Well, I tried packing it with silicone to slow the leak and failed miserably. I think the only option is to pull it all apart again and tap that freaking oil galley plug and screw in an allen plug to make sure I'll never have a leak there again. So my question to you guys is:

Anyone know what size plug is best for that galley hole?

I would assume that some of you guys have tapped and plugged this hole during an engine rebuild. So I'm hoping that, of those that did, someone remembers what size plug they used.

thanks in advance

When you put the plug in initially, how did you do it?

Not to insult your intelligence or anything, but the mating surfaces should be cleaned with a emery cloth to remove grit, rust, etc.. Both the block and the plug should be completely clean of dirt, then wipe a thin layer or RTV around the plug. Position it over the hole, then tap it in place using the largest socket that will fit inside the lip of the plug. Stop tapping when the lip is sunk about 1/8 past the edge of the block.

I don't know the back-story here, but if you do it like that you shouldn't have any leakage problems... assuming the plug is new, and the block isn't damaged.


-http://www.symtechlabs.com/-

Sorry about that, backstory is that it is the stock block and to my knowledge has never been out of the car (or even had the head off for that matter) so it's not a failed installation persay. When I saw the leak from the outside, I initially diagnosed it as a blown rear main seal, so purchased that and did the teardown with that in mind. When I got to that point, the rear main was fine but the oil galley plug was leaking (I've never seen this on any factory engine, but as I do research I see it's more and more common). It was late Saturday night, and I live in a town that sucks balls so everything was closed till Monday, at which time I had to be at work. The best thing I could think to do at the time was to leave the original in place and stuff it full of RTV in hopes of slowing the leak. Obviously from this post you can tell I'm just a broke dick that can't keep oil in his own engine, so I'm hoping to get a size on that plug, so i can buy a new one or tap it and put in a threaded plug.

Thanks

I know you're trying to avoid as much downtime as possible, but I would just replace it with a stock plug. Do as I suggested in the first post, and see what happens. I don't think there's enough material there to really tap the hole properly.


-http://www.symtechlabs.com/-

Alright, but what size plug is it? It would take three days to order an odd sized plug in this town and They won't stock it unless it's what a 350 chevy uses.

3/8"? 1/2"? What do oil plugs cost; 0.10? Pick up a couple and see which one fits... although you probably fixed the problem by now.


-http://www.symtechlabs.com/-