Topic: FREEZE PLUG???

[ror_schach]

i've spent a lot of time and money getting this car to work right. finally got everything running, new power steering pump, wires, plugs, oil, new gas tank, filters, got the timing done, tires, brakes, etc....... took it for a test drive earlier, first time its been driven in a couple years. ran great, shifted easily, lots of horsepower, lots of torque.  get home and notice the radiator is low. so i start filling it up and then i hear it from under the engine. water pouring out. crawl up under it and there it is, water hitting me in the forehead. a freeze plug. i know its an easy fix. just frustrating....

[Soaring]

Face it brother, you don't have a new car.  That shit is going to be cropping up all the time, but you still own an old  Mustang that you are still driving.  Freeze plugs are easy to replace.  Quit bitching and just replace it.     Come down to Texas this summer and let me treat you to a classic Texas BBQ meal and talk about our old Mustangs.   South Carolina isn't that far from Texas, and we may get some other Texans and a North Carolina member to show up. 

[ror_schach]

well hell yeah. that sounds like a good time to me. lots of gas money, but that would be a fun trip. no a/c though....    freeze plugs are pretty easy to replace. most of the trouble is getting the old one out. any tips? its the one at the bottom back of the engine driver side. i was thinking of using one of the rubber expandable freeze plugs.

[Soaring]

I rebuilt a 4 cylinder Ford engine one time that I put into a kit car 1929 Mercedes, and the rubber expandable freeze plugs worked well, so if you go that direction, I would recommend it. 

[ror_schach]

well i think i'm going to have to. when i checked the leak it was dark and i was using a flash light. today i crawl under there and its actually 3 different plugs that came out and i don't think theres any way i could beat a new metal one in. i should be able to get a wrench to the expandable ones. i hope... atleast i didn't go to the store and buy a new one only to discover i need three....

[Soaring]

Yeah, those rear plugs can be a bitch to get out and a new one pressed back in.  If you can't get a ratchet on the rear rubber expandable one, use one of those ratchets that is flat and looks like a box end wrench, but they ratchet.  If you don't have one that size, Sears and just about any hardware store sells them.

[ror_schach]

got all of them in earlier before my fuel injector incident i told you about. the only problem i ran into was the dip stick. it crosses the freeze plug and the rubber ones are bigger, so i had a good bit of trouble working it in. but now i'm gonna have to get a new dip stick tube cause i kinda bent it up.

[Soaring]

You're lucky that's the only problem you ran into.  Dipstick tubes are cheap. 

[ror_schach]

i think i'm gonna have to put a metal freeze plug in that one cause theres no way to get the dip stick in correctly. i just can't get it to go in straight. the rubber freeze plug sticks out of the block about a cm. it won't go in any further. which is fine on the other plug spots, but here its right behind the dip stick.

[Soaring]

At least that freeze plug is easily accessible, so you can tap in a metal one. 

[ror_schach]

its probably the only one thats possible to tap in.   thats lucky right?

[Soaring]

Yeah buddy.  Especially with the engine still in the car. 

[ror_schach]

i'll let you know how it turns out, i've ran out of stang money.

[ror_schach]

well, its possible. after a couple hours, some new bronze freeze plugs (messed a few up) and a lot of cussing.... i got it in. put a new dip stick on. filled the radiator, checked my oil, and started the car. no leaks, at least no water leaks.

[Soaring]

Outstanding.  Now, you are a qualified shade tree mechanic.   

[ror_schach]

finally my dreams have come true, not bad for 21....

[Soaring]

I started working on the farm tractors.  Learned the ins and outs of mechanical things at the early age of 12 or so.  From there, it progressed to autos.  That's how we learn about these things.  Nothing wrong with self-taught experience. 

[mustang245]

Glad you got the freeze plug problem fixed. The best way to learn how to do something is by making mistakes so you can learn what not to the next time you have a problem.

[ror_schach]

well i'm just glad i didn't have to pull the motor. i've still got to do a lot to the car. power steering problems still... and i need to get it timed properly, it acts weird while idling. whats the firing order for a 302 ho?  i also need to replace the tensioner pulley. it sounds horrible. squeals extremely loud when i hit the gas but quiets down shortly after.  i'm not completely untrained. my father was a mechanic for years. he worked on bowties though...  and i went to nascar technical institute for about 6 months. couldn't finish my courses cause i ran out of money. it cost $30,000 for 15 months. but thats not why i quit. i couldn't afford rent and gas and food on a waiter's salery. $3.13 an hour plus tips (my bigest tip was $18) and i could only work a part time job cause i had school 7 hours a day 5 days a week.  but what it comes down to is that school is for rich kids with rich dad's. only 4% of people that graduate from there go to work for nascar. the other 96% get stuck with a dealership job.

[Soaring]

The firing order for all 289's and 302's  is        15426378

4    8
3    7
2    6
1    5
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