Mark-87-951

Per the title, the drain plug broke off as I was putting it back in. So now I have part of it in the hole and of course it will leak.

So, where can I get that plug and how do I get the rest out??

Oh, and what can I use to clean off the block surface for the head gasket? I bought a kitchen cleaning pad that was super safe but it is useless.

Thanks in advance

Jfrahm

Heat up an old screwdriver and stab it into the remainder of the drain plug, then unscrew it. Replace it with a bolt and teflon tape but do not overtighten it.

I've used scotchbrite on the block

-Joel.

Mark-87-951

hmm - heating up a screwdriver wont be easy - I dont have that many tools and funds are tight enough as it is.

Jfrahm

Ordinarily you would want to invest in a quality screwdriver-heater-upper, but for one job you could use a candle and a match :-) I used a screwdriver from a set of crappy small screwdrivers I got at a dollar store. I chose the one with about a 3mm wide flat blade.

If you do not have a candle you can steal one from a church or a jack-o-lantern I suppose.
-Joel.

Epic2112

got a stove?

Campeck

lol. funds are tight to heat a screwdriver.

you work on a 944 and dont have a screw driver? scary.

SoCal Driver

Buy the correct plastic plug. Otherwise you will ruin the radiator. The plastic plug uses an o-ring to seal. A bolt will scar the smooth part of the hole and leak. Also use/get the serated locking washer and don't over tighten it.

Mark-87-951

Yeah right, I pulled off the cylinder head and before that changed the gaskets on the camshaft tower without a screwdriver.

My concern was with having to buy a torch to heat the screwdriver. I can do it over the stove as someone suggested. Things are a bit tight the next few weeks due to having to travel for work and the head work costing quite a bit more than expected.

Also, for your imformation my finances changed drastically several years after i got this car. But maybe that doesnt matter to you and you just t prefer being an *** and laughing at someone's financial problems.

apierce918

i think he meant it more tongue-in-cheek than what you took it

MY83944

that has to be a rite of passage -

anyone not broken that?

SoCal Driver

Have had my 84 944 for 20 years. Haven't broken the plastic drain plug. Have had a radiator side tank crack. It was obvious to me in removing the plastic drain plug for the first time that it was not a torque to 30 foot pound item. However I do have an extra one in the tool box.

89magic98

I snapped mine as well. in my case, the shaft of the plug separated from the top. But I could still use a screwdriver to remove it. I think the age of the plug, and heat cycling, are factors in the plastic getting brittle.

FWIW, I think that pulling the lower radiator hose, while messy (maybe no worse than pulling the radiator drain plug), better "flushes" out all the stuff at the bottom (because the coolant comes out more quickly).

Epic2112

It was the first thing I broke on my car. Actually it was the first thing that broke on my car since I bought it, my fault or otherwise. I keep a spare handy also.

Yes you should use the correct plastic part.

josephsc

A left-handed drill bit on a drill in reverse -- works like a charm on the original plastic plug.

WolfeMacleod

Here's a nice trick that I learned when my plug broke...

Examine the end of the plug, the side with the threads on it.
You'll probably notice that it didn't shear off very smoothly. If it did, yer scrood....
If, when it broke off, it left a bunch of jagged little edges, cliffs and valleys and such, you should be able to press it FIRMLY into the hole and use it as a friction key to back the leftover threads out of the hole.
Press hard, and turn. You'll feel is snag on the threads in the hole. keep pressing and turning, slowly.

Worked like a charm for me. No possobility of drilling through your radiator, either!