I pulled a stupid today while I was replacing the freeze plugs in my 350's heads. I was tapping out the old one (spinning it in the hole) and when I went to grab it with pliers I accidentally knocked it down into the head! This was a rear plug and there is a tight slotted space that the freeze plug fits perfectly into. It's too far down to use a pick, too tight to get with a finger, and the plug is brass so a magnet is a no go . . . I could touch the plug with my finger but not get any leverage to pull it out. The fix? Put on a glove and spray one of your fingers with spray adhesive, choose the finger that gets you the most access to the plug, for me it was my middle finger. Rub the spray adhesive on the plug and then give it 10 or so seconds to get tacky. Remove the glove and use your bare finger to work the plug out using the friction of the spray adhesive and voila, didn't have to pull the head!
I did that for a broken Glow Plug Tip on my 6.2 Chevy diesel . I had to take the Injector out and stick my finger coated with adhesive in to get to the tip . Funny thing it was the passenger side rear cylinder that the tip broke off and laid on top of the piston . I didn't want to imbed it into the piston . But I know others that just left it in there to get pressed into the piston .
Didn't know how else to describe it!! Nice, I was about to try CA glue when I realized I had the spray adhesive. If I had used CA glue I probably would still have that freeze plug on my finger!
Great thinking! I've taped bulb holders to fingertips, never tried glue. On the subject of freeze plugs I replaced a set on a Holden 6 cylinder, and every one had at least 2 old plugs just hammered into the water jackets.
I have a broken glow plug on my 6.5l, been leaving it alone for the fear of making a bigger issue trying to fix it
I had friends at the dealer tell me to leave it be . They said it would get pounded into the piston . I couldn't abide by that . Once you pull the injector There is enough room to get your finger in there if you bring the piston up . Have you already run the engine with the glow plug tip broken off ?? If so it has now been mashed into the piston . If you haven't run the engine you can actually feel where the piston is almost up . . There is a " Bind " as you rotate the engine . Backwards and forwards near TDC .
This one snapped off st the threads......the part that sticks in is still hanging there, I could see it when I put new injectors in......inside the whole it looks just like all the others.......outside it snapped off flush......it starts on 7 candles and when cold the 8th one comes alive in a few seconds
That sucks! Would it be possible to drill a small hole into what's left and try a screw/bolt extractor?
I'm sure it could be, but that's the risk......what happens if you punch the whole and can't get it out.......the head would require coming off.....for now its just as easy to let the beast sleep
I once bought a nice step side Chevy truck with a 383 stroked. I got it for low $ because the previous owner had dropped a bolt down the intake manifold... he had parked it for a few years till he could take the engine apart. I just fired it up and the bolt bounced out the exhaust right away. That engine ran perfect for years after that... risky but I was young and dumb
