I have a '91 stakebed dually that the previous owners never put coolant in. They just ran water for years. So I have corrosion and had to replace the heater coolant tubes, and get the whole system pressure flushed. Also the thermostat was stuck open and the truck always ran cold. I replaced it with a kragen, and it warmed up finally. Now I had a freeze plug rust through on the front of the block. It was easy to remove, but I'm having a bear of a time putting in the new cummins plug from the dealer. I already ruined one and had to fish it out of the jacket. Do I have to take off the front clip to get a better angle to punch it in?

Also am I looking at a truck that will have more problems down the line? Should I unload it for a 2nd gen. The truck had 86k miles on it when the odometer stopped working in oct 2006. I spend 1k alone on doing the brakes they neglected.

I'm frustrated.


Derek

 

the freeze plugs are a pain because if your like me you dont know when to stop,

but here is what i did on the ones that are on the side of the block.

1st: knock the old one out

2nd: then clean the hole, no rust or corrosin.

3rd i washed the plug and hole with paint thinner to de greese it.

4th: i put some sealer on my plug because i thought it needed it.

5th: then tapped it on with a hammer, but i used a driver, mine was a large socket that fit in the plug but stayed to the outside, because if you hit them in the middle they shrink.

 

could maybe use a short piece of 2x4 over the plug. tap on the 2x4 and it'll put the freeze plug in flush with the block and you won't shrink or punch a hole in it.