Want to drain the engine of as much coolant as possible. Which bolt needs to be taken out of the block in order to perform this? Anybody got a pic of the location?

Thanks.

vmax84

 

What motor? ASSuming your username then I would say a 22r. It is located under the exhaust manifold on the the side of the block roughly under number 3 cylinder. A 14mm socket is what you need. This is the block drain plug.

James

 

Whooooopps............89 4runner with the 4 cylinder.

vmax84

 

I did find a bolt in the general location, but I think it was too close to the tranny to be that particular bolt.

vmax84

 

Doesnt matter same 4 cylinder. It is on the block where I described all by itself.

James

 

easy to see from wheel well on drives side. Just under the exhaust manifold, lots of fluid will come out.

 

I think I"m on the right bolt, and have sprayed it with WD-40, but it's in there pretty good. Kinda scared of putting too much grief on the bolt, in fears of breaking it off.

The reason I want to get the bolt out is to drain the system down and change the cam out, since the cam is bad. Hoping I can change the camshaft without breaking the head gasket loose.

vmax84

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is if I'm gonna start reafing on bolts, I want to make sure I have the right one.

vmax84

 

if it is a bolt that is not holding something on, and its on the drivers side under exhaust manifold, thats your plug.

 

Any suggestions on getting the bolt out? I've sprayed it with WD-40, but it's still in there good. Should I start the engine, let it warm up, and then give it a try?

Just hate to snap the dang thing off.

vmax84

 

it is from my experience that heat wont do much to the bolt, since heat causes things to expand. in auto class i had a problem with a car getting a bolt off, he suggested i leave it outside for about 30 minutes to let it get fairly cold and let it contract, then it took mild pressure to get it off. if its cold where you live right now, try that, or you can find some sort of canned air and just spray it with that

 

PB Blaster

 

get yourself a 14mm 6 point wrench, and smack it with a hammer. usually that thing hasn't been removed in years, and it can be a PITA the first time taking it out. some of them have a 2 piece plug, one part screws into the block and it has a brass screw in the end.

 

flip the can of canned air over and freeze the bolt leaving the block warm. Importatn par to fth ecanned air idea.

 

I understand the concept, but I've never heard of "cold air in a can".......is this a new thing? Also, would my local parts place have these?

vmax84

 

You ever heard of endust?



I think he means this junk. You know the cans of compressed air that you used to grab and flip over and shoot the cold ass fog all over people? Keyboard dusters, electronic duster crap. The compressed air is propelled out by a little amount of CO2 (I think), which is cold, so if you flip the can over and shoot it, you can freeze stuff, like food, bolts, people's fingers, you know? Get creative, or something.

PB blaster is also God's greatest gift to mechanics, modders, and 'yota wrenchers everywhere, and it's cheap, too.

 

If you're just changing the cam and leaving the head gasket intact, I don't think you need to drain down the whole thing?? Just pull the lower hose and thermostat no?

 

I don't know if that would get the antifreeze away from the head gasket or not by just draining from the radiator. I don't have time this year (very slow at getting work done to the 4runner due to my "honey do" list ) to pull the head, so hoping i can just swap the cam without comprimising the head gasket.

vmax84

 

true, but where heat helps is when the screw/stud/nut, whatever you are trying to move is either a different metal all together, or a different grade of metal that has a different expansion ratio, and with lubricant such as pb buster. the advantage of heat expansion, is that when you heat a bolt/stud/plug/whatever, it allows expansion of the threads, which allows you to hit it with some pb buster(really a thread lubricant) and the capilary action of the hot threads being cooled by the lubricant will actually pull the lubricant into the threads. this is the easiest way ive found to remove stuck bolts, and the safest. freezing or cooling works as well, however without the lubricant, it is possible(although rare) to damage the threads, just depends on if there is corrosion present in the threads, ect ect. generally, i use cold for inserting things that have an interference fit ie(heat pistons and freeze piston pins for non floating piston pins insertion,ect)

 

Thanks for all the good help.

vmax84