cam spray bar plug replacment
 

After removing the press fit plugs for the cam spray tubes and cleaning them I decided to replace the press fit plugs with threaded pipe plugs.

I used 1/8" NPT plugs. The hole is perfect for this tap size, no drilling was required.


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Thanks, Al. Great pictures!

Mike

Nice Alan, good to know:)

Alan,

What did you use to seal them with?

I used blue thread locker to seal the threads.

they're a tapered plug, so I took my time with the tap and made sure to only tap the hole deep enough to sink the plug just past flush. the plugs are very tight. I just used the thread locker for added protection.

Alan,

Thanks. I am just about to remove the plugs and clean the spray bars. I have done the regular plugs before, and I have the plain plugs at the ready, but the idea of being able to pop them out at some future time is intriguing.

That is really neat,
something that I have to do in the near future, thanks for sharing

Regards,

Jakes

Great idea! I've got an old cam tower I'll have to try it out on.
-Chris

I have been telling this to every one for years........I just get no respect around here
.Seriously its the best deal since dehydrated water !!

yes...I must give props to afterburn, he gave me the idea.

since I tear my engine down every other winter this was the only solution that made sense.

you will just luv it if you ever have to plull a tube in the car !!!

I can see the utility of this immediately; especially during the cleaning stages of a rebuild of cam-towers and heads! I will implement this trick on the 3.0L and 3.3L I’m currently rebuilding.

Thanks for sharing the great tip…

munchovie.

Did you do both ends?

can anyone tell the process of how to clean out this tube/spray bar?
probably need to remove BOTH ends of the tube to spray some solvent in there and then blow hi pressure compressed air thru the tube??
Bob

I'm going to drill and tap both ends then use my hoppes gun cleaning kit on it!

munchovie.

This was done on mine many years ago. I just finished a full on rebuild, and even after I had the cam towers professionally cleaned, I pulled out coked oil that was about the size of a quarter. Many people also use this to flush the spray bars while engine is still in the car.

I did both ends of the tower.

Be VERY carefull with the tubes and espically when drilling out the plugs. The tubes are VERY SOFT!!!! Also... the tubes are held in place by the oil hose fitting. Those must be removed to push the tube out.

DON'T USE ANYTHING ON THE END OF THE TUBE TO TRY TO PUSH IT OUT! You should be able to reach into the housing and grab the tube with your fingers and slide it out far enough to pull it out.

Hey Big Al,
did you use 1/8" drill to remove the plugs? If not, how did you remove the plugs? I just looked at my tower and man are these cap/hole area small!! They look pretty frail also??
did you drill the hole to a particular size before threading the hole?
what size tap? 1/8"?
is the threaded insert called a 1/8"NPT plug? so I can get the correct one at the big box?
Thx for answering some of my dumb questions, I just don't want to screw this up and ruin the spray bar pipe.
Thanks again for your help!
Bob

I just thought of another dumb question...when I remove the spray bar, in case it has become miss directed a/o wrongly installed, can you tell me where the spray bar holes need to be pointing, as in what/where should the oil be pissing on? the area where the rocker rides on the cam lobes?.
Bob

Cleaning the spray bar orifices takes a little patience. I took a pin (smaller than the size of the orifices), made a 90 degree bend about 3mm from the tip. Took the new tool and inserted in every orifice and turned the little arm on the tool around the inside to break off any sludge/coking that may have caused restrictions. Blew the tube out with injector cleaner, followed by compressed air. Then I soaked the spray bars in a solution of Dawn detergent and water. Sit for a few hours and have a beer or two, rinse the spray bars with water. Good as new!