Replacing Pinto core plugs

[James Doulton]

I need to replace the core plugs in my 2.0 Pinto in my Melos because they are leaking badly after the car was stored for over a decade by the previous owner.

There are two on the exhaust side which don't look too difficult to replace if I remove the manifold but I can't get at the back of the engine to do the one there. I am not sure how easy it will be to remove the engine and to separate it from the gearbox.

A colleague (who has been building a Spartan for the last 35 years!) suggested that it might be easier to remove the body. It did occur to me that it might actually be impossible to remove the engine with the body on, because the assembly process puts the body onto the chassis with the engine and gearbox already installed.

My colleague fitted all of his wiring to the body, except for the minimum engine bay loom, so that he could remove his body quickly.

Is this a silly idea?

[Big Vern]

Well you would do Dave, as you can take the entire front off for easy access. The Melos is a bit more of a faff but still doable, the gearbox stays in place. With the rad removed there's just enough room to get the engine off the first motion shaft then skew the engine round to free it from the bellhousing and lift it out. You may need to remove the alternator, cant remember.

[1midz0wwbl268]

If my memory is correct, i think it is  behind the flywheel,  if you remove the rad, and all the front gubbings, is there room to remove the flywheel without having to lift the engine out, just separate and move foreward as far as it will go?  

[Big Vern]

Location of the two rear core plugs on a pinto, pretty much impossible to change in a melos with the engine in place.

[1midz0wwbl268]

 OH dear, not good at all   yeap got to be an engine out job 

[James Doulton]

Brilliant picture, just what I wanted to know. That is a nice looking engine, all clean and tidy.

In the meantime I've gone out and bought some Holts Wondarweld (their spelling) - I went to get Radweld but this is its big brother. It is supposed to cope with cracks in blocks etc and it costs twice as much so it must(?) be better. It says that you can't use it when its below freezing, so I will have to wait a few days.

Hopefully, Wondarweld will buy me some time so that I can use the car soon and maybe throughout the summer. Then, when I understand it better and have seen other members' cars at some shows, I could strip it and change it next winter. I have lots of ideas of things I would like to do but at least half of them will be wrong and will be unnecessary.

[Adrian Southgate]

I was going to suggest getting to grips with the car and working out the fine detail before ripping it apart. I drove my Legerra for 6 years before deciding to give it a finishing fettle and various bits and bobs. 40,000 miles worth of road testing can't be bad.. :-)

[1midz0wwbl268]

Thats what i would do,  its good stuff, and would do the trick  it like radweld stays in liquid form , until it finds a leak , it should see you though the summer ok,  then you can do something about it,  keep some premixed coolent onboard with you and keep an eye on your coolent level , check it every day at first, until you are happy that its not leaking    

[Pete Clayton]

If I was going to use any of that sort of stuff it would be k seal, I know several people who have used it to great effect.

[Paul Thomas]

If I was you I would do all the core plugs now, You got plenty of time before spring. You may regret not doing it now if it lets you down,

[Dave Adams]

Me i would look to replace the core plug because if its leaking it will be corroded very thin and may well just get worse despite rad weld. it will also be very weak and may fail when the engine gets hot and the system is pressurized.