How to Fix a Radiator Drain Plug
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ค. 2024
- Seriously, I'm surprised this little plastic "drain plug" made it as far as it did. It's one thing for a radiator to develop a leak and cause a low coolant condition over time, but to suddenly lose all your coolant at once? Back to the drawing board with this one GM...
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Mine just broke on my 2003 Astro this evening. Glad to know that it can be fixed without replacing the whole radiator.
I swear these engineers dont understand the difference between the real world and the labs they design everything in
The engineer knows and recommends a very specific plastic and the manufacturer says "wow, that stuffs expensive! lets just use this cheap stuff that looks the same"
Exactly. Manufacturer looks at the specs, take its to a manufacturer and say we need this but way cheaper what can you do..and walla a drastically cheaper more inferior part that will do the job for for a way less intended time interval
Everyone involved knew that that part would fail and they knew that they would sale a new one when it did
It's one thing for a radiator to develop a leak and cause a low coolant condition over time, but to suddenly lose all your coolant at once? Back to the drawing board with this one GM...
DanielJaegerFilms same thing happened to my toyota :(
But hold is that plug ? They haven't made a Safari since ?
That's not the only GM model with a plastic drain plug! Why not rubber or metal?
DanielJaegerFilms hey daniel i had a question on where you got the crush washer for the oil pan drain bolt on the 7.3 excursion. I called ford and they said they dont use a crush washer.
Thank you
Would it come off when it has presure ??
It's started getting cold here a few days ago. First noticed my radiator top hose slightly loose and low on radiator fluid. Easily tighten down the hose clamp and thought I was good again. Then found my radiator Drain Plug leaking too this morning on my Chevy 1988 Cheyenne. Yes, just cheep plastic. TY for this video.
Gotta love genuine GM parts and enginerding.....
Just had the same thing happen to my 92 1500. Thanks for the quick clip on the issue. Somehow it's comforting to know I was not the only one
This comment definitely makes me feel better because my 92 1500 happened to me today
Happened to me today
Happened to me today. 1993 S10 Blazer. I was across the street from the autozone and still almost didnt make it.
I'm working on a Jeep Wrangler and you have helped me so much Mind Is a little different but you help me a lot thank you for the video
I've got a 1996 GMC Safari and when I went to drain the coolant the other day the plastic drain valve snapped on me. All because the "handle" part of the valve was shaped so that it could be turned by hand rather than require a socket set to open and shut. It was a nice thought and made the job easier when the car was practically new, but after 21 years of use the valve becomes impossible to turn by hand, so you pull out a set of pliers in an effort to get the valve to turn and the plastic snaps. If they'd used a socket aka nut shaped valve handle then I would've still been able to get the valve open. Tank about frustrating
Had the same problem about an hour ago the pick tool is genius. I was trying with needle nose. And failed. Thanks 😊
Ford tend to use plastic drain plugs, i avoid touching them like the plague, i always pull a hose if i need to drain the coolant rather than touch a plastic plug. But wow, never seen one just fail like that. That could so easily happened out on the highway. At least it decided to let go where it did, and that it was spotted before driving off.
The ford ones are a lot larger than that too, so they most likely won't just break on its own. On my ford truck it has a big 19 mm plastic drain plug. I find it hard to believe that it would break.
I literally enjoyed this
Why would you use Dex kill instead of green prestone?
Welp that was a waste of a return. Thank you for the video! Trying to fix up a 99 Pontiac Bonneville, and was stumped when the replacement wouldn’t thread in. Gonna try a round two 😅
Thanks. You made it look easy.
My question is how can you remove the drain plug, as part of maintenance, and install a new one to hopefully avoid what happened to you? It looks as if it is press in/pull out and your going to break off the part with the tabs in the radiator.
Designed to fail, seems to be the modus operandi in the modern age. Recently installed a front engine main seal in a TS125A New Holland tractor with 3400 hours (not many in tractor world) It was a TWO piece, meaning the outer was stationary with the engine block, and the inner part (on the crankshaft) rotated with the crankshaft......Actually looked like a wheel seal. Point is should not have failed at 3400 hours or even leaked a little. However it completely failed, pumping out a gallon and a half of oil in as little as thirty minutes!!!!! The inner part was protruding and allowing oil past the inner chevron, happened right after a -30F start. My theory: oil extremely viscous, excessive oil pressure, pushed the middle part out far enough to allow oil past the inner chevron........
