Drain Plug Locations - Chevy APEX 350 - 2001 AN

[cdrymalla]

Ok, so we are forcast to have some cold weather in Texas, possibly some nights in the low 20's. My garage is attached to the house and I keep one of those electric heaters plugged in and set to kick on if the temp drops below 40, so I should be fine.

However, I would like to know how to drain the engine for two reasons (1) to know and (2) to know how to do it in the event we were to loose power for an extended period during a cold snap at some point.

I have seen several post about 5 plugs on the Fords, but I wanted to know if anyone knew the number and location for the Chevy Apex. Looking at the engine, I think I see 2 huge brass plugs at the rear ends of each manifold, 1 small brass plug on the lower side of the block, and 1 small brass plug on the lower opposite side of the block (also having a sensor attached to it..is this the knock sensor?). But I have not located any others?????

Also, if I pull them is there anything special I need to do when I replace them...they appear to have thread tape on them now, and is there anything special for taking out and replacing the one with the knock sensor???

Thanks in advance!

[AirTool]

Re: Drain Plug Locations - Chevy APEX 350 - 2001 AN

At least the four plugs you described.

Put a funnel or Big Gulp cup under the big ones on the manifold. A bunch of crap will come out of those. You might not mind on your v-drive. On the DD's this mess can end up in the walk areas and stain.

The two small plugs drain the block...yes one has the knock sensor. You can use teflon tape on the three but not on the knock sensor. Be sure to put your tape on in the better direction so it doesn't come off when you screw them in. You can also use a paste or even grease. Tape is easier to clean off next time. If you have open loop cooling, there is no pressure on these connections so leaks are not expected. If your plugs are not brass, replace them with brass.

Not sure about the fifth plug but there is occasionally one on one of the hose fittings up front. If there is a cast metal tube lower than the water pump, there is usually a plug. Drain it if it is there. Even if you don't, risk of damage there is minimal and cheap to fix if it is damaged. I just don't see it happening.

I also pulled my impeller out to drain that side of the hose system. I'm not sure they would drain out through the plug. I also took off the strainer housing and dumped that. There is probably water still inside the tranny cooler. Check your tranny for water when you dewinterize.

Really, the best solution is sucking antifreeze in through a flush connection.

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Re: Drain Plug Locations - Chevy APEX 350 - 2001 AN

Remove the lower hose from the trans cooler. They usually have drain plugs on them, but the hose is easier.

[cdrymalla]

Thanks for the help!

[cdrymalla]

Ok, I was able to drain the 4 primary plugs (2 manifolds, 2 block) but I could not find any near the intake area. There only appears to be rubber hoses, and no additional drain plug. Also I think I located the hose that tee-s of the water line and back to the transmission, but it is hard to get to, and I am not 100% of what damage I could cause if I did something wrong. So, here are two questions:

1) Is it critical that I attempt to drain the front end? What is at stake?

2) Is it critical that I drain the transmission line? More importantly, is there a potential that I could do more damage than good to the transmission if I connect something wrong? i.e., low chance of freezing high chance of stripping something or causing a further leak??

Thanks.

[AirTool]

Q: can you take the tranny line off from the intake area and just blow through it? or the strainer end?

While this is opinion only....I still think there is low risk for damage in the front because there is room for the water to expand. Most should have drained out through the water pump to engine connection. The hoses should expand even if the are packed with water. Might be some risk to the raw water pump but so what.

I'm leaving the water in my tranny cooler but heading over tomorrow evening to turn on the electric blanket. I probably could have put a small heater hose through the strainer housing when I took the cup off and blown the water through the cooler and out the impeller housing. I'm sure it will be fine.

PS how much crap came out of your manifolds? and was it rusty color or black?

[cdrymalla]

Thanks, I will take another look at it, and see if it looks like I can tackle it.

Not much stuff came out. What was there was more black than rust colored. I did notice some rust buildup on the ends of the plugs, but not terribly much.

BTW if I was to add a shop light in there for heat, where do you put/hang it? It doesn't seem like there is much room under the dog house, and I don't want to risk the casing touching a rubber hose/boot and melting it?

[AirTool]

Try to slip it under the engine and let the heat rise.

I still prefer the full size, single control electric blanket from walmart. it is 150 watts and thermostatically controlled. Be sure it doesn'te have auto timer off and try to get one with a rocker switch not push to turn on. The latter is what I have and it won't come back on after a power blink. I'm going to plug mine into a small UPS. Next year....antifreeze.