<!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> I just got my block back from the machine shop and happened to find something blocking the block drain. I removed the frost plug near the drain hole and after painstakingly making two cuts with a hack saw this is what I pulled out. Any ideas of what it could be, probably been there since it was built?
Is it cast iron? Maybe a riser from the casting process that was for some portion of the inside? Pete
Thats what I'd say. I work at a machine shop, "sticks" like that loosen up and come out all the time.
Yep, I've had some experience around casting and foundaries for newer engine blocks and can say with almost certainty that is a runner (section in mold where molten iron/steel travels from one section to another). What I can't say with certainty is how it got in there.
Yup it's cast, its a 1960 Dodge 230 Flathead, and I'm not very happy about getting the block back after being boiled with the frost plugs still in, no doubt that was a waste of money. I'm pulling all the plugs and checking it over along with everything else he did.
All I know is that now you will have to install it back into your engine, exactly where it came from! All traditional, correctly built engines have these parts.
Core plugs people..they were never ment to relieve the block if it froze. and yeah i would be wondering if they really replaced your Core Plugs too,or how through of a cleaning job they did of your block The Myth of Freeze Plugs All blocks have Core Hole Plugs, commonly called "freeze plugs." For many years it was believed that these pressed-in plugs were put there to pop out if the coolant became frozen in winter, thereby saving the engine block from cracking apart. This never was true, because there is no way to protect the intricate cooling passages of an engine from cracking if coolant freezes. Although mechanics and owners saw some of these plugs pop out when engine blocks froze, no such design was ever intended. The so-called "freeze plugs" are, in fact, plugs that seal up core holes in the block that designers put there for several purposes. Some core holes are put there to provide a rigid point of attachment for machinery jigs that hold the engine precisely during drilling and boring operations. Other holes are there to provide access to drill or bore oil galleries and other fixtures. Once these operations are completed the holes need to be sealed, and that is the job of the pressed-in plugs. Whenever an engine block is rebuilt the core hole plugs should be replaced. Because they are thinner than the surrounding casting the plugs tend to rust out sooner, so failure to replace them often results in leaks. sorry its a pet peeve of mine
Hell yeah! It takes a big fuckin' hammer and punch to remove them, so I doubt a little a frozen water is going to push them out.
im not doubting that.. but if coolant froze enough to push out that plug..you got bigger problems..cracks.. still was not the purpose sorry my intention was not to de-rail this thread... i think what the other guys were saying is its part of the sand casting process (also those holes are where the sand from the casting process gets out of the hollow block) that little cast iron "thread" was part of the mold process.
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