This helped a lot thanks for the great info saved me money
My 2001 Wrangler has the exact same drain. And mine did fail on the highway, luckily it was a slow fail. At first tt leaked just a bit to allow some pressure loss, so the temp gauge spiked. I didn't know that in the heat of the moment, just thought it was running hot since I was doing 75 through the hills and it was well over 100 degrees that day. Pulled over to let it cool down, and that's when it totally let go. Every drop of coolant spewed all over the ground. Of course this happened in the middle of nowhere with no parts stores around. So it ended up getting towed home.
to be fair, most of those break from being over-tightened previously, but the plastic junk does weaken with age and thermal cycling. probably age if that's the factory radiator and end tank is likely getting weak at the upper hose inlet side, the plastic cooks and break down there. the ones with heater core bypass through the rad cap side will many times cook that nipple fititng and tank end also.
pull upper hose and try to scratch the inside with thumbnail, screw driver or pick lightly, you'll probably find it's brownish color and peels/shreds in layers easily ;)
Thanks for the advice 🙏
Ah! I just went through this a couple months ago on my 94 Astro. I had drained the radiator in the late fall to replace with new coolant. My engine gets the good green stuff, not the orange crap you poured into that poor engine. I pulled the left and right plugs to drain it good. It was getting dark, and I didn't realize the rubber washer came out of the radiator on one side, and I was very tired. I put one plug in with two washers and one with none. Filled it up, warmed up the car and drove it a couple miles, no leaks. Drove the car a few days later and found some puddles. I tightened the right plug (with no washers) and it broke off. I found on my car and some at Pick N Pull, there is no easy way to get that little housing out with the radiator in the car. I pulled the radiator, and after many places telling me they don't sell those plugs with the housing, I found an old school radiator shop that had some. He matched up several sets for me to have spares, and sent me on my way, no charge. I was so thankful this place helped me out the way they did. Got it back together and topped off the oil and trans. fluids and coolant, and haven't had any leaks so far. Didn't think they might break "just because", but now I do, and I have plenty of spares. You were quite lucky to get the broken part out with it on the car. BTW, my car has 375K original miles on it and looks a heck of a lot cleaner than the one in your video! Great job!
U need to start posting more videos weekly man. Fuck the money. Do it for the people. I know I enjoy watching
do u know the part number or where u got it from and what vehicle it was for? that looks like the one my jeep needs, tried getting the one for my model jeep and it is way smaller than the existing one
Do you have a part number for the replacement plug? Mine just went on my 03 express van and it looks like the same as this one?
did u try to open and it broke???
ive got the same plug but i am afraid to open that it will not brake
GM vehicles seem to be the king of planned obsolescence. All the manf. do it but GM does it best
"Chrysler" is the king
thank you for the video my plug is broken off can it stay in the radiator
What is the pieace usually called where the drain plug sits into or goes into
I had this happen to me years ago on my old 1992 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. I was just driving it one day and the "Stop - Engine Temp" light went on. Saw the coolant leaking and thought it was the radiator (and it was original to the car), and noticed the pep-cock on the radiator was snapped similar to this.
Just spotted mine at a gas station this morning. Going to tackle it after work hopefully
I had one of those fail on me one time. it was a aftermarket radiator though so I can't blame GM
Very helpful Thank-You !!!!!!!!!!!
I have a 09 charger 3.5 and I think I stripped the outlet in the radiator where the plastic drain plug goes. I tightened the plug all the way and it still leaks. Is there a way I can fix this w/o buying a new radiator? I was doing an engine coolant flush and antifreeze re fill. I guess by taking it out so much, I ruined the outlet in the radiator. From now on, I'll just remove the bottom radiator hose.
Awesome video. Thanks so much.
Without seein it you might have stripped the female end. I just did it on my Chevy Malibu. Luckily all I had to do was replace the drain cock. I screwed up by even opening it cause it’s a pain in the ass once you tighten it back up it tends to leak again. I must have went back 2-3 times to make sure it was tight enough cause it kept leaking. Best bet don’t drain it from there. That’s what I learned from my mistakes.
