does the radiator drain plug screw all the way in?

[Edmond]

I managed to drain the old coolant and run a few gallons of water through it to try and flush the bad things out. When I tried to put the drain plug back in, it didn't go all the way in and won't screw in.

Is this normal? I'm not sure because I needed pliers to loosen the plug. Was that just because it had been there for so long?

 

[Gman]

If it helps, I usually tighten the drain hand tight and then give it about a 1/8 turn with pliers. I don't know if that's correct, but it works for me. Be careful though, they break easily.

 

[Top]

The plug is actually not supposed to seperate from the body. Just unscrews to allow coolant to drain out. If your plug came all the way out your body is probably broken on one side of the lips that hold it in place. Before you can put a new one in you have to try and fish the body out of the housing which is hard because it snaps open like a toggle bolt when put in. You can do it with needle nose pliers and time. There is a good pic of the assembly in the GM Manual on page 6B-11. When mine broke I got a new one from Napa auto parts. It was under $5.00 if I remember right.

Hopes this helps.

 

[Gman]

Edmond, if you completely removed the plug, Top is exactly right. My bad, my comprehension is a bit fuzzy tonight.

 

[Edmond]

The plug is actually not supposed to seperate from the body. Just unscrews to allow coolant to drain out. If your plug came all the way out your body is probably broken on one side of the lips that hold it in place. Before you can put a new one in you have to try and fish the body out of the housing which is hard because it snaps open like a toggle bolt when put in. You can do it with needle nose pliers and time. There is a good pic of the assembly in the GM Manual on page 6B-11. When mine broke I got a new one from Napa auto parts. It was under $5.00 if I remember right.

Hopes this helps.

Top,

weird thing is that even though the whole plug came out, it didn't break. Both of the lips that hold it in place are still on there so I feel very fortunate. It was a challenge just getting down there to get to that plug. It's been 10 hours since I've changed the coolant and it hasn't leaked any so I'm satisfied for now.