Freeze plug solutions? What say you????

Hoss

Hoss

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I am interested in what you all are doing to keep freeze plugs intact. I am looking for a more permanant solution to replace the plug in the back of the block. Will the T-bar type work on the back of the block or will the cylender wall interfere with the bolt? I have heard there is one made that bolts to the back of the block? What is the best aftermarket replacement plug for the rest of them?
After replacing all the big plugs in the block what goes next? I have heard guys are loosing plugs inside the head and filling the head with water. This does not sound like a good alterative to me. What do you guys think?
 
I blew the freeze plug out of the back of my block. I ordered a coolant bypass kit from EEP. Garrett at PDP has what ya need. If you want to run the coolant bypass out of the back of the block, you can, or you could just block it off with a pipe plug, but if youre already making enough pressure to blow it out, you might want to go with the coolant bypass to releive some pressure.

89-02 Dodge 5.9L Cummins Diesel Bolt-in Freeze Plug
 
Already have a coolant bypass and modded water pump.
This is a problem that happens on a lot of trucks and just wanting to get some good info out there. I am looking for good replacement plugs as well.
 
teddybear said:
I blew the freeze plug out of the back of my block. I ordered a coolant bypass kit from EEP. Garrett at PDP has what ya need. If you want to run the coolant bypass out of the back of the block, you can, or you could just block it off with a pipe plug, but if youre already making enough pressure to blow it out, you might want to go with the coolant bypass to releive some pressure.

89-02 Dodge 5.9L Cummins Diesel Bolt-in Freeze Plug
Click to expand...


That is the rear plug I am looking for!!!!!! :rockwoot:
 
This is what we have designed for the freeze plugs in the top of the cylinder head.

Head Freeze Plug At Dr. Performance

HeadPlugSaleSheet.jpg
 
drilled and staked my outer freze plugs and drill tapped and screwed in the smaller head plugs,much like the dr p kit above...
 
O-ringed plug with drilled and tapped flat bar behind it. Bypass does not always fix the problem.
 
Has any one ever sonic tested the charger side of the block on the Cummins to see if theres meat between the large side plugs, to bolt a plate covering them all. I have a plate over the front and rear ones with a milled down shock rubber behind them to keep them in place. The bolts needed to go between the side freeze plugs would'nt have to be more than a few threads deep for the added protection, just a thought. Ryan
P.S. And I run a elect. pump and never a t-stat
 
Good info guys!!!!!!!!
Hopefully getting some attention to this issue will make more people think about preventitive maintanance and save somebody from loosing an engine or worse :bang
I have ordered the rear bolt on one and plan on doing the rest this winter!!!
 
sorry,, lololololo or this could happen to,,, they will bend
 

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I went and visited machinist yesterday to drop off a cam. He asked if I had heard of any freeze plug problems because he heard there's problems going on with them. I let him know that as of lately it seems that someone is losing a plug at every event. I also filled him in with Taylor's unfortunate freeze plug experience that I witnessed firsthand on Sunday. He's gonna take a look at the different blocks and heads and see if he can figure out a way to tap and put screw in plugs in place of all of the freeze plugs.
 
Moran Motorsports: Products

There are already solutions out there.......................its just if you actually decided to put them in your motor or not.

This is Mike Morans kit and you can actually RENT the tap from them if you dont want to buy one. They have different sized plugs,taps etc.

obvioulsy keating has them along with other companys, i think its time to seriously start using them though................
 
I've done screwed in freeze plugs on Gasser stuff before... And it worked well.

But my question is with the massive problems we are having with freeze plugs popping, would screwed in freeze plugs honestly be a good idea!?

Where's the next weak link? I'd think you should probably use the nice screwed in plugs anywhere you can't get to easily with the motor in the vehicle... And leave the ones on the side of the block alone. That combined with a well designed coolant bypass should be about the best solution we could find.

I mean look at the picture that impmouse posted!.... The pressure CRACKED THE FREAKIN' BLOCK!?

Something is going to HAVE to give... Might as well let it be something that isn't going to be as difficult to replace.
 
