical oil pressure guage or none at all.Look on top of the block behind the intake near the distributor(driverside).See if there is a hole there with a fitting,or plug in it.If so you could always go by way of a machnical gauge instead of chancing what you might find with the electric oilsending unit by the oilfilter.

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1991 1LE Z28 355cu 5SPD (ORIGINALLY 305 BEST E.T. 14.186@99.86mph)NO PASSES ON 355 YET.MINI RAM INTAKE,AFR 190 HEADS,10.23:1cr 24# SVO INJECTORS,BBK 52mmTB,AFPR
FULL ROLLER MOTOR,1.6 rockers MSD 6AL
AUTOMETER A/F GAGUE MARCH PULLEYS,HEDDMEN HEADERS 3IN EXH NO CATS FLOWMASTER,POWER TRAX NO-SLIP LOCKER,3:42 GEARS,LAKEWOOD LOWER CONTROL ARMS HOTCHIKS STRUTTOWER BRACE,COMPETTION ENG.SUBFRAME CONNECTORS
MALLORY TACH W/SHIFT LITE
BLACK, TINTED WINDOWS, TAIL LIGHT COVERS BIG BLOCK COWL INDUCTION HOOD,SHAVED DOOR HANDLES

67RS 327cu 92K ORIG MILES.NEWER GM HEADS HEADERS,650 HOLLEY CARB,CAM, 350 TURBO TRANS W/SHIFT KIT&COOLER 12 BOLT POSI 3.73'S MUTLILEAF SPRINGS
NEW VINYLROOF&CARPET, COWL HOOD,HIDE AWAY HEAD LITES,

 

you can alway plumb a T fitting into the one on the back of the intake manifold and hook it up there witht the other one. or...drill into the plug and try to easyout it. maybe try some heat.
they do sell stubby easy outs... they are very short...you could get one that fits into the rounded hole (or make hole round with drill) and then try it. this is so you dont drill completely through it , not that that would hurt much..but i would not want anything going into the motor.
and lastly.....how did it strip? i have snapped more allen wrenches than stripped the heads out. you didnt have proper size?

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87 z28 bowtie aluminum 420small block dry sump crower lt. wt. knife edged crank oliver lt wt rods brodix track 1's super ram intake slp 1 3/4 headers accel dfi art carr 700 r4 3.42 gears ssm sub frame/ladder bars.....other parts on the way ,soon to be finished!! couple more weeks!!!

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It is an allen bolt in there. Im not to worried about stuff getting in the engine because it will just fall out the back through the oil filter hole. Im not sure exactly why there is a plug in it at all since i told them what the engine was for. We did have the proper size allen head socket. We broke the first one and then we broke a ratchet on it. It is in there super tight. We finally got a better ratchet and it just stripped out. It accepted a whole lot of force but we just pushed a little to far I guess. Will the pressure be accurate enough off of that t fitting? I may wind up having to try that if i cant get this stupid plug out.
Thanks for the ideas.
Mike

 

When I dropped an early block into my GTA, I had the same problem. I ended up having to drill through the center and then use a tiny saw blade (from a reciprocating saw, I believe) to cut towards the threads, 90 degrees apart, until I was able to use a hammer and chisel to turn the thing out. It was a PITA, but not as much of one as having to do that to the knock sensor that snapped from an engine still in the car!