2004 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 Radiator Drain Plug Problem

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bandsr4me

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2020
Posts
3
Reaction score
0
Location
tennessee
Ram Year
2004
Engine
5.7 hemi
So first off let me say I wished I knew about this forum before I tried to do a repair. Lesson learned.

I was replacing the lower and upper radiator hoses and tried messing with the drainplug. It has a nut shaped head with an Allen wrench opening - 10mm fits snug. I tried turning counter clockwise slowly expecting it to start draining but nothing. So, I kept turning a lot and nothing. Never could get anything to drain so I finally just pulled the lower hose. I changed the hoses and refilled the radiator and the plug is not leaking. I tried turning the plug clockwise and it seems to be holding. I wished I could knew about the forum before I did this but live and learn. I bought a replacement drain plug at O'Reilly's and it has the wingnut style end on it. The OEM plug at least looking at it from the outside of the radiator is not a wingnut style but a nut / allen wrench opening style.

I probably screwed up the drain plug because I turned WAY too many turns. Should I just watch the old drain plug and hope for no leaks or replace the plug? Also, from reading the other posts about the drain plug, it seems like you just pull it out and replace with the O'Reilly plug. What's the best way to proceed here? I could just replace the radiator for about $100 and not worry about it. Seems like I should first try pulling the old plug out and put the new one in. Thanks for any replies. Wished I had known about this forum before.
 
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