any tricks to fix a leaky freeze plug?

suprajztwenty

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Nov 5, 2009
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corinth tx
its the front drivers side plug, under the alternator...sort of. its not leaking horribly, maybe a couple oz over a 15-20 mile trip, so i can deal with it for now...leaks drive me insane though!

can i just grab a socket that fits and try to drive it in further? ive never had a car that theyve leaked. maybe try a headgasket/block sealer? i dont want that gunk clogging up my radiator (or so ive heard itll do)

:3d_frown: :1zhelp:
 

gaboonviper85

Supramania Contributor
Jan 13, 2008
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Do not put sealer in your cooling system...suprized such products are legal!

Anyway...the only way to fix the problem is to pop out the freeze plug and install a new one:)
 

suprajztwenty

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Nov 5, 2009
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corinth tx
not possible to get it out while its still in the engine bay id assume???

damn i really got fucked with this car. good think it was only a trade for a 4dr integra...i still think i got a lemon though
 

suprajztwenty

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Nov 5, 2009
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corinth tx
apologies for not searching, did a little digging around, hopefully this might help someone else in the future. for the rear plugs you can probably get the job done by hand, but the front will require an air hammer and a special driver (which ill make the driver by welding a stop on a cheap socket that fits, that way the stop on the socket puts the plug exactly where it needs to be)

i think i might take a few pics of the process just to make up for my newbness, a mini guide i guess.

maybe tomorrow, but def this weekend.
 

suprajztwenty

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Nov 5, 2009
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corinth tx
well he said the motor was rebuilt 20-30k ago...i wouldve assumed all that would be new, i guess they took a couple shortcuts.

the oilpan had chaffed a hole at the pump, the motor mount was missing a nut so im guessing the motor torqued and wore the hole in it...pain in the ass to make right.

wheel bearing was bad...finally had to get the biggest air hammer in the shop and a torch to get that out.

warped rotors, no shifter bushing for some reason and recently found a bad u-joint. and thats just the main stuff that needed to be done.

blah blah, yea i know its old but youd think for a fun car like this you wouldnt let it go like that...i hate people that dont keep up on their maint, my car was a show room car compared to this.

targa leaks like a bitch, the right headlight wouldnt pop up, hell, it even had n/a spark plug wires on it and the coils had so much corrosion i couldnt believe it was even running.

its def a blast to drive, i "love" it i guess...or will someday soon atleast
 

suprarx7nut

YotaMD.com author
Nov 10, 2006
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suprajztwenty;1452829 said:
well he said the motor was rebuilt 20-30k ago...i wouldve assumed all that would be new, i guess they took a couple shortcuts.

the oilpan had chaffed a hole at the pump, the motor mount was missing a nut so im guessing the motor torqued and wore the hole in it...pain in the ass to make right.

wheel bearing was bad...finally had to get the biggest air hammer in the shop and a torch to get that out.

warped rotors, no shifter bushing for some reason and recently found a bad u-joint. and thats just the main stuff that needed to be done.

blah blah, yea i know its old but youd think for a fun car like this you wouldnt let it go like that...i hate people that dont keep up on their maint, my car was a show room car compared to this.

targa leaks like a bitch, the right headlight wouldnt pop up, hell, it even had n/a spark plug wires on it and the coils had so much corrosion i couldnt believe it was even running.

its def a blast to drive, i "love" it i guess...or will someday soon atleast

Haha, sounds like you bought a mk3 alright!

Seriously though, it's very difficult to find one of these in great shape. They almost all need some work if they're being sold.

But take your time, repair it right, don't cheap out on important stuff and you should be rewarded for your work. It can be an amazing mode of transport. ;)
 

suprajztwenty

Member
Nov 5, 2009
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0
16
corinth tx
youre def right on that. im a diesel tech so for the most part all of this stuff is cake work...toyota just takes some time getting used to. the 86.5 n/a was my first car at 15y/o and absolutely zero mechanic experience. i got the car for 300 bucks and it had a thrown rod on #6. i ended up dropping the subframe to remove the engine, which at the time made me feel like a bad mother fucker cause everyone was saying i needed a cherry picker and id never get it out of there. anyways i got the interior cleaned up, the engine bay spotless and learned about everything i needed on the forums and searching how stuff worked on google. the car was ready, but i lost the little pathetic job i had and the car got sold to a junk yard to be parted out and crushed. ashame too, no rust on the car at all.

i made my money back 2x though, in fact i still have the ecu from it in my closet. it was definatly the best learning experience ive had in my life, i can honestly say that without the supra i would no doubt be a different person entirely...hell i could be working construction or something but because of the supra's impact, damn right, im a badass mechanic
 

suprajztwenty

Member
Nov 5, 2009
369
0
16
corinth tx
because i didnt want to remove the spindle from the car, i couldnt get a good swing with a hammer to press the center section of the bearing out of the spindle. the air hammer alone wouldnt do it either, so i heated the center section and she popped right out...took me a min to find the snap ring that was in there, lol