Help with 3.0 rear gallery plugs

[johnmillward]

My son's 94' ranger 3.0 has been leaking oil. We think that it is the rear main seal and have gotten the tranfer case and trans out and I am seeing oil on the gallery plug on the drivers side on the back of the engine. The camshaft plug looks fairly oil free. Are the gallery plugs on the back of the engine on either side of the cam plug oil or coolent freeze plugs? Also this is the third rear main seal we have replaced. The first one I screwd up when I installed it. The second one has lasted about 2 years (less the 3 months that he has had the oil leak). Does anyone have any advice on installing the rear main seal?

 

[a31ford]

Take your Time, find all info you can find on your model, read, and RE-read the information, take the old one out, and RE-install it (as practice for installing the new one), unless you want the same problems all over again.

Doing a rear seal in-frame, takes what? determination, NOT speed, NOT red RTV, NOT a big screwdriver and NOT a big hammer,

Read, re-read, easy does it........

not being an ass, you asked, I tell......

Greg

 

[johnmillward]

Thanks for the advice. Do you know if the plugs on either side of the cam plug are oil gallery plugs or coolant freeze plugs?

 

[a31ford]

No Idea.

 

[johnmillward]

So does anyone know what is behind those two "freeze" plugs? I suspect that they are for coolant so I don't want to replace them if they are not leaking. If it is an oil gallery behind the plugs then the drivers side may be leaking (it is covered in oil). I would like to get this vehicle put back together and back on the road as soon as possible.

 

[Beef52751]

how big of plugs are you talking? if they are right next to the cam plug and 1/2'' or smaller then they are oil, if they are bigger then that they are probably coolant, a pic would help

 

[johnmillward]

They are the two inch and a half or so plugs that look like freeze plugs and are on either side of the cam plug.

 

[aspevacek]

Looking at a picture of the back of the block I am 99.9% sure those are coolant freezwe pluges. The smaller one lower on the drivers side of the block appears to be an oil gallery plug as well as the one directly below the Camshaft.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/3_0-build.html

 

[a31ford]

If they are 2 or so Inches, I would 99% say they are "Frost Plugs" for the coolant.

Oil galley plugs generally run 1/2 or 3/4, I've NEVER seen 2" for oil.

Greg

 

[johnmillward]

after all of the input and every thing I can find I am also 99% sure that the plugs are coolant freeze

In order to press in the new rear main seal I used a PVC 4 inch cleanout plug with the center cut out and I welded up a little x out of some scrap metal and used the flywheel bolts to press the seal in. it seemed to work ok.

Thanks for the advice.