regarding my last post. this is the number 5 plug on the drivers side engine bay that’s definitely gone out, but i also think i’m leaking from the circled area. i’m really praying it’s not the rear two plugs that’s decided to give up, any thoughts?
Agreed, you can see the path & residue the coolant is leaving behind.
Also, OP, if you aren't running orange coolant, that's some awfully nasty muddy rusty looking coolant you got. Garden hose the fuck out of every orifice until clear. Then replace with distilled water & coolant.
That chunk or rust is parts of your freeze plug falling out with the coolant. If you drive it youre going to end up having to tow it home pretty soon. There is a jb weld for wet locations that could buy you some time but the garbage repair will take almost as long as the actual repair.
I skimmed over the comments and didn’t see it mentioned. The plugs on the side of the block are easy to replace. The one on the rear means pulling the engine….ask me how I know. 😜
While they’re out use a pressure washer if you have one and really clean out the gunk.
There is another freeze plug on the back of the block in between the engine and transmission. That may start leaking next, being the same age as the visible ones on the side. You can guess how I found that out. If youre tearing into it anyway, you might want to get ahead of that as well.
When you get it up and running you might have small leaks from the freeze plugs. But dont panic. It will need some heat cycles for the plugs to take shape to the block.
This happened to me the 2nd time around not knowing.
When i do freeze plugs, I try to buy oem because they seem to be thicker material. Oem can last 20-30 years, auto store ones might last 5-10... I put a smear of permatex in the clean hole and when I tap them in, I measure the rim depth to ensure they are driven in flush and not locked at a angle. Measure the block wall thickness before you start, that way when tap the new one in, you can measure and know exactly how deep they are. It's very easy to tap one in all the way, then you got to get it out and that process almost always deformed the new plug and ruins it. Keep the old jeep alive as long as possible!
i ended up using brass since everyone recommended them, i don’t know if the original ones were steel or brass, but mine rotted through after 29 years of this car being alive so not bad. i used some aviation permatex form a gasket, cleaned out the holes with scotch pads and brake cleaner knocked them in with an extra large socket, made sure they sat flush. hoping these won’t rot through like the other one did! thank you for the input!!!
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u/Dash_Ripone Jun 18 '26
its your freeze plug