Coolant plug leak, need help

[George_R]

Recently my 1uz developed noticeable coolant leak down there (plug p/n 11492-50010, replacement p/n 11492-20010)

Removed the plug, it had signs of black sealant
Grinded the remains of the sealant off with sandpaper, applied new sealant, reassembled

After a while I noticed the bloody leak again. I can't spot the exact leaky point but it's definitely somewhere near the bottom stud

Opinions, anyone?

p/s picture with the plug assembled


I suppose it may even leak from the stud, not the hole that's blocked by the plug

 

[gloverman]

More sealant. I use threebond and it works fine. We remove these on most jobs now and reseal before fitting the engine. As we have the motors out the sealant gets a full 24 hours to cure fully.

 

[George_R]

Thanks Kelvin!
Next time I'll try more sealant, different brand and more time to settle down before filling the coolant (last time I only let it sit for 1 hour)

Any chance it leaks from stud's thread?

 

[gloverman]

I have never pulled the studs to see if the holes are blind or not. When I do them I make sure the threads are covered in sealant and the nuts fasten down onto sealant.

I have some good sealant at the shop. If you flick some plane tickets my way I will bring it over in my suitcase and sort the leak for you.

 

[George_R]

Haha, nice one, you're always welcome but I don't yet have a spare 2 grand that's 'spare' enough

If I fail one more time with stock plug, I will probably make thick aluminum piece, mill a groove in it to accomodate standard rubber ring and call it Freeze Plug 9000+

 

[George_R]

p/s will try a decent brand that's available down here
http://www.victorreinz.com/EN/Products/Sealing-compounds/REINZOSIL-and-REINZOPLAST.aspx

also, ordered new plug just in case the old one bent slightly over years. Will report how it goes.

 

[George_R]

Problem solved. Key points:

- brand new freeze plug (plate). I used the cheaper one 11492-20010

-decent sealant (choosed from what's available down here, Victor Reinz brand)

-decent amount of sealant

-allowed the sealant to get solid. User manual suggests that 15 minutes is ok. I decided to wait for 1 day just incase

No single drop since then. Still watching it though. Hope this info would help