Swirl Pot Plug / Screw

[anonymous-user]

Hi all advice needed please.

How tight should the brass cap be on the swirl pot, mine does not want to budge.
Ready to give it a knock with a hammer and drift but thought i would check first.

Also should there be a gasket or bonded washer in there as it looks like metal to metal contact.

Thanks in advance.

[Milky400]

mines as tight as a badgers arse, AA man struggled a few months ago, i couldnt budge it!!!!!

[BliarOut]

Use a pick axe, seriously. The flat end fits the brass slot pefectly, it won't bend and the handle has ample leverage

[anonymous-user]

Milky400 said:

mines as tight as a badgers arse, AA man struggled a few months ago, i couldnt budge it!!!!!

But did the AA man manage to shift it, and how much persuasion did he have to give it.

[BliarOut]

BliarOut said:

Use a pick axe, seriously. The flat end fits the brass slot pefectly, it won't bend and the handle has ample leverage

^^^ This much...

[anonymous-user]

Will have to get the pick axe from work then if it needs that much.
What about any seal on refit??? or tape maybe.

[BliarOut]

PTFE tape, it doesn't need to be done up that tight, it just seems to self tighten over all the heat cycles.

[Milky400]

Neil400 said:

Milky400 said:

mines as tight as a badgers arse, AA man struggled a few months ago, i couldnt budge it!!!!!

But did the AA man manage to shift it, and how much persuasion did he have to give it.

he did with a very long bar and cut up knuckles!!!!!!!! like to get my monies worth!!!!!!

[SILICONE KID]

You can get after market swirl pot plugs from Leven.

[bigdods]

I have a crowbar that fits the slot perfect.

Do NOT do what I did first and try a big screwdriver and hammer combo. Ended up with the top of the swirlpot being lopsided, seems the ally is very soft and too much pressure it just folds in.

I think Steve Heath does a replacement with an allen key socket - or maybe it was Leven, cant recall. Anyway whoever does them , its on my list of things to replace in the summer.

[shpub]

bigdods said:

I think Steve Heath does a replacement with an allen key socket

Yep they are here

Be careful with using a screwdriver or chisel as they have been known to slip and end up in your wrist...

[quattrophenia]

Neil400 said:

Will have to get the pick axe from work then if it needs that much.
What about any seal on refit??? or tape maybe.

Yeh, I can just see the look on the other halfs face as you head into the garage with a pick axe "to fix the Tiv"!
On the issue of the header tank screw. I have never put it back on really tight as I dont want to damage the tank, but I had to replace it the other day as somehow the screw had split!
If there was 1 part on the car that I would have thought would never need replacing that was it!

[Al 450]

I find that a crowbar fits the slot perfectly..

[bigdods]

shpub said:

bigdods said:

I think Steve Heath does a replacement with an allen key socket

Yep they are here

Be careful with using a screwdriver or chisel as they have been known to slip and end up in your wrist...

And my order will be placed soon :-)

Edited by bigdods on Saturday 15th January 20:53

[Don]

Al 450 said:

I find that a crowbar fits the slot perfectly..

I've got a chisel that's just the right thickness - not the blade end, obviously, I use it sideways and it gets more than enough leverage to open and close the swirl pot.

[quattrophenia]

The garden trowel is good.

[bobfather]

shpub said:

bigdods said:

I think Steve Heath does a replacement with an allen key socket

Yep they are here

Be careful with using a screwdriver or chisel as they have been known to slip and end up in your wrist...

I have a Steve Heath plug in mine, great idea and very easy to remove. I bought it after the normal methods of removing the old brass plug resulted in too much damage to the slot faces. I ended up removing that with a pair of stilsons. The Steve Heath plug is made from much stronger stuff

[jonnyZ]

Since the plug is made of different metal I think this results in electolytic corrosion.
You may actually distort the swirl pot by applying to much leverage.
If you use SH's allen cap plug this can be corrected using a long series allen key.

Try a combination of penetrating fluid, localised blows from a copper hammer and heat as a last resort.

Would suggest PTFE tape to prevent this in the future.
This applies to both the brass and SH's plated steel plug.
The tape will seal without excess torque and prevent the disimilar metal contact that causes the corosion.

[Bassfiend]

Add another vote for the Steve Heath swirl pot plug - makes life so much easier than that bloody brass travesty! Can't remember what it cost but whatever it was it's buttons compared to the grief that it saves checking the coolant...

Just do it!



Phil

[phillpot]

Neil400 said:

should there be a gasket or bonded washer in there as it looks like metal to metal contact.

On mine there is an O ring recessed into a groove in the plug to seal it. Plenty of silicone grease and never had a problem removing it (not that I do very often).