Welch Plug Hole Badly Corroded

[aussie54]

Hi All. I am in the process of replacing the head gasket and found that one of my welch plug holes is badly corroded. In fact, the welch plug appears to have merged with the hole. I cleaned off some of the corrosion but It shows me that there is no longer an actual round hole in the block. Has anyone had this problem and if so how was it fixed? I have atttached some pics...... Your help would be appreciated muchly.....cheers.

Attachment 62677
Attachment 62676
Attachment 62675

[Robo]

Gee that looks nasty, worse than a dirty nappy lol!

Whats the approx size of the hole you think?, this may help with ideas from our mates here.
really think you need to start looking at all the plugs given the state of that one and the muck around it.
the block looks like it needs some serious flushing, even your rad and the interior heater core.

looks like ya have nothing to loose but to flush/clean block/around the hole lots, to get a better look at the situation.
could get lucky and only be the face, not side of plug corroded.
all fingers crossed.

[the evil twin]

Eeeeyuk, That is seriously horrible eh, ...
Do they still do acid dips of blocks to clean out the galleries or can they not do it due to all the alloy these days?

[aussie54]

Gee that looks nasty, worse than a dirty nappy lol!

Whats the approx size of the hole you think?, this may help with ideas from our mates here.
really think you need to start looking at all the plugs given the state of that one and the muck around it.
the block looks like it needs some serious flushing, even your rad and the interior heater core.

looks like ya have nothing to loose but to flush/clean block/around the hole lots, to get a better look at the situation.
could get lucky and only be the face, not side of plug corroded.
all fingers crossed.

It takes a 18mm plug. It is the exhuast side of the engine. Yes it will need a good cleanout. I used a screw driver to scrap away the corroded bits and what is left feels solid. Maybe I can drill it clean and then maybe try and plug it.

[Cuppa]

Been using plain water as a coolant?

[paulyg]

You may be able to use JB Weld on it and then grind it back.

[dom14]

Been using plain water as a coolant?

That must be the case.

Cheapest solution might be to weld a permanent plug?!!!

Or cut it to next plug size. A hole cutter can do it, with a 90 degree attachment to the drill.

Either way, use JB weld or similar compound around the seat.

[aussie54]

Thanks for your replies. Yes for a long time it only had water in it as the head gasket was leaking water out and it was being topped up regular with just water. Did not have a oportunity to fix it. My Bad in many ways. I thought about using JB weld, but not sure how long it would hold. I do have a 90 Degree drill attachment and after I remove the exhuast pipe I will have a little more room.
May give it a go this weekend. Thanks for all your replys.

[dom14]

Thanks for your replies. Yes for a long time it only had water in it as the head gasket was leaking water out and it was being topped up regular with just water. Did not have a oportunity to fix it. My Bad in many ways. I thought about using JB weld, but not sure how long it would hold. I do have a 90 Degree drill attachment and after I remove the exhuast pipe I will have a little more room.
May give it a go this weekend. Thanks for all your replys.

Use anti corrosion additive with few bottles of distilled water. All of that costs less than $15 at Super Cheap Auto. Anti freeze bit more, but nowhere as critical as anti corrosion in Australian climate. Never use water for more than few days. I use plain water when I try to flush the coolant system by running it through few plain water change cycles. Use the water drain plug at the bottom of the block to get rid of all the plain water.

[the evil twin]

Thanks for your replies. Yes for a long time it only had water in it as the head gasket was leaking water out and it was being topped up regular with just water. Did not have a oportunity to fix it. My Bad in many ways. I thought about using JB weld, but not sure how long it would hold. I do have a 90 Degree drill attachment and after I remove the exhuast pipe I will have a little more room.
May give it a go this weekend. Thanks for all your replys.

If you are planning on keeping the car for a while I don't think just fixing that plug is enough.
Hate to call it a 'tip of the iceberg' problem but I would be very concerned the corrosion won't be limited to just that plug.

What, if anything, did you notice when you had the head off to fix the gasket?