i broke the radiator drain plug! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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i broke the radiator drain plug!

tbomb

Explorer Addict
Joined
February 6, 2001
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City, State
Levittown, NY (Long Island)
Year, Model & Trim Level
98 Sport 4.0 SOHC 4x4
so i go to drain my coolant from the radiator, and the stupid plastic drain plug on the radiator breaks. i barely even twisted on it, and the head popped right off! i'm so annoyed right now. i can only imagine what ford is gonna want for a new one.

to everyone else who did this (and i KNOW that im not the only one), what solution did you come up with?
TIA.
 



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i would just take a flat screw driver heat it up with a propane torch and let it melt into the drain plug and when it cools unscrew it and replace the drain plug
 






Billy177 said:
i would just take a flat screw driver heat it up with a propane torch and let it melt into the drain plug and when it cools unscrew it and replace the drain plug

Wow, where were you when I did this on my '87 Chevy Spectrum? :rolleyes:

What a great idea, I on the other hand drilled it out when it happened to me and then had to limp to the dealer to get a new one (drove with the hood open - still latched and pulled over to let it cool down).

I'm sure the dealer won't charge you over $10 for the part - after all they still do have to sleep at night :p
 






Definitely the right way to go. I'm willing to bet the dealer won't have the part in stock though. They can order stuff from the warehouse and get it next day though.
 






i know this was posted months ago, but for future reference:

if you broke off the hex head, don't worry. the drain plug is hollowed out so that you may use an allen head to unscrew it. but don't strip it! it's a *****. i know about it
 






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