Removing rusty/stuck core/Welch cup plugs

[Shakey]

One of mine is leaking (and I have the engine out), I've tried knocking one at an angle to get it moving and self tapers but it just pulled out with vice grips.

Any suggestions please? I'm a bit nervous about applying heat as it started hissing!

[incisor]

normally just punch a hole in them with a hammer and screwdriver and lever them out

[Shakey]

Hmm, maybe it's the edges being rusted but I'm having no luck!

[Phil B]

Hmm, maybe it's the edges being rusted but I'm having no luck!



the bigger the problem the bigger the hammer.:o
Old saying but true sometimes...

[Aussie Bob]

Get a big screwdriver, the bigger the better. Punch it through the plug (using a hammer) and lever against the block.

[Dark61]

I'm about to do mine. Hope I don't have a similar struggle.


Noticed you had a Caterham. That's the last place I lived in before I came out here. The showroom was still there c2000 but I think they made the cars elsewhere.
cheers,
D

[Shakey]

I'm going to do the other 2 today so hopefully they will be easier. I ended up destroying the front one and pushing one side in, I could then squeeze if out the whole!

They have a factory in Dartford too I think, but caterham was taken over by a new owner so it's probably all changed again!

[Blknight.aus]

I usually use a large pin punch and the FBH, beat them at the edge till they either tilt or tear then pull them out while you;re at it dont forget all the screw in plugs and the little ones.

the ones that seal the hole used to machine the cam usually never give trouble.

[Shakey]

Thanks, I'm rapidly learning you can generally hit things a lot harder than I think!

[crackers]

Thanks, I'm rapidly learning you can generally hit things a lot harder than I think!

It's a bit like knowing how tight to do up a nut... which is to do it up until it strips then back off a half turn :angel:

[Shakey]

It's a bit like knowing how tight to do up a nut... which is to do it up until it strips then back off a half turn :angel:
At least rave has torque settings, my series workshop manual is fairly light on them

[Blknight.aus]

Thanks, I'm rapidly learning you can generally hit things a lot harder than I think!

and then when you over do it you just araldite/devcon/solder/braize/weld/ignore the crack.


It's a bit like knowing how tight to do up a nut... which is to do it up until it strips then back off a half turn :angel:

:no2:
honestly, the lack of research and the poor quality of facts that get presented in this place sometimes....

when you strip the thread you back of 1/4 of a turn, you back of half a turn after it breaks.


in one of the appendixes for the series manual there should be a look up chart that gives default torques for various bolt sizes

This is a very comprehensive list from bolt masters

theres lots of other out there on the internet but remember to use the correct chart for the bolt type...

in a series you can be facing

metric (fine standard and course thread)
imperial (UNC, UNF,)
witworth (BSF and BSW)
BS Conduit
BS Pipe
BS Pipe, tapered
BS electrical
PBMRWFW (Previous Butcher Maintainers Random Whatever Fitted Works) and
UNSRHGL (UNknown Stripped and Rounded Head, Good luck)

Yes, all of them can legitimately be on the engine. and NO, BS does not stand for the expletive you use when you proclaim "THIS IS ..."after you work out what you thought should have been one type of fixing isnt and your spanner doesnt fit properly, it means British Standard..

I suggest a good set of one size fits all spanners. :) (no, no I do not, that was sarcasm, SARCASM people If I hear of you doing that expect to be doubley accused of needing the blue and white apron firstly for not knowing which thread you were up against and second for resorting to the hack tools)

[Aaron IIA]

in a series you can be facing

metric (fine standard and course thread)
imperial (UNC, UNF,)
witworth (BSF and BSW)
BS Conduit
BS Pipe
BS Pipe, tapered
BS electrical
PBMRWFW (Previous Butcher Maintainers Random Whatever Fitted Works) and
UNSRHGL (UNknown Stripped and Rounded Head, Good luck)[/SIZE]

You left out BA (British Association) and sometimes even RLT.

Aaron

[Shakey]

So cups are out, is the threaded plug at the back a normal thread, can't shift it at the moment and just wanted to check it wasn't a reversed thread (can't see why it would be).

[mick88]

So cups are out, is the threaded plug at the back a normal thread, can't shift it at the moment and just wanted to check it wasn't a reversed thread (can't see why it would be).


The one on the real left of the engine block, that resembles the small bung out of an old 44 gallon drum! It was for the "arctic heater" that could be fitted on vehicles sent to extremely cold climates.
It is right hand thread but may need some encouraging words to help shift it!
Good Luck!
Cheers, Mick.

[Blknight.aus]

you're going to resort to every trick in the book to get that one then when you hit the end of the book you're going to start thinking outside the square.

Ive drilled and dremeled and filed and hammerd and heated and oxied and die grinded,cut at, chiseled, pin punched generally abused with very very very big hammers drilled to size and then picked the remnents out with a scribe then cut new threads and then I've come across some properly hard to get out ones.

take your current definition of "Indescribably difficult" and be prepared to have it redefined.

you're more likely to get a 4 page center spread article published in 4wd action proclaiming that, no you dont really need to have suspension lifts, big tires, lockers, the worlds most expensive air compressor, or anything to much more than a stock series to have a good time on a cape trip.

[Shakey]

The one on the real left of the engine block, that resembles the small bung out of an old 44 gallon drum! It was for the "arctic heater" that could be fitted on vehicles sent to extremely cold climates.
It is right hand thread but may need some encouraging words to help shift it!
Good Luck!
Cheers, Mick.

Mick, do you mean this one?

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/10/358.jpg

[Blknight.aus]

thats the one and its partner... which from memory is up on the head at the front.

[Shakey]

take your current definition of "Indescribably difficult" and be prepared to have it redefined.



Maybe I should just leave it in and not replace it, don't think it actually leaks...

[Blknight.aus]

oh, it will...

while you have the ability to get at it, get it out and replace it with a brass or copper fitting of the same size. seat it in with thread tape, loctite 567 or permatex #3. much easier to get out later and if it strips it will respond better to drilling and extractor tools.

once the plug you have corrodes through and leaks the definition of "indescribably difficult" raises exponentially.

dont forget the plugs in the head.

[crackers]

Maybe I should just leave it in and not replace it, don't think it actually leaks...

I was just about to say "just fill it with JB Weld and ignore it" :D

Seriously, you've been hammering so you've probably started a problem anyway. Get the brute out, even if you have to remove it filing by filing (Dremels are good units)

[Shakey]

What do people normally put in the slot then to try to turn it? I've tried a 14mm wrench sideways but this not really long enough to get much purchase!

[Blknight.aus]

custom made bit for an impact driver
custom filed bit of steel and a medium shifter
cut down section of a spanned with another spanner inserted to turn it
dremel
drill
pinfiles and picks
die grinder
EDM etcher
small pipe wrench
oxy kit

[Shakey]

Well 2/3rds of it are out now, back third was corroded so it's down to getting all the crap out tomorrow and cleaning up the thread!

[Shakey]

Is there any chemical I can use to losen up the last bits? I have most of the thread clear but the last couple of pitches have some stubborn bits I can't remove.

[Blknight.aus]

Lbo Grease.
freeze and release
diesel
ATF
rostoff
heat and a scribe

[Aaron IIA]

Do you have a thread file?

Aaron

[Shakey]

Lbo Grease.
freeze and release
diesel
ATF
rostoff
heat and a scribe
Thanks, run out of lbo grease down to the last 2 pitches and the scribe won't grip this chunk!

[Shakey]

Do you have a thread file?

Aaron
Didn't know they existed! Had made a tap out of a brass plug which has helped with the pick

[Aaron IIA]

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=291585029941

Aaron