How to fix leaking freeze plugs

Check hoses to heater core before freeze plugs. If freeze plugs are leaking they are in the side of the engine block you can see if they add leaking or have been leaking. Look for deposits around plugs for proline leakage . You would also have overheating and lose of water from freeze plug failure.

this part your looking at is a form of a freeze plug... the three prongs is a block heater. it can be replaced with a normal freeze plug or replace it with another and plug it in on these cold cold nights..

The freeze plugs are a term used for the residual casting hole caps in a motor block. The original cap design is a pressed fit to an open hole.

The cap can rust through and leak. Or the casting can have a less than perfect opening difficult to seal.

Newer designs have expandable rubber plugs which can be easier to install and more successful. But this does not exclude using a standard replacement.

There is an advantage in experience for installing these parts. But the process is using a hammer and socket to drive the part into the engine block.

Access is the key for either replacement freeze-plug. Each plug is stand alone, with any being as likely to survive or fail as the other. Good quality anti-freeze has rust inhibiters to preserve these parts. In short, if it isn't broke, don't fix it. Fix the leaking part and leave the rest.

Well if you can get to the freeze plug with the engine in the car, if it is a smooth metal one,just drive a punch or a heavy sheet metal screw into it with a hammer then pop out.Once the old one is out,clean up the area with some sandpaper.if you are replacing with a rubber one or a metal one,always use some high temp sealer around the replacement plug and let it sit overnight to cure so it wont leak in the future. Some freeze plugs cant be fixed without the engine being raised up or taken out of the car though just so you know.You will have to judge that by where the leaking freeze plug is.

I would not recommend repairing it although there are materials out there that say it will fix the leak. You'll need to pull the old plug out with a slide hammer or pry bar. BE CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE the area that the freeze plug seats into on the engine block. After removal, clean the area very well. Use a sealant (auto store has a variety) and a socket or seal driver to tap in the new one. Rubber expansion plugs are used in an EMERGENCY, See this website for pics and details: http://www.automedia.com/Replacing_a_Freeze_Plug/ccr20070401fp/1

Good Luck

That means that you have a rusted out freeze plugs so you can buy a freeze plug that can be screwed into place if you can get to the reeze plug, however if it's behind the exhust maniforl you will have to remove the exhaust manifold to get to them. you will need a short hammer and chisal to knock out the old freeze plug. then a wrench to put in a new freeze plug unless you want to put in standard plugs but it is not easy. the freeze plugs rusting are common for this rig. the Freeze plug that has a threaded nut and bolt and made out of high heat rubber is about $5.00 each and can be bought at any Nappa Auto parts or Advance auto Parts store all complete kit for all of them for the stamped steel is about $10.00 however there is one behind the transmisson and hopefully it is not leaking. If it is leaking th transmisson has to come out. Good luck and if you need help just reply to the e-mail you recieve from this site. Thanks for using fix-ya.

A freeze or expansion plug is a small, metal, circular plug that lives in various places on an engine block. These plugs have a valuable function and an equally interesting origin. An engine block starts life as molten metal. In order to form an engine block, this metal is poured into a mold. When the metal cools off from a liquid to a solid, the engine block is born. As the mold is no longer needed, it is knocked away from the engine block. As most modern engines are liquid cooled, part of this mold also forms the cooling passages inside the engine and must be knocked away as well. The cooling jacket mold material is removed through the holes now filled by the freeze plugs.

Keep Your Cool
Along with filling holes, the freeze plugs have another function. Water expands when frozen. Metal on the other hand does not like to expand very much. If for some reason the liquid coolant inside the engine block freezes and expands, the freeze plug is designed to pop out of the engine block to allow coolant to expand out of the hole. The inexpensive freeze plug can save thousands of dollars in cracked engine blocks. While all this is fine and good, freeze plugs will sometimes leak and fail for reasons that have nothing to do with cold weather. Neglected engine coolant becomes corrosive and can eat away at freeze plugs from the inside out and cause a leak. For these two reasons, maintaining engine coolant is important—on the one hand to prevent corrosion from forming, and on the other to maintain the correct level of anti-freezing properties during sub-freezing cold spells.
Holey Moley
While replacing a freeze plug in itself is fairly simple, getting to it may be another story. In fact, this story can be a long one. As bad luck will likely have it, the leaky freeze plug will never be the one that is easier to see than the sun at noon on a summer day. The leaking freeze plug will be the one up against the back of the firewall or underneath nearly every other part connected to the engine. The additional unfortunate reality is that if one freeze plug has gone rusty with holes then the others are likely not far behind. The best time to replace freeze plugs is when the engine block is out of the car and up on a stand. If this is not an option then digging in and replacing that one leaking freeze plug may be the only answer.

you can clean up the damage as best you can then use and engine sealant like permatex to nicely fill any gouges .. use it on the plug before insertion .. follow directions for curring before bringing engine up to temperature .. you could also use material like "liquid steel epoxy" or "JB-Weld (epoxy)" if you dont intend to ever remove the plug ..