3/25/2012-4/1/2012
 Ever since the engine pull I have had a small coolant leak. The source was not obvious so I waited for it to get worse. That finally happened. I found most of a gallon of coolant in my Studebaker Drip Collection system. |
 My worst fears were realized. The freeze plug on the back of the engine is leaking. There is about 1/2″ between the block and the firewall. This picture is of the same plug on my spare engine. |
 This is the view from underneath. I can’t even see the plug.Nothing that will help down here. |
 There is an access hole in the firewall under this cover. |
 It is intended to allow access to the bellhousing bolts above the transmission. But at least I can see the bottom edge of the plug above the left-hand bolt.However I might be able to drop the back of the engine enough to get at this guy. |
| My worst fears were realized. The freeze plug on the back of the engine is leaking. There is about 1/2″ between the block and the firewall. This picture is of the same plug on my spare engine. |
 At least I have a pretty place to work. The cherry tree is past its peak and I really should have swept the driveway before I put the car up on stands. |
 Now I get to work covered in flowers. Which is not as good as it sounds.They stuck to everything and if I dropped any hardware it was hard to find. |
 First step, remove the drive shaft. 4 nuts, 5 minutes. |
 Next the starter wire needs to be disconnected from the starter switch. In thepicture you can see it in the lower right. |
 The oil gauge line and vacuum line for the wipers need to be disconnected. |
 As does the clutch and transmission shift linkage. |
 The exhaust down pipe needs to be disconnected too. Lucky I used stainlesshardware on this. |
 Finally I can take the cross-member loose and lower the back of the engine witha jack. I put a jack stand under the bell housing to keep things under control. It turns out I could get about 1 1/2 inches before the head hits the firewall. I hope it is enough. |
 Not as bad as I feared or as good as I hoped. I can see it now and thereis the leak. |
 I hammered an awl through the plug and popped it out. Onlythen did it occur to me that maybe I could have stopped the leak by just tapping the plug tighter. |
 And there is the hole. I will have to clean this up and get a new plug. |
 And here is the new plug. I used hard-setting Permatex for extra insurance and pounded a good dent into the plug. I hope this works. |
 1 gallon of Prestone later and the Stude is back on the road. No puddles under the car any more so it is at least better. I was under the car about a week later to adjust the brakes and found a drop of coolant on the bell housing. I hope it just was trapped inside there somewhere. We will see. |