Oil Galley and Water Jacket Plug Removal

[3x2stude]

Help,

I have torn down two full flow blocks in the last two months and have not had good luck getting all the oil galley and water jacket plugs out. The 1/8"square headed one above the filter will not budge. I have soaked it for a week, drilled through it and all but twisted off an e-z-out and no luck.

The 1/2" water jacket plug on the drivers side came right out, the passenger side snapped off flush with side off the block.

Can my machine shop bore these out and tap to the next size? Any tricks on removal of these stinkers would be a help. And why on earth is the one at the back of the distributor tower a "screw slot"?

Jon Kammer

[garyash]

When I rounded off the square head of a 1/8" pipe plug to an oil gallery, I got brave enough to MIG weld a 5/16" bolt shank to it. Once I could grab a reasonable bolt head, it twisted right out. I think the heat from welding it helped, too. Just be sure to ground the welder solidly to the block near the plug so you don't zap the car wiring.