radiator drain plug.... | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

radiator drain plug....

Phat_kaw

New Member
Joined
September 26, 2009
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
City, State
Chillicothe, Ohio
Year, Model & Trim Level
'00 Ford Ranger
if someone, not naming name or pointing fingers mind you, was to overly tighten the drain plug on a radiator and break the lil plastic head off it, would it still hold water? And is there anyway to replace just the plug or replace the whole radiator??
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year or try it out for $5 a month.

Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I would think that it would hold coolant... about the only way to find out for sure is to fill the radiator up and see. And for removal it should be fairly easy to drill a hole and use an Easy-Out to get the plug out.
 






It may hold water, but check it under pressure (While the engine is running). If not, JB weld is your friend.
 






I think we can assume that the poster meant holding coolant under pressure when he asked about the radiator holding water.

Also, JB weld might not be anybody's friend for this application - if the plug leaks it would probably be through the plug's threads, and if you were to JB Weld the threads and then at some point in the future wanted to remove the plug, the JB Weld would probably make it very difficult to get the plug out.

Another solution to getting the plug out would be to drill the plug with a drill bit that's just a little bit smaller than the plug's threads, then it should be relatively easy to either turn or chip out the remaining part of the plug that's still in the radiator.
 






If "whoever tightened this too tight" wasn't mechanicially included to get that right, I would not have them drilling and taping (I think the op said plastic) the radiator. My 2 cents, no offense.
 






Nah no offense taken. The whole problem arises from the manufacturers using crap on cars we pay so much money for. But I went to Autozone and bought what seems to be a better constructed drain plug for 4 bucks. It actually has something ya can grab onto to tighten and loosen. So as of right now...problem solved til the next one...lol
 






Back
Top