Wobba
11-03-2009, 15:34
I’ve been messing about with 217 for some time, odd jobs mainly like replacing aux tank and fuel lines, replacing brake lines and other bits.
One of the jobs I was somewhat apprehensive about was a leaking core plug I had, just at the lip of the gearbox housing. I thought I had fixed it by plugging the whole area with super-duper metal epoxy stuff, but alas, it didn’t work :(
I decided to replace the plug, but being in an iffy place and not having done one before (frankly, it’s an unusual job to have to carry out) I was a bit apprehensive as cocking it up would mean the Williams would be off the road.
Here is the offending article, with most of the gubbins around it removed for access:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01132.jpg
I had just dried the area out and drained the coolant, but you can still see it leaking a bit where the patchy red/rust area is.
I started by trying to gently tap the plug out at one side to make it swivel and give me something to pull on, but it was not playing ball, so I added more power!
Nothing :(
So…out came the hardware! A big ol’ drill. After about 10 minutes I had punched a hole in the middle of the old plug, which I used to hook a screwdriver in and exert some pressure. It still took a while but….
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01134.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01135.jpg
Success!
You can just see it there swivelling out. With some more prying, I made progress, and eventually…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01136.jpg
TADA! Wobba wins!
You can see inside the engine block there…skanky isn’t it? Almost as bad as my passengers pants after a burn in the Willy!
So, armed with my new core plug (a 50mm for reference, thanks for the info Stan), I set about cleaning the plug area and getting a little high temp sealant in their and round the edges of the new plug.
Normally you use a socket that fits snug with the plug so you can bang it in with even pressure all round for a snug fit…BUT in my case where the gearbox was in the way I had to improvise with a smaller socket and applying a little leverage to the bottom of the plug to ensure it went in at the same rate as the rest. It seemed to work, and I think it is there nice and tight now :)
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01137.jpg
Shiny!!
Of course, rather than throwing it straight out, I inspected the old core plug. I wiped away loads of deposits and guess what I found?
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01143.jpg
Now, I only drilled ONE hole. There is a corroded area which has occurred naturally, but see there? THERE’S ANOTHER DRILL HOLE! It would seem someone has attempted the same thing as me with a smaller drill and just not bothered to complete the job…bloody amateurs. No wonder I was loosing so much coolant everyday!
Anyway, another fine job completed! Hooray! I am however, still losing a little coolant somewhere. It’s either my HG failing and sucking in coolant, or a leaking rad. Not sure yet, but the rad and sensor are being replaced anyway, just to make things even more efficient.
I spent the rest of the day chatting to passers by about the glory days of the Clio Williams. There are some very knowledgeable car enthusiasts where I live and they all love my little Clio and my apparently never-ending attempts to increase it’s lifespan.
Oh, and I finally got the air intake pipe on correctly…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01140.jpg
Oh yeaaaa.
This week I will be fitting a Supersprint mid section exhaust, without any baffles sprayed in high temp paint, along with refitting the decat for max pops and bangs. Oh, and did I mention my new refurbed wheels return from Pristine on Friday….
One of the jobs I was somewhat apprehensive about was a leaking core plug I had, just at the lip of the gearbox housing. I thought I had fixed it by plugging the whole area with super-duper metal epoxy stuff, but alas, it didn’t work :(
I decided to replace the plug, but being in an iffy place and not having done one before (frankly, it’s an unusual job to have to carry out) I was a bit apprehensive as cocking it up would mean the Williams would be off the road.
Here is the offending article, with most of the gubbins around it removed for access:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01132.jpg
I had just dried the area out and drained the coolant, but you can still see it leaking a bit where the patchy red/rust area is.
I started by trying to gently tap the plug out at one side to make it swivel and give me something to pull on, but it was not playing ball, so I added more power!
Nothing :(
So…out came the hardware! A big ol’ drill. After about 10 minutes I had punched a hole in the middle of the old plug, which I used to hook a screwdriver in and exert some pressure. It still took a while but….
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01134.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01135.jpg
Success!
You can just see it there swivelling out. With some more prying, I made progress, and eventually…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01136.jpg
TADA! Wobba wins!
You can see inside the engine block there…skanky isn’t it? Almost as bad as my passengers pants after a burn in the Willy!
So, armed with my new core plug (a 50mm for reference, thanks for the info Stan), I set about cleaning the plug area and getting a little high temp sealant in their and round the edges of the new plug.
Normally you use a socket that fits snug with the plug so you can bang it in with even pressure all round for a snug fit…BUT in my case where the gearbox was in the way I had to improvise with a smaller socket and applying a little leverage to the bottom of the plug to ensure it went in at the same rate as the rest. It seemed to work, and I think it is there nice and tight now :)
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01137.jpg
Shiny!!
Of course, rather than throwing it straight out, I inspected the old core plug. I wiped away loads of deposits and guess what I found?
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01143.jpg
Now, I only drilled ONE hole. There is a corroded area which has occurred naturally, but see there? THERE’S ANOTHER DRILL HOLE! It would seem someone has attempted the same thing as me with a smaller drill and just not bothered to complete the job…bloody amateurs. No wonder I was loosing so much coolant everyday!
Anyway, another fine job completed! Hooray! I am however, still losing a little coolant somewhere. It’s either my HG failing and sucking in coolant, or a leaking rad. Not sure yet, but the rad and sensor are being replaced anyway, just to make things even more efficient.
I spent the rest of the day chatting to passers by about the glory days of the Clio Williams. There are some very knowledgeable car enthusiasts where I live and they all love my little Clio and my apparently never-ending attempts to increase it’s lifespan.
Oh, and I finally got the air intake pipe on correctly…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Williams%20217/DSC01140.jpg
Oh yeaaaa.
This week I will be fitting a Supersprint mid section exhaust, without any baffles sprayed in high temp paint, along with refitting the decat for max pops and bangs. Oh, and did I mention my new refurbed wheels return from Pristine on Friday….