Blank off water return feed from carb intake mani -- HELP

Merv78
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Registered for: 10 years 6 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: 1991 Mk1 1.8L Sport 8V Fox
Location: Gauteng Province

Re: Blank off water return feed from carb intake mani -- HELP

Post by Merv78 »

VAG Fan wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:35 am Yes and no...
The bulldozer advert shows a straight, tensile force. But sideways tapping would apply a shear force. That will break a glue seam very easily. I'd be somewhat surprised if your proposed method works. (But never say never...)
So I decided to go through with my idea of putting in a bolt and Pratley Steel it in, then I realized that so far most of the comments were about the new plug still having leaks even after all the hassle to get it out, so in my case the leak was NOT sprayer but a drip, so I drained the cooling system, cleaned out the plug with some degreaser and steel wool, then rinsed out and wiped dry. I mixed the Pratley Steel and applied it to the inside of the plug with a tiny paint brush almost painting it on and left to dry for 24 hours. Filled up the cooling system and ran the engine till fan came on and NO MORE drip. For added measure I mixed up more Pratley Steel, applied it to the head of a 13mm bolt and stuck it in head first and allowed to dry for 24 hours. NO MORE leak and kept the original plug in place. Based on others experience of Pratley Steel lasting 10 years plus, I think I will stick with this plan for now... :D
The brass fitting is still solid with NO leaks as well.
Will update if the above starts to fail, fingers crossed.
Took some pictures,but not sure how to insert into a post?
Merv78

Previous Cars:
Jetta Mk1
1991 Sentra III 160 GX
1992 Sentra III 200 Sti
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Current Cars:
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1991 Fox 1.8L Sport
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Car Make: VW
Car Model: '87 MK1 Golf Citi

Re: Blank off water return feed from carb intake mani -- HELP

Post by missioner »

Merv78 wrote:
VAG Fan wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:35 am Yes and no...
The bulldozer advert shows a straight, tensile force. But sideways tapping would apply a shear force. That will break a glue seam very easily. I'd be somewhat surprised if your proposed method works. (But never say never...)
So I decided to go through with my idea of putting in a bolt and Pratley Steel it in, then I realized that so far most of the comments were about the new plug still having leaks even after all the hassle to get it out, so in my case the leak was NOT sprayer but a drip, so I drained the cooling system, cleaned out the plug with some degreaser and steel wool, then rinsed out and wiped dry. I mixed the Pratley Steel and applied it to the inside of the plug with a tiny paint brush almost painting it on and left to dry for 24 hours. Filled up the cooling system and ran the engine till fan came on and NO MORE drip. For added measure I mixed up more Pratley Steel, applied it to the head of a 13mm bolt and stuck it in head first and allowed to dry for 24 hours. NO MORE leak and kept the original plug in place. Based on others experience of Pratley Steel lasting 10 years plus, I think I will stick with this plan for now... :D
The brass fitting is still solid with NO leaks as well.
Will update if the above starts to fail, fingers crossed.
Took some pictures,but not sure how to insert into a post?
The issue with the epoxy repair is that coolant additives have a tendency to soften the glue. This will be a stop gap repair at best.

As far as the difficulty of removing the plugs goes, I think you are looking at the problem from the wrong angle. Get under the car and you will see it's not as bad as you think.

The inlet manifold is slightly different as a new gasket is very cheap and is loads easier to take out of the car than an engine. I have also modified them with brass and steel fittings, this is normally an everlasting repair. Even the water pipe on the brake booster side can be done this way. Sadly I would recommend brass etc for the block, Welsh plugs are too cheap to justify using anything else.
'87 Golf 1 Olde Skewl OEM+
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