Noah in IA
Member
Hi all,
I noticed a little antifreeze in the oil when
doing an oil change last weekend; Dad told me I
had better get it fixed before mowing any more
(it's his tractor). I searched around this site
for a while and read up on some common causes
(frost plugs in the head and sleeve seals) I
removed the rocker arm cover today and immediately
noticed all three frost plugs had antifreeze
sitting in them. To prove to myself that this was
indeed the source of the leak I went ahead and
shop-vacked up the antifreeze/oil mixture out of
the frost plug "cups" and then pressurized the
radiator to about 4 psi. Antifreeze leaked out of
the radiator in several spots but none seemed to
seep through the frost plugs. Next I pressurized
the system to about 7 psi ; still no leaks from
any of the frost plugs, just from the leaky
radiator which caused the pressure to drop off
real fast. The frost plugs appear to be in good
shape (not too rusty) sooo is my coolant leak most
likely from elsewhere and not the frost plugs (ie
the sleeve seals) or is the leak so small through
the frost plugs that I can't detect it. I guess
I'd like to know if I should bother replacing the
frost plugs or if I need to keep searching for a
more severe leak. It's probably worth mentioning
that the amount of antifreeze in the drained oil
was not all that significant - but rather just
enough to notice that it was there (some dark
green liquid mixed in). Thanks for any help you
guys might be able to offer!
I noticed a little antifreeze in the oil when
doing an oil change last weekend; Dad told me I
had better get it fixed before mowing any more
(it's his tractor). I searched around this site
for a while and read up on some common causes
(frost plugs in the head and sleeve seals) I
removed the rocker arm cover today and immediately
noticed all three frost plugs had antifreeze
sitting in them. To prove to myself that this was
indeed the source of the leak I went ahead and
shop-vacked up the antifreeze/oil mixture out of
the frost plug "cups" and then pressurized the
radiator to about 4 psi. Antifreeze leaked out of
the radiator in several spots but none seemed to
seep through the frost plugs. Next I pressurized
the system to about 7 psi ; still no leaks from
any of the frost plugs, just from the leaky
radiator which caused the pressure to drop off
real fast. The frost plugs appear to be in good
shape (not too rusty) sooo is my coolant leak most
likely from elsewhere and not the frost plugs (ie
the sleeve seals) or is the leak so small through
the frost plugs that I can't detect it. I guess
I'd like to know if I should bother replacing the
frost plugs or if I need to keep searching for a
more severe leak. It's probably worth mentioning
that the amount of antifreeze in the drained oil
was not all that significant - but rather just
enough to notice that it was there (some dark
green liquid mixed in). Thanks for any help you
guys might be able to offer!