Where to get 10mm core plugs?

can't you just turn some brass or aluminium plugs up on the lathe and tap them in ?

Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines

I'm not at all sure why women like men. We're argumentative, childish, unsociable and extremely unappealing naked. I'm quite grateful they do though.

The message from Jules contains these words:

You could tap it and insert a short bolt with a fibre washer behind it. Depends how classic you want it to be.

Jules try mgbehive in Cambridge

If I had a lathe :) I do know someone who has one and so could maybe make something for me if it comes to it. I'm surprised at how hard it's proving just to buy three of the darn things for a few pence though!

The core plugs are just retaining some springs within bores drilled in an alloy casting - originally there would have been threaded plugs doing the job but I expect a previous owner destroyed the threads getting the original plugs out (for whatever reason), and so just tapped the core plugs in instead.

Unfortunately the 'outside' face of the casting mates up against the face of a second casting, meaning that core plugs are an ideal solution as they won't protrude beyond the flat outer face of the casting that they sit in. (intially it seemed a bit of a bodge, but I suppose it's far far easier than making new threads in the casting and getting three threaded plugs made up with the required wider-than-original diameter. Helicoils probably wouldn't be an option as the depth filled by the core plug would be too shallow.

I need to find somewhere that can provide a couple of washers too with large inner diameters - one to use as a thrust washer in the gearbox and another as a spacer in the overdrive. General engineering firms seem very thin on the ground these days!

cheers

Jules

Mackays (the engineeringy bit)?

cheers, clive

The smallest core plugs that I can find are 12.7 mm (half inch) from some old vauxhall OHC.

You could use a piece of plastic rod since you have another piece that fits against the face.

I have quite a few large hole shims, tell me some dimensions and I'll check.

mrcheerful

The message from Jules contains these words:

New threads shouldn't be /that/ hard - just a drill to the right size and tap. Tap it to a known size and cut a length off the end of a bolt and saw a slot across so you can screw it in.

Right me bucko. I've found an old supplier catalogue tucked away in the workshop filing cabinet which shows the sizes within all the core plug sets sold. The Lada Riva engine range all have 4 x 10mm core plugs in them. Probably in the cylinder head given the size. Get thee to a Lada dealer and I'm sure they can help. If not I could buy you a complete engine set and post it up. Usually under a £5 from those I've bought for other engines.

HTH

Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines

I'm not at all sure why women like men. We're argumentative, childish, unsociable and extremely unappealing naked. I'm quite grateful they do though.

10mm on a classic? What car is it?

It's on a Stag. Holding the spring assemblies into place (the ones which allow the selector rods to snap into place) on the gearbox top cover should be three threaded plugs. Only I guess someone in the past stripped the threads on my 'box, so they used three 10mm core plugs to hold the springs in place when they rebuilt.

It's actually not as bodgelike as it sounds I suppose. Better than re-threading the alloy casting of the gearbox top cover and custom-making three new threaded plugs of a slightly larger size (the plugs are shallow enough that I don't know if helicoiling would work). Just seems that 10mm plugs are like rocking horse sh*t :/

Of course it could have been an official Triumph mod - they had a habit of doing things like that and not bothering to update the workshop manual :)

cheers

Jules

Did you not see my reply on this yesterday? Lada Riva engines have 10mm core plugs in them.

Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines

I'm not at all sure why women like men. We're argumentative, childish, unsociable and extremely unappealing naked. I'm quite grateful they do though.

yep Dave and many thanks! :) Hopefully there's a Lada dealer somewhere in the area who can sort me out...

be nice to have the car running again and able to enjoy the sunshine!

cheers,

Jules