Freeze plug questions.

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Freeze plug questions.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Manuel, Lafayette, La. on Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 09:01 pm:

I've been fighting a water leak on the back manifold side of my 25 coupe---thought it was the head gasket. After two new gaskets and a new head I find that its the back freeze plug covered by the manifolds. What is the best way to remove this bad plug and are new ones available at the local auto stores? Any one know a size or part #? Thanks for any help!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Claverie on Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 09:12 pm:

As I understand it, in order to be "period correct" you need to find an authentic Buffalo nickel. Modern nickels won't work, or won't last.

You lay it on a socket of the correct size, place the ball of a ball-peen hammer on, it, and hit the hammer with another hammer. This "dishes" the nickel.

You place the nickel in the hole, bulging side out, and then use the flat side of the ball-peen hammer, hit with the other hammer, to squish the nickel to almost flat, which will expand it to the exact size needed to seal the hole.

OR, you could be not-period-correct, and use a modern freeze plug, or even the kind that expands in the hole when tightened (rubber outside).

Your choice.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jack Putnam, Bluffton, Ohio on Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 09:19 pm:

Don't do the nickel trick, I have seen blocks cracked by the Buffalo! Correct freeze plugs are about 3 for $1 from any supplier.
To remove an old plug drill a hole in it and put a screwdriver in the hole and pry sideways.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Shirley on Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 09:29 pm:

Most of the time they are pretty rotten and you can drive a flat screwdriver in the center of the plug and pry it out like opening a beer with a church key. If it fells too solid, use a center punch. You need to spend some time and get the hole very clean and use Permatex in the hole to seal off the new plug. If it were mine I would replace them all while you have the manifold off. The plugs are 13/16. Put them with the convex side out and once seated the the hole hit the center of the plug to swell and thus seal it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Manuel, Lafayette, La. on Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 09:53 pm:

Quick responses!! I just got the old one out. I used a hex head self drilling screw, drove it about half way in then used the head to pry out. It came out very easily and was pretty rotten. I think I'll take your advice Bob and change all of them. I'll have to wait until tomorrow when the stores open. Thanks fellas!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison on Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 10:21 pm:

I was surprised the first time I heard about the whole buffalo nickel deal. I could imagine some of the old guys doing it back in "the day". I wish my Dad was still around to talk to about some of this stuff. I remember him telling me about all kinds of crazy stuff they use to do to keep some of the old cars on the road. And I remember watching him do some of it too. He was always putting something in the radiator of his old F14 tractor to keep it from leaking. The old ton and a half Ford truck he used for hauling logs had more weird fixes than most people can imagine. Baling wire was used for muffler hangers, he once shimmed the rod bearings with newspaper. He pulled the pistons out of a flathead with a cracked block and put them in the truck same rings, same rods, same caps and same pistons. The only thing he did was pull the rings off the pistons and had me clean the ring grooves and he put the old rings back in and ran it that way. When you're broke and can't afford to run to Western Auto when things went to hell you did what you could to keep the truck on the road. He had a pile of old motors he kept behind the shop and was constantly stripping parts off them. His favorite thing to do was pull the heads and grind the valves. He always said if the lifters weren't making noise they were too tight. The old Farmalls had "oilers" in the top of the valve covers. There was supposed to be felt under the cover to help hold the oil and once a day the operator was expected to dump oil in the oilers. Somehow he lost or tossed the felt because he felt they were in bad shape or something. He took the felts from some old sorrel boots, cut out some new strips and used them. His trucks always had stacks behind the cabs and never had mufflers. Those old flatheads would really cackle when he was pulling a load. His tractor exhausts were made from well pipe. It was always something with him. But when he put twin straight pipes on the '57 ford with the old 312 cu in Y-block everyone on our old dirt road loved it. But then he got a ticket on his way to work in the mines one day and had to put mufflers back on it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Allan Richard Bennett on Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 10:56 pm:

John, in Australia you can't but the T sized freeze plugs from an auto parts house. Henry in his wisdom made them a non-standard size. You may have to go to a T parts supplier.

Hope this helps.

Allan from down under.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Aaron Griffey, Hayward Ca. on Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 11:39 pm:

Somebody needs to start selling nickles to people in countries other than the U.S.
Seal the correct plugs or nickles in with Permatex #1.
I sometimes use RTV.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison on Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 11:40 pm:

We could be selling nickels for a dime. But then the cost of export would kill us.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jon Crane on Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 04:04 pm:

Caution

Don't put the Buffalo Nickel in upside down. When the buffalo tries to get rightside up he will turn over the T!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 05:08 pm:

Here is one I found sealed with a piece of wood drivin into the hole.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruckzone/6756522903/in/set-72157629016783707

It had been used to run a saw mill and wood was handy at the work site, so...... musta used what they had.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Luke Dahlinger on Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 05:19 pm:

Mike,

Gotta agree with ya, nothing sounds better than a Y-block with straight pipes. When I put the 292 in my '56 this winter, it'll have straight pipes.

To keep this on topic, Y-blocks are like Model T's- they have a sound all to themselves.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison on Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 05:28 pm:

Luke, once you get that 292 going, make a video on youtube and post the link to it on here. I'm glad you're doing a 292, those old 272's weren't all that strong.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Thomas Mullin on Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 06:29 pm:

Model T freeze plugs come in steel and brass. The brass ones are not supposed to rust.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Crouch on Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 09:48 pm:

Not a good idea to hit two hammers together bud...just sayin.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison on Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 10:28 pm:

Kevin, the Mythbusters did a half hour deal about smacking 2 hammers together. They even built a special machine to smack the hammers together and no matter what they did they couldn't get any material to chip or splinter off those hammers. I'm still not too keen on smacking hammers together, but well you know, it was the Mythbusters. And as you know everything that happens on the television is as good as gospel.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Crouch on Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 10:59 pm:

Mike, I saw that episode too, I was just always told that and I get an eerie feeling when I hit two together!! LOLOL


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Monday, October 15, 2012 - 03:15 am:

We had a guy come into the E.D. years back with what looked like a bullet wound to the chest. Turned out he was splitting large rounds of wood by hitting a splitting maul with a sledge. One of them fractured and sent a bit of steel shrapnel into his chest. Sure it isn't supposed to happen, but......

Then there was the time a guy had a bag of black powder in his hand by the camp fire and......


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Manuel, Lafayette, La. on Monday, October 15, 2012 - 11:05 am:

I wear safety glasses when doing that. I know of at least one incident where hammer to hammer caused a serious eye injury. I definitely happens.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Dimock, Newfields NH, USA on Monday, October 15, 2012 - 11:29 am:

One of the things I remember from my youth was a drive from Taunton MA to New Bedford with my dad in our 1922 T.
We got to the intersection of County road (old rt 140) and rt 18 when the T overheated.
Dad pulled into an old gas station that looked as if it had been closed for years and an old guy with a big big smile came out.

I didn't hear the conversation but the two of them talked while looking under the hood.
There was a bit of arm waving, pointing to various things under the hood,lots of talking, and more smiles.

Suddenly the old guy went into the building and returned with a broom.
He put it on the ground, jumped on the handle until he broke off a piece that was about 4 inches long, took out a knife and whittled the end down a bit.
Next he got a rock (I'm not kidding) and hammered (rocked) the wooden stick into the side of the block.
They added water - the guy shook my dad's hand and we continued our trip.
I believe dad used a nickel to do the final repair when we got home. :-)


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