I need to vent, strong language used FYI

[samir_nayanajaad]

I was notified that some might have taken offence to what was posted here.  As what I said has absolutely nothing to do with or any contribution to the topic of this forum I am just going to remove it.

[TOOLS1]

Sorry to hear this. But were pulling, for, you. Tell the shop, you want brass freeze plugs.
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

Really?!Wow   that sucks.Regulators!....Mount up!!!

[MarkPBG]

I had that happen before….use a dremel or a hacksaw to put a small slice in the freeze plug…careful NOT to gouge the block, don't cut ALL the way through. You can then use a slide hammer to yank it out….the thin part will fold and let the ring spring right out.

[Lucky 1]

I can understand your frustration but the garage did nothing wrong.
You did not even tell us what kind of car and how old the car was.
That is very important.

The fact that you tried to remove a freeze plug that was leaking and failed is not the garage's fault.

To get freeze plugs out is sometimes very time consuming and does not usually happen in the life
of a car unless the coolant system was never taken care of.
Many things may have to be removed to get to the freeze plugs.

I would NOT use brass freeze plugs because brass and steel do not get along very well, Matter of fact it would be a very poor choice.
Stainless would be a better choice.
Freeze plugs usually last well over 200,000 miles.
Like I said it has a lot to do with the cooling system maintenience and corrosion issues.
Like if the vehicle was kept near the ocean or driven in salt water. Or driven on roads that were salted.

You are upset at having to pay for a expensive repair.
What if you were poor and had to do it yourself.
That is what I had to do many times when I was growing up. I had to spend freezing cold nights fixing
a older car. Then get up the next morning and go to work and then to school.

BTW... A brand new standard factory freeze plug is a stamped sheet metal part. That is
how they are made. It is normal. You clean the block, put sealer on them, and tap them into the block.

[Daddyman]

Sealer?

[samir_nayanajaad]

...humm small hack saw I might try that. Would use a dremmel but it's no where near power and dont have an dc to ac power adapter.  Also may try driving the old one in with a new one in backwards then prying it out and grabbing the old one so i can put a new one in right.

And donald brass(copper and zinc) and bronze (copper and tin) are highly inert to corrosion that's why we can still find artifacts from the bronze age 3300BC to 1200 BC that are mostly intact.  What I am torqued about is that this should not have even happened in the first place had proper parts been used.  The pugs didn't have to be brass as long as they were thick enough it should have been fine for the life of the car.  But because they are so thin and weak vibration, heat, etc. caused this one to crack and leak.  Now not only do I have to worry about getting this one fixed but now who knows when another one might go, and it will be in a place that I cant work on it.

And who knows it may not have been the shops fault maybe these were the only plugs they could get for this car at the time. I know I have run across only being able to get one brand of a part that I know sucks not much you can do about that.

Oh well I will find a way some how kinda have to.

[TOOLS1]

If brass and steel were, so incompatible. Why would, you braze steel together?. Anyway. I have removed freeze plugs by driving one side in. The other side will rotate out, and, you can get a hold of it. Also there have been times where I have driven the freeze plug into the block, and left it there. Does not hurt anything. Water still flows around it.
TOOLS

[samir_nayanajaad]

yeah tools driving the old plug into the head was going to be a last option but i would do it if I had too.

but..... being mad and having a 2 1/2 pound hammer works too.  I got it out and new one in doesn't look like any leaks but hard to say with coolant everywhere. now time for a coolant flush because it has a lot of water and not coolant in it.

+1 for the guys who fix their own stuff.

[Peterwh]

Galvanic corrosion.  One of the two metals (anode) will be higher in the reactivity series than the other and will corrode, preferentially, over the other, leaving the other (cathode) relatively unharmed.

[TOOLS1]

That's why they put that sacrificial piece of (I think zinc) metal on outboard motors, for salt water use.
TOOLS

[Peterwh]

Precisely.  I think that's what Donald is referring to

[TOOLS1]

Yea, but it does not happen with brass. Now aluminum is another story.
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

I beleive that IS what Donald was talking about.I know on water heaters we have to use a special dielectric union to seperate the dissimilar metals to prevent undue corrosion.Copper solder to the one side,galvanized steel on the other.Brass and fiber in the middle.Its wierd.Water/heat/electricity can do some very strange things.

I'm glad you got it sorted out,Samir.Yes,+1 for youNow about that turbo....

[TOOLS1]

You definitely need to separate copper from steel.
TOOLS  

[Peterwh]

Tools makes a very good point about brazing but either brass or steel must be higher than the other in the reactivity series ie one is more reactive than the other, because they cannot be equally reactive.  Therefore, one would corrode over the other.  I'm just not sure of where they lie.  The reason it works for galvanising (zinc) and steel is that zinc is just slightly more reactive than iron so the zinc corrodes in preference to the iron.  This works even if the coating of zinc is breached somewhat.  The zinc in galvanising is not a protective coating, it is an electrolytic anode.  Lead and copper are less reactive than iron so the iron, in that case, would corrode before the copper or lead.  it's the same as the experiment of plating copper onto steel that you probably did in chemistry at school.

[Lucky 1]

"Why would you braze steel together?"

They don't much anymore.
IT depends on the environment the the weldment will be in.

[Peterwh]

Donald, agreed.  In the absolute absence of an electrolyte, there would be no galvanic corrosion anyway eg in very dry air or de-ionised water.  I forgot to mention this earlier, the galvanic cell can only be set up in the presence of an electrolyte eg sea water - see the other discussion about the corrosiveness of sea water.

[Daddyman]

If your welding cast iron (like a cracked engine block) Its the best material to use pre-heat it weld it and peen it.  Some people don't have access to anything but oxy acetylene setups, Surprised you had to ask?

[TOOLS1]

Back in the good old days. I used to braze cars together, and even brazed cracked engine blocks on antique tractors. I even had to take classes on brazing, for my welding certifications.
TOOLS