Keating has had this fixed for several years he has all the block plugs machined and he also makes the coolant bypass that most people sell.
 
What's the main reason these plugs go? RPM? Water Pressure? Boost? Cyl pressure lifting the head?
 
A cut water pump or a electric water pump will get rid of this problem as well. We are running a cut water pump and have had no freeze plug issues whatsoever.
 
JQmile said:
What's the main reason these plugs go? RPM? Water Pressure? Boost? Cyl pressure lifting the head?
Click to expand...


This is a post from another forum Shane @ Wicked did to explain it.

Regardless of anything else, what happens when cast iron heats up, it expands. What happens to coolant as it heats up it expands. What happens when you add more fuel and air, it expands further. The backed up pressure (coolant that does move through the system very well), combined with the heat is what pops the plugs out. Can a stock truck blow the plug out, yes. Can a modified truck blow a plug out easier, yes.

The more power you add, the more difficult it becomes for the factory coolant system to be able adequately transfer the heat out of the system via radiation.

What we are dealing with are several things contributing to the issues we see. No one thing is to blame.

It might be hard to wrap your mind around this, there are 2 different things happening in the coolant system. The coolant is expanding as heat is transferred into it, therefore we use a radiator cap to raise the boiling point and for containment purposes. The other side is the water pump, its job is to transfer the coolant through the engine and through the radiator. The flow rate as determined by the engineers provides the necessary transfer rate for the heat to be dissipated through the radiator. If the coolant can't circulate properly in an area of the engine, it keeps getting hotter and surrounding metals expand to higher rate. Now double the horsepower output, or triple it, more heat. So as stated earlier, there are several contributing factors for blown expansion plugs, last of which is a casting hole that is machined a little to large to begin with.

For all the things that contribute to blown plugs, a remedy is to provide an escape path for restricted flow, poorly circulating coolant, high pressure, or very hot coolant that isn't cooling anything anyway, robbing power from your engine trying to push out the plugs and kill your engine making you have to get a ride home.
 
Another point that is much bigger for p-pumped trucks than it is for never trucks is the speed in which they spin these water pumps. The thermostat doesn't seem to be able to deal with the increased volume from the speed of the pump and the expansion due to heat, and obviously it won't be able to deal with anything when the thermostat is closed.


The last two diesel events I've gone to (and I don't go to many) I've seen two trucks WITH by-passes installed blow freeze plugs. I take that as an indicator that by-passes are not the end all solution.

I think that most people forget how a direct acting relief valve works, remember that there is a spring in there and string tension increases with travel. For example lets look at a setup capable of flowing 3GPM and set to open at 20psi: Yes the valve may start to bypass at 20psi and flow a maximum of 3GPM, but that max flow comes at the full-flow pressure which is higher than the cracking pressure. You may not get that full flow until over 50psi, and that needs to be taken into account.

A better suited type of valve for this work is a pilot operated relief valve in which the full flow pressure is much closer to the cracking pressure.

Convicted1 said:
I've done screwed in freeze plugs on Gasser stuff before... And it worked well.

But my question is with the massive problems we are having with freeze plugs popping, would screwed in freeze plugs honestly be a good idea!?

Where's the next weak link? I'd think you should probably use the nice screwed in plugs anywhere you can't get to easily with the motor in the vehicle... And leave the ones on the side of the block alone. That combined with a well designed coolant bypass should be about the best solution we could find.

I mean look at the picture that impmouse posted!.... The pressure CRACKED THE FREAKIN' BLOCK!?

Something is going to HAVE to give... Might as well let it be something that isn't going to be as difficult to replace.
Click to expand...

I think that threaded plugs are a good idea only if ample provisions for the excess flow are taken into account. I would not use all threaded plugs unless I had a very high flowing bypass setup installed.
In that case the plugs could tolerate as the pressure in the block rose to the full flow pressure.
By plugging the ports in the head you can allow the external freeze plugs to blow where it will be noticed and won't fill the crankcase with coolant.


I think that the best way to deal with freeze plugs is a combination of tactics but you must deal with the original problem rather than treating the side effects.

That's my $.02 and then some
 
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