On the top of my engine next to the exhaust manifold, there are three screw in plugs that a 3/8 socket extension would fit in the top of to tighten them. One of the plugs looks like it has had some seapage because their is pink gunk all around it. I put a socket extension in it to see if it was tight and it is not. Can I tighten it or will it just keep turning down into the block further. I guess what I'm asking is there a shoulder or something in the block that you tighten it down against or do I have to remove the plug and put some kind of sealant around it and thread it back in?

 

You should be able to tighten it down. I would not be afraid to try it. It is probaly a water jacket plug.

 

I'm gonna try it tomorrow. I just hope it tightens down against something. If it just keeps turning down further, then I'll have to take it out and put some pipe dope on it and put it back in. I'm sure that I'll lose some antifreeze in the process too.

 

should be pipe thread and they are tapered threads... so it doesn't need to be tightened down against anything.. Pipe dope doesn't seal anything it is just a lubricant so you can get the threads to turn farther in without binding.

Gerry

 

Thanks. It is loose, but I was afraid to try tightening it without asking questions first. I didn't want to spring a big leak cause I need my truck this morning. I wonder how that plug got loosened up???

 

Mine were seeping/oozing a little also. I just tightened them up and the seeping/oozing stopped. If it had not stopped, I was going to pull them and use a little teflon paste/teflon tape to seal the threads, one or two wraps at the top of the threads - yellow tape is the right one to use. This was discussed in the spring a year ago by several people, that was their fix. Must have not been tightened/torqued enough at build time? May be that expansion and contraction from running temps and then cool down causes the seepage because the torque is not enough out of the factory on some now and then?

CD

 

Thanks guys, I just tightened the one that was seeping and it took 2 full turns. Checked the other 2 out and found one of them took a full turn to tighten. I think that will do it.