RE: [Chrysler300] Soft Plugs Revisited -- Two Losses

[christopher beilby <thelastbestgenius@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The best clues to blowing a freeze/core plug is the sudden loss of near all cooling water over maybe 5-20 seconds is both the huge cloud of water/vapour, plus the accompanying smell of coolant on hot exhaust.

 

If you miss this, over the next couple of minutes the motor will get hot, then maybe start to detonate/ping/knock badly, lose power, then maybe seize.

 

Usually however a freeze plug only blows under hard acceleration - where sudden high revs occur for a period, such as kicking back a gear, and holding it.

 

Best advice I can offer is visually check your plugs - if they seem fairly flat, have most of the outward curve flattened in, but not so far they dish in, then they may be right. They are held in by the tension caused by flattening them - when installed right, if you tap them lightly with such as a light hammer, you will hear the tension on them, it has a sort of ring, that is not there when tension not on them.


 

Wrongly installed freeze/core plugs are likely the fastest way to ruin a motor - you can only drive on for maybe a minute at low revs once you blow one, then as said a few weeks ago, the car likely will need to go on a hoist to replace it/one. If you blow one on a trip - you have a real nightmare scenario, that if you don't seize the motor before you realise. "Snap On" likely make the special tool you can install them with correctly, but I do not know - maybe some US Member can check and see, and report back on Club Website how it works if motor in car, and what it costs, and if different one needed for each different size plug - I think it will only be useable if motor out, and it easy to get at every plug.

 

Christopher Australia 


To: chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From: ronbo97@xxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 26 May 2010 09:11:51 -0400
Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Soft Plugs Revisited -- Two Losses

  



What Michael describes below has never happened to me, so I have to ask this 
question:

If I was driving along and a freeze plug (soft plug) blew out, how would I 
know ? Does the engine just quit on me, is there a sudden loss of power but 
I can still get to the side of the road ?

Thanks,

Ron

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Reed" <mrreed@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Chrysler 300 Club Intl." <Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; 
<la1948@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 7:17 AM
Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Soft Plugs Revisited -- Two Losses

> Two outings this year, both under 15 miles, two soft plugs blown out of 
> the "F". Now I am afraid to drive it anywhere other than around town. 
> After 31 years of total reliability, it has now become totally unreliable. 
> Maybe coincidental? But I'm not willing to gamble on it.
>
> This fall I will be (hopefully) be able to replace the remaining 8 
> plugs -- that seems to be the only remedy that is practical now. In the 
> meantime, the (heresy, I know) Chevelle will do car events.
>
> Mike Reed in Lake Odessa, Michigan
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: la1948@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: Michael Reed
> Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 7:01 AM
> Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Soft Plugs Revisited -- Two Losses
>
>
> These plugs are convex and have no flange on the edge. They fit in a 
> champfer and bottom out with the curve facing up. Then they are hit down 
> flat which expands them. There is a tool for this so they don't get 
> pushed too far and loosened again. Same thing happened to me. The shop 
> that did the heads just used a ball peen hammer.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Michael Reed
> Date: Sunday, May 23, 2010 5:55 am
> Subject: [Chrysler300] Soft Plugs Revisited -- Two Losses
> To: "Chrysler 300 Club Intl."
>
> > On its first drive this year, the "F" popped a soft plug (left
> > head, front) about 12 miles from town. On it's second drive
> > yesterday, it lost another (left head, rear).
> >
> > This time all 10 soft plugs will be replaced. What I wonder is --
> > is this a coincidence? Or not... Two of them in two trips?
> > While it isn't readily conceivable to me -- could there an
> > inordinate amount of pressure that is causing them to pop out?
> >
> > I'd appreciate any and all thoughts from the membership...
> >
> > Mike Reed in Lake Odessa, Michigan
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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