I have a badly corroded and leaky welch plug in my engine, it'll be out soon so figure I should repair it. I've been reading all the past threads on the topic, but would still like to clear up some things:

When removing, the common instruction is to tap 90 degrees. About what axis is that?
What is believed to be a good (or the best) sealer?
Is the job easy enough for the average joe to tackle? Anything that can be overlooked or go wrong?

Thanks.

Harley
what engine is it ???
Some engines have a ridge that the welch plug fits into and it can't be tapped around on its axis (at 90 degrees) to grab it with multigrips and drag it out.

For those you need to drive a drift through it and lever it out.

Once its out, then cleaniness of the hole is necessary so that there is no gunk to stop it from sealing properly. All in all its a fairly easy job but once one is worn they all need replacing as all will have some degree of corrosion.

Mike

Thanks Mike.

Engine is a late 1275.
So the point is I should replace all 4 or 5, not just the one that leaks?

Yes - exactly, assume they are all corroded if one is.
Unfortunately there is one under the clutch cover (I think - I would have to go out to the garage and check to be sure.) so unless the engine is out you may have forgo that one.

Buy good welch plugs - not cheapies - the good Doc has written about welch plugs on many occasions giving details and types as well as the sealant.

Mike

make sure they are BRASS plugs! steel ones are crap. it's something to do with expansion rates i think, not quite sure but stell ones have a tendency to pop out...

stag is a good sealant but there are others too...

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78 Leyland Mini - Prince

I used stag jointing compound. And they seem to be holding up OK.
I have changed single ones on my other car and within days of using it again another one starts to leak.. They are easy to get at so do em all.

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