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Just thought I would throw this up for those changing welch plugs in the future.
I just changed the rear 2 in the block before putting the engine into the car. Drivers side was fine and came out as normal, but the passenger side only has a very small gap behind it, so you can't punch in one side to rotate it like normal. I then had the thought that maybe it was a piece of cast sticking out on one side, so I'll try drilling on the other side to tap a thread....until I saw cast iron dust. Luckily only a very small amount in, and right at the bottom of the stroke, so shouldn't affect anything
Welding was my last resort....and welder wasn't working. Fixed that eventually. My solution was welding a bolt on 2 sides to pry it out, but it turned out even easier.
If you weld a bolt in the middle, and then run welds from one side to the other, or try to fill the cup with weld, it will shrink on cooling and the plug will be loose in the hole-almost falls out.
Other alternative if you don't have a welder is to drill and tap 2 opposite holes in that plug before you try hammering it into the gap, so there is a slight gap behind
Hopefully this saves someone similar dramas to what I had in the future
I just changed the rear 2 in the block before putting the engine into the car. Drivers side was fine and came out as normal, but the passenger side only has a very small gap behind it, so you can't punch in one side to rotate it like normal. I then had the thought that maybe it was a piece of cast sticking out on one side, so I'll try drilling on the other side to tap a thread....until I saw cast iron dust. Luckily only a very small amount in, and right at the bottom of the stroke, so shouldn't affect anything
Welding was my last resort....and welder wasn't working. Fixed that eventually. My solution was welding a bolt on 2 sides to pry it out, but it turned out even easier.
If you weld a bolt in the middle, and then run welds from one side to the other, or try to fill the cup with weld, it will shrink on cooling and the plug will be loose in the hole-almost falls out.
Other alternative if you don't have a welder is to drill and tap 2 opposite holes in that plug before you try hammering it into the gap, so there is a slight gap behind
Hopefully this saves someone similar dramas to what I had in the future