Will it leak slowly or will it all leak out quick
Any chance I may get air in the system and have to bleed the line?
Thank you!
That's why they're called General Maintenance
Can you do an update video on the 2007 F150?
I have a 1998 Jimmy SLS which I am attempting to drain & although it has that same plug, it's located RIGHT ABOVE the strut....so consequently, all the radiator fluid is going to splash all over the place..& there are many cats around here I don't wish to poison..... ;-{ so I can't get to it from underneath, I have no idea how long it's been in there & If I'll end up breaking it trying to remove it...any suggestions? Thank you for the vid, I can see that it's imperative to get another plug to keep on hand.
I've seen where they say don't use a galvanized metal pan but there's other pans that are plastic that are used for oil draining they have little circles in the Middle where the oil goes in and a cap on the end to drain it out and if you ever run across anything that don't want to turn, water line, metal valve, anything, spray it with WD-40 first it really helps a lot.
My 87 Trans am did the same thing today. When i was in the car pit inpecting wierd noises from rear axle after short drive. This plastic shit broke of and dump alll of my hot coolant on the floor. Bearly 30 cm from my head. Eh...... btw. Today is my birthday so i got bad day... thx for video. Now i know how to replace it and not to spend a lot of money to buy new radiator. Thx.
Thanks again
That’s so scary man ez fix thx for the help
Was that threaded?
I spent six months unemployed and added eggs and other things to stop The leak it worked however now my heater core is not functioning correctly using radiator flush now any suggestions????
ive got the same one and want to change coolant//
can i open it without breaking it?
Yes but to be honest you are better off popping the lower hose off. It will drain faster and then you are not stressing that thin plastic shaft that screws in.
I just have that issue 1hr ago, needle started to go up then I pulled at home depot and bum it drain a gallon when I try to tighten it pressure shoot the danr plug out.
Dumbest destig in the world! It almost ruined my engine! Good job GM!
the plug on my fusion just spins but doesn't drain or come out. any help please
I'm curious if this is the same for every manufacturer cuz we have a Dodge Avenger that I just had an oil cooler housing leak that caused oil & coolant to leak in with 1 another & this of course turned my coolant into roughly the color & consistency of peanut butter no joke & thanks to that(after replacing the oil cooler housing & upper & lower intake manifold gaskets of course) I've been attempting to flush that peanut butter like sludge out of the coolant system which has taken a few flushes to say the absolute very least... Maybe a few dozen would be more realistically quoted....and thanks to that my petcock has now developed a pretty severe leak.... Now the petcock in the Avenger looks very similar to the 1 in your video... It's very weak & pathetic looking & is amazing it held for the 99k miles we've put on it so far...But it's in a slightly more difficult location to reach & I feel like it's somewhat different from yours but I could just be feeling paranoid cuz this car has been 1 head ache after another.... So anyways long story... Already too long, I'm just curious if you know weather or not a Dodge Avenger petcock is going to be basically the same job as yours was or if there's any variations between manufacturer's?
Same exact thing just happened to mine my plug half is still in radiator.
the part cost 15$ and they charge 50 to put the dammm thing on, im a woman can i do this myself
..Yes!
Why not a plug that fits a 3/8” socket? Pulling the lower radiator hose is much safer to drain for maintenance.
Isn't dexcool like, really bad when the slightest bit of air gets in it?
Yeah, that's why they refer to it as "Dexkill" at many shops. Turns to a gunk that literally kills your cooling system
Jimmy JimJims that's only if you add green coolant to it.
Sam Koch No, I think your wrong on that. Dexcool is really bad stuff all by itself. The problem is trying to get out all of it so you can use something else. Like you said, it does not play with others very well. If you maintain your car well, and change it every 30K miles it should be OK but, who does that. The green stuff can last 5 years.
Robert Weir read the first paragraph www.autoblog.com/2009/12/28/coolant-color/
+Sam Koch that's what I meant by does not play well with others. Actually, I don't think you can mix any of the coolants out there now a days.
Where are you in relation to the car? You said underneath. Where, the radiator?
