jmj951

I have a track day on Friday and am just flushing the coolant at the last minute. The drain plug came out fine, and looks like it's in great condition (probably already been replaced once). Upon reinstalling, it just spins, it screwed down into the radiator normally, but never tightens down. It did not snap, it never gave me any significant amount of resistance when tightening it down. Now, it won't back out either - it's as if the threads inside the radiator are gone, but it can't simply be pulled out. Anyone seen this, any ideas???

ausgeflippt951

Well, the tanks on the radiator are plastic...looks like you may have to buy a new radiator...

jmj951

Never mind, I was able to get some pressure on it and get it out, and sure enough, it actually broke off. Tried the procedure to heat up a screwdriver tip, that didn't work out. Tried drilling a hole to back it out. Got a hole in it, but that also screwed it the rest of the way into the radiator, and I can't even poke around at it now, so no way I'm getting the rest of it out without somehow breaking it apart inside the radiator. Looks like I'm removing the radiator. While I'm at it, I guess I'll be flushing it out. What do you guys recommend? I've heard about using vinegar and water?

eniac

Using tap water, phospate antifreeze, and not flushing the coolant frequently enough will cause the plastic parts to basically crumble. I would check anything else plastic as well.

jmj951

Yeah, it's old, a lot of plastic stuff is crumbling. I'm even having to use black tape to hold some electrical harnesses together because they just don't snap back together anymore. One of my upcoming projects is to replace numerous engine harness parts.