I was told by someone selling a 97 Chevy Blazer that the freeze plugs are bad. What the heck are freeze plugs and if they are bad he said it will need a new engine. Is that accurate? If it can be fixed w/o a new engine what will it cost?
2007-11-21 04:52:13 · 6 answers · asked by David L 3 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
So can the car be driven with popped freeze plugs?
2007-11-21 05:11:34 · update #1
freeze plugs are what help hold the coolant in and they also protect the engine from freezing and busting,if the are leaking some of then are really hard to get too,and can be hard to do,sometimes you have to pull the engine to get to some of them,all they do is keep the engine from busting when the temperature is real cold,if you have the anti freeze mixed right then you don't have to worry about them busting but they will rust out sometimes,that's probably what he meant when he said they was bad,good luck and happy Thanksgiving.
2007-11-21 05:09:11 · answer #1 · answered by dodge man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Freeze plugs are not really "freeze" plugs. When an engine block is cast, holes are left along each side so the sand used in the process can be removed. The metal plugs placed in these holes are what are called "freeze" plugs, probably because someone way back when, saw them pushed out when the water froze from lack of antifreeze in the engine. Just because the plugs are leaking and need replacing will not cause the engine to be bad. What it can cause, if the driver doesn't watch and lets it run out of coolant, is an extreme engine overheat which can destroy an engine. If the engine runs good and just needs leaky plugs replaced it's a cheap fix. But if they ran it to overheat and ruined the engine your looking at several thousand dollars worth of work.
2007-11-21 13:14:15 · answer #2 · answered by mustanger 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When the engine block is cast, there are holes left in the mold. The molten metal is poured through these holes into the mold. After cooling, the sand used in the mold is shaken out. The holes are machined and plugged. If the plugs or bad and leaking, they can be removed and replaced. These plugs are located in front, back and sides of the engine block. Best thing is to do a cooling system pressure check to see if they leak.Sometimes the engine has to be pulled out to get to the plugs.
2007-11-21 16:35:09 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Freeze plugs are metal plugs that fill ports in the engine block. They are suppose to pop if your engine block freezes. They are also the ports to add an engine block heater. For them being bad seems kinda fishy. They either leak or they don't. They can be replaced....but removing the engine will be necessary to do them all. If it's just one or two....you can buy a kit to fix it yourself. It's basically two washers and rubber puck that compresses when you tighten it. My block heater fell out once and had to use one and it worked fine.
2007-11-21 13:00:11 · answer #4 · answered by caper007 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most people call them frost plugs.They are in the side of the block so if you have water in your radiator and it freezes they push out instead of breaking your block. The can corode and leak coolant. If you lost too much coolant and overheated your engine it may need a rebuild. If they are only leaking they cost about a dollar each and I think there is four on your block. If they are coroded there may be more corrosion in the cooling system which can be costly as well.
2007-11-21 13:20:22 · answer #5 · answered by willywonker 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
freeze plugs r round metal plugs in side of engine..the are used in manufacturing engine and to keep block from cracking if frozen....they can b replaced but its very hard on some... on some motors engin or enaust manafolds must b removed...if u dont even know what they are you cant fix them yourself,
2007-11-21 13:00:41 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