UUUUGH!!!! ALL YOU'RE MISSING IS A SNOWSTORM! LOL!
THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME WHYYYY I MOVED TO FLORIDA 3 YEARS AGO!! UUUUGH!!!!
Not good loose coolant overheat maybe and now big dollars to repair. I would say that is mission critical part.
" So they say cold weather brings out the worse in vehicle problems" Hahahahahahaha come to Australia and see what hot weather does to plastic parts in the cooling system.
I don’t think these parts are designed to fail, just designed to be as cheap as possible. A few pennies saved here and there means more profit.
Somebody may have Tightened it with a Wrench - Breaking it. !!
- another Great vidja - 👍
I'm surprised it wasn't designed by FIAT.
Thank 100000
I wish i could easily open and close mine by hands 😩
You're a massive coolant leak!
Please upload that video about squeaking lol I've been chasing a squeak coming from something on the serpentine belt on my friends 4.3 truck for a while now lol have replaced the belt, idler, tensioner, water pump, alternator and it still squeaks lol its inconsistent with the squeak too sometimes it'll squeak when u first crank it other times it'll only squeak when u give it throttle. Recently it developed a "knocking" noise coming from something on the belt system, I'm almost convinced autozone sold us a bad water pump.
Here you go...
th-cam.com/video/t1T0wrsg74M/w-d-xo.html
Tensioner springs don't last about a year went through 6 or 7 in the last 5 years
Very pour design by Chevrolet, everyone I know looses all their coolant on the ground contaminating the environment
Thanks so much man🐻 my van is my house and I stress so much because I'm still learning how to be mechanically self suficient..vans are dicks🤕
I've seen similar problem people had on Ram trucks and now mine would not stop tightening, it use to have stopping point and last time i never felt it, just kept spinning with 2 fingers on small tool, it's not leaking, but idk if it some day shoots out under pressure and i loose all coolant... It's just infuriating how they make across different brands such stupid flimsy weak piece plastic nonsense on component such importance where they can print out of plastic anything they desire, just unbelievable engineering incompetence
Modern BMW's have electric water pumps made of plastic. They all make some interesting decisions.
Haha that's the plug the store just sold me ...problem is I have a jeep wj and I showed the a picture of the one mine takes ...they said this is the newer one.......it didn't fit 😶
Part number?
On a quite night you can hear a Chevy Rust.
I removed the rad drain plug on a cavalier and the weak ass plastic just snapped so I had to buy a new one. Total crap design.
They've been using plastic drains for years without problem. I suspect some ham fisted work here.
Designed to last... until the warranty runs out anyway....
Anyone can design parts to last forever....it takes a genius that design parts to fail at 150,000 miles...This was told to me buy a auto engineer.
The ford drain plugs are way better. If it breaks in half like it did in this video it has a Allen head in the middle you can get it out with
yeah and then the Allen part strip out too. It's all plastic junk. I usually never try and never touch the drain plug on any radiator if I don't have to
Not great, but not as bad as a BMW. After 100K it becomes a rolling hot coolant spray machine.
Cheap plastic parts. I remember I had a problem with an Aveo I had that had a massive coolant explosion all over the motor... the housing was made of plastic. When it pressurized during a drive, it broke and sprayed hot coolant all over the engine and under the car. Ridiculous.
They always make parts as cheap as they can!
300k on my GMs no major issues.
another reason why i would never buy a gm vehicle!
You do know tons of vehicles have plastic drain plugs right?
Dustin muenchow correct, not just GM.
Don't ever play with your petcock!
this stuff is b.s.. why is the drain plug not brass like always. this and plastic end tanks are b.s.
so, buy an expensive all aluminum aftermarket?
Sure that is what I do and they are not expensive. Usually less than 20% more than the OEM made to fail one. It still is disappointing the OEM who buys things massively in bulk saves money on important items like this and airbags.
Terrible design
GMC is a shit box
Typical GM vehicle leaks every liquid imaginable.
Matthew Moore yuuup.
Stop shaking the camera so much
WHY WOULDNT YOU SHOW US HOW TO GET TO THE DRAIN PLUG BRO NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT CARS JUST ABOUT YOURSELF...NON HELPFUL VIDEO