Im looking at trading for a 68 Chevy with a gm goodwrench 350. only problem is the guy says it has a leaky freeze plug. he says it always had anti freeze, and it may be poorly seated or rusted. so how hard of a fix is it? should i walk?
Changing the plug is easy, if you can get at it. Some are a bitch to even see! The real problem may be, did he cook the engine before he noticed the leak?
Which freeze plug, there are 2 behind the flex plate, motor or trans would have to be pulled if it be them.............. If it is from rust plan on pulling all of them...............
I've replaced rusty ones before, also block heaters that had the O-ring fail...BUT you need to confirm its actually a freeze plug and not a cracked block. Never take someones word on something like this. They might not be out to take you...but they could be mistaken on the source of water themselves! Get a good light and some coveralls...you need to do some poking around.
Could be a simple freeze plug to change or a cracked block it would be worth having a shop look at it.
Go to a radiator shop or borrow a radiator pressure pump, pump it up to 12-15 lbs and crawl underneath.............................
Check the cab floor and rear cab mounts first ,If all that checks out ,Id do it but there not my guns ,I could shoot somebody real easy but to run them down I don't know.
GREAT ADVICE ... Here is a photo showing the freeze plugs on the front and the side of a engine. There are also two in the rear ( no photo )
IF it is a Freeze Plug: "Passenger SIDE"...sounds like the one behind the Motor mount. Can be changed by jacking the engine up a mile....remove , measure diameter with calipers, and be sure that you purchase the correct dia BRASS one for replacement, put some sealant on outside of freeze plug before tapping it in with a correct size socket/hammer. Around here the water has a lot of chemicals in it and so it's a good policy to put Distilled water in the system instead of tap water. good luck
Go for it , whats $1400 these days when a new truck is close to $40,ooo .. if you can get the freeze plug out by knocking it in and then grabbing it with pliers to wrench it out . They sell rubber ones that are inserted and you turn a nut to swell it into the hole kind of like a row boat plug ,, same theory .. reason for the rubber one is it can be a real challenge to pound a new one in - in such a tight area ...
Be sure you can confirm it is a freeze out plug and not a porous block or head. I have ran across this problem 3 times. Just something to think about.
A new truck CLOSE to 40000$??? Buddy, My 2009 Dodge Cummins 4x4 with a 5-speed, everything standard with NO A/C, was 67000$CAD taxes in!!!