Was working on Cherry today,,, I was fore-warned (Grant)... There is a little vulcanized plug on the face of the timing chain cover that started spitting out oil today. Hadn't before (or maybe it had?). I was messing around with idle adjustment stuff, car running, and I started noticing drops of oil flying in the air, landing on stuff and me. Damn. Look around to find a small stream dribbling down under the plug onto the alt fan belt (the cause of my dropped voltage???) and spattering all over the doggone place.

I went to touch it with a tool and it fell apart-ish. The back plug end is still in there and I'm nervous... What will happen if when trying to dig it out the plug, or large chunk falls inward? Any advise or experience in getting one of these damn things out?

I have a new one on the way...
Number 11

Number 11

Might be a struggle to get this thing out...

 

HAHAHA, coffee has not kicked in yet.

You will NOT get it out, simply push in, and move on with a new one, liberally coated in RTV.

It will fall into the sump, and come out when the oil is next drained.

It is SOFT, and BRITTLE, so it for some bizzare reason, it hangs on something, it will get chewed up in 2 seconds.

Done this many times, scary the first time, but BEER helped down here.

Cleaning up the mess will take much longer.

 

Grant! Ok - the idea of all the little bits and pieces suspended in the oil, gumming up and clogging up things (oil pick up screen, little ports and channels) scares the BeJesus out O me. What about a BIG course-ly threaded pointy wood/lag screw? A corkscrew? I have to try something.

For me, it was the end of the day, the engine was so hot I couldn't be messing around down there without a firemans suit. I'll come back to it Monday AM...

You'd said something about a steel plug once, I thought. What size - if you recall...???

 

That plug has ears on the backside, and really, whatever you use, it will crumble and drop inside anyway.

There is NO fear of it blocking anything. The suction screen is large in diameter, and fine in mesh size, and nothing gets through it. Anyway, the suction goes TO the pump, the pump sends it TO the oil filter BEFORE any engine components ever get a whiff of it.

Worry not.

There have been alloy units out there for years, and Greg has used one, and Warren makes them, I think????. I have always used the OE, and RTV, and never had an issue.

 

Your reassurance in these matters goes a loooong looong way... And I'm not kidding. I will do my best to remove what I can and NOT be as worried about what goes in. Thank ya Brotha...

 

Could take a nice thick wood or concrete screw and hand twist it in then pull. Blue concrete fasteners have jagged grippy teeth.

 

Cool. Thanks. And yes, I am familiar with them things. I think I am going to try to go even thicker... What's there of the rubber just crumbles. It's nothing nice. It's good to know that things falling into the oil system isn't exactly the end O the worl,,,

 

It most certainly is not a problem. Trust Grant. Some years earlier I had the same leak as you and changed the plug for another rubber one, the old one duly falling into the engine. When I did my rebuild I had the engine out and redid what gaskets I could, plus the internal O rings on the oil pickup pipes, and changed the rubber plug for a metal one. I found a couple of large bits of the rubber plug in the oil pickup strainer, and I had done over 70,000 miles like that. Worry not.
Warren was making some metal ones, and they are on sale on ebay too:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jaguar-V1...gAAOSwktFdMXtQ

 

Happened to me too, that's why I made the aluminium one.

 

Best thing since sliced bread!

 

cant beat my plug from local hardware store $3. bucks, been around 5/6 yrs noproblems, and no leaks!
also had it out bout 1 yr ago, checkin how far in it goes, must be OK old one had NO rubbing marks!
put a new one anyway, cheap insurance!
i dont know what kind of rubber they are made of , but for some Grainger of Fastenel has them made from NEOPRENE!

 

Hmm! That's damn good. And cheaper than what I paid!
Good show!