Well i changed the coolant today, and to make this quick, i ended up breaking the plastic petc0ck that you use to drain the coolant from on the bottom right of the raidiator. The head of the plug sheered off but the body of the bolt is still in the threads in the hole.
How do i go about removing the broken piece from its threads and installing a new one? Im headed right now down to the auto parts store where they hvae them in stock and i really need my truck by monday...tuesday at latest and i need to get this done before temps drop, etc. Can anyone help me on this? Thanks alot!

 

hmmm... I'm not positive, but isn't the pet**** on the radiator stamped in place? Might need a whole new radiator for it. If it's sealed in place, I would leave it alone. Just pull the lower radiator hose off and let it drain that way. It's messier, but will work just as well.

-Joe

 

the head of mine broke off too..but i just use an allen key to tighten it and it seals fine......

 

i serviced my cooling system not very long ago, and i dont think the pet**** will come out, so it looks like the "proper" fix is a new rad. but first i would try either grinding a slot if what is left of the stump of it to tighten it up with a screw driver, or, since it is plastic, heat the tip of a cheapo screwdriver up so it will melt its way into the stump, pull it back out, let it all cool off and then tighten it up. best of luck, i hate it when ya do a "homer".....DOH!!!!!!!

 

POund a cork in it . Usually everyting I touch I bust, whats left over turns to gold . Save the busted part and get some JB Weld that will do for a long time that stuff is one of the 10 wonders of the world.

 

well true its not leaking any but its full of pure water--i was in the process of loosening it to drain the water and then tighten it and add 50/50 mix to finisht the job. I HATE to think of a new raidiator at 51,000 miles! I think ill double and triple check for leaks and use the bottom raidiator hose as the way to drain it from now on. Im takin it to the ford dealer which is only 1.5 miles away tomorrow morinig and ill get their "expert" opinion as to what it needs.
Is it possible to back the broken piece out with a allen wrench or even a screwdriver? I think that if i can get the old one out i can go buy a new one and install it pretty easy. Any tips/advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Ill keep ya posted as to what happens. And in response to the Homer thing, when i saw that broken piece of plastic, i said just that word for word, "DOH!"
oh well we're all Homer at one point or another!

 

Well i went down to the station today and they ordered the pet**** from the Ford dealer ($4.50) and its going tomorrow afternoon to get it replaced. I havnt tried the allen key thing yet but i think ill go do that and see what happens. Thanks for the replies and if you have any more tips/suggestions, im open to them.

 

You could always drill a hole in the lower hose...

Sorry, to rub salt in the wound. Glad you were able to buy just the pet****.

 

yea i ordered the pet**** and its goin in to the station tomorrow afternoon im not paying FORD 80 bucks an hour to do anything. If they cant get the old petc0ck out, ill leave it in (making sure its sealed and not leaking) and just remove the bottom hose and let it drain out of there. So hopefuly green will be on the road tomorrow night!!