I need to remove 2 water jacket threaded plugs (not expansion plugs) in my Chevy 153 4 banger and have hit a snag. The plugs have recessed squares that a tool/socket of some sort fits into. Nothing in my tool box fits and nothing at NAPA. I really do not like the idea of grinding down a socket extension to fit. There is obviously some tool made to fit these threaded plugs. Can any one help? 29guy
Try a tool truck. What I did was grind down a Grade 8 bolt. But also beware that you may need to use the old torch-hammer-oil trick to get them loose, be careful not to strip the "head". Machine shops are usually pretty well equipped to handle this stuff.
You need an actual plug socket... I just recently learned about this from my dad. It looks just like a ratchet shank, but they come in all sorts of sizes.
Once you get the tool heat the plug and spray WD 40 in the threads then use your tool.I ground a 3/8" short extension to fit.
I just ground down an old allen wrench that I no longer had any use for. And now I've lost it, so I'll have to grind down another one. Then of course I'll find the first one.
I would go with the key stock or just some square stock ground for a drive in fit. Heat and a square or 12 point socket or cresent wrench and hope for the best.
Never hesitate to grind, bend or twist a tool to fit your application. The cost for a new tool is far less than the inconvience of trying to do it some other way. Just place your "new" tool in a special drawer and be ready for the next time you need it.
If you heat the plug it will expand and could make it tighter.Try heating around the out side area and try loosening before heat transfers to the plug.If this doesnt work at least you heated the area and may let it cool and then it may break loose.If the plug itself is hot i wouldnt try removing it.May round it off.But heat is good to break loose the rust and crud.Good luck.
Even on the ones with a 3/8" recess don't use an extension to remove it, instead of a socket. Often they will twist right through the detent ball, possibly breaking off. I have a full set of the sockets, and they will save you a lot of grief. But you can certainly make something to do the job. Just make sure it fits very tight and is, preferably, hardened steel. ~Alden
Naturally, $nap-on has the special sockets. If normal means fail...my experience has been that drilling out the square socket after ruining it and every known object that fits it with the biggest drill that fits in neatly seems to relax the remaining metal into an easy fit. Your mileage may vary. (an also...use an impact driver, the kind you hit with a hammer, rather than a ratchet. The violence helps keep the square seated and shocks the rust)
Bangngears, you really want to heat just the plug, and not the block! The expansion will crush the rust,etc. and when it cools some it will be easier to remove. Also when you spray it with a lubricant while it is still hot it will draw the lube into the threads. ~Alden
I guess you've never done this? It does work....heat the plug so it's red, squirt some oil on the threads, maybe whack it with a hammer, and then use the square plug socket and unscrew the plug.
When heating use a very hot narrow flame (like a cutting tourch). The idea in not to heat the block which may cause a crack. Do it twice and let it cool down completly between heating and turning. You could heat the block slightly before trying to turn it out.
I use square "Easy Outs" which are tapered and hardened to get out square plugs. They come in different sizes and although I do not know the size of the plug you have hopefully the size will be compatible with one of the EZ outs. Grind it down until it is a bit tight and use an 8 point socket which fits snug on the EZ out, use a long breaker bar to apply heavy steady pressure and you can also give the breaker bar a whack with a hammer while you are exerting pressure. Make sure the block is 100% secure from flopping around and it should come out. The heating idea works well but I like to use either a propane or mapp gas torch and heat around the area the plug is in and then use paraffin wax to go over the thread area and the wax will usually run in the threads. This is one of the processes square EZ outs work exceedingly well. They are useless to remove broken bolts. My father always said there should be a law against selling them but then again we made a lot of money fixing stuff that had everything possible broken off in holes by people that "just had to get our 1 broken bolt...my buddy says it's easy with an EZ out"
Like RJ says above... Heat the PLUG..rub parafin wax over the plug as it cools. The wax gets drawn in { kind of like sweat soldering pipe } When it is cool enough to touch...it will come right out ! Old engine rebuilder / boat mechanic taught me this about 35 years ago..I had broken sockets, stripped plugs, drilled out plugs till i was blue in the face.. Not any more !!
Holly crap you guys, I thought this was a "no big deal" but responders experiance looks like this might turn into a whale! So here is the deal. My car was pro built in 1975 using a 1964 153' Chevy II 153 " banger. The intake and exhaust are custom bent tubing. The carb is a 1974 Vega 5200 series Holly. As it sits now all of the choke was removed and I have had historical problems with sunk floats and crappy cold/cool idle. I sourced a factory rebuilt carb that has a water heated choke mechanism. So I am thinking rather than fart around with removing the water heated choke and going with a mechinical retro fit (@ 90 degrees off normal position) why not put it back together as originally designed. I have a plug on the water pump and at the water outflow that should do the trick. Just remove the plugs, cobble together some fitting and presto... a hot water actuated choke as originally designed for the (1974 Vega application). Problem #1 is the square plug removal that initiated my post! I will stay at it and would love to hear from any other 5200 water heated Holly carbed car guys. If this turns out to be a bust, I will look into removing all of the water/bi-metal stuff and see if I can go mechicanal! Regards from the great Pacific NW (Dirt T, thanks for your reply. I see you are in AZ now. You sold me the Chevy 153" out of your T. I have just located the final part to start my modified A-V8 chassis build on my "32 chevy 5 window. Your engine mated to an early Ford trans will be the "go power"). 29guy
What you are trying to do by heating the plug is to make it expand in the hole. When it cools, it will shrink back down and break the rust or sealer lose. It is hard to get the cast iron around the plug hot because the heat transfers too fast into the surrounding cast iron.
I found a tool that has 6 or 8 different size square drive parts on it,used to be for checking rear end lube level.The grade 8 bolt trick sounds good to me.
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