I'm about to send my 400 sbc off to the machine shop and have heard that I need to remove the oil gallery plugs in the block to ensure it's fully cleaned out.

How do you go about removing the plugs? Do you need to heat them up to remove them? Mine seem to not want to budge. And what's the best tool to remove them with? A 1/4 drive ratchet?

Also I know there's 3 in the back of the block above the cam tunnell and 1 above the oil filter flange. The ones on the front above the cam tunnel look like they're pressed in caps?

You are going to have to heat the stubborn ones. You may have to get the 4 side easy outs to wedge in them. For the other pressed in ones I used to remove the rear plugs and then use a piece of long round aluminum rod and drive them from the back out the front. I don't remember if the 400 had them too, but there should be the one in the driver side deck. Then when you get it out there is another underneath it. There is also one under the rear main cap that if I remember right you can drive out throught the oil pressure tap at the rear top of the block behind the intake flange.

I'm about to send my 400 sbc off to the machine shop and have heard that I need to remove the oil gallery plugs in the block to ensure it's fully cleaned out.

How do you go about removing the plugs? Do you need to heat them up to remove them? Mine seem to not want to budge. And what's the best tool to remove them with? A 1/4 drive ratchet?

Also I know there's 3 in the back of the block above the cam tunnell and 1 above the oil filter flange. The ones on the front above the cam tunnel look like they're pressed in caps?
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Almost all the 1/4 pipe plugs are 1/4 square from the factory, replacement ones are hex.
a 1/4" to 3/8" adapter will fit them.

You want to heat them to cherry red & cool with any of a number of things.
An old wax candle, almost any penetrating oil , WD40 etc will work.
It will catch on fire so don't stick you head over it :D
The plugs will now damn near come out by hand.
If they are still hard heat them again & repeat.

As Ray stated, the front core plugs under the timing chain can be driven out from the back with a long rod or you can use a slide hammer with an sheet metal screw & the one under the rear main can be driven out from the oil sender hole at the top rear of the block.

Some blocks have a solid plug at the rear left deck.
Drill & tap & again use a slide hammer with whatever size bolt you tapped it to.
The one above the oil filter housing is also sometimes solid, same deal.

What would you recommend using to get it "cherry red"?

Yes the actual screwed in pipe plugs are the square type.

What would you recommend using to get it "cherry red"?

Yes the actual screwed in pipe plugs are the square type.
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I had to edit this as I see I left out a sentence :pout:

Sorry about that, it doesn't make much sense with out this :D
An oxy-acetylene torch is what I use

Because the plug will "shrink" when it cools.
It has no choice, if you heat it enough it expands.
Since there is a block in the way it can only grow in length,,,, so it does & in so doing it is going to get smaller in diameter, has no choice.

When it cools it is not going to go back to the same shape it was, it will be slightly longer & slightly smaller around.

The paraffin or penetrating oil lubricates it so you don't screw up the now very dry threads.
It will be drawn into the threads by capillary action just as solder is drawn into a pipe joint when you "sweat" them together.

I'd let the machine shop do it, Dawg...
I just picked up a freshly machined 350 +.030" 4 bolt block (383 project) from the machine shop on Wed. When included with the other work that needs to be done, the initial prep work costs very little.

I've discovered that a couple used pushrods that are getting tossed anyway knock out the the front soft plugs like a charm. Also, the soft plug under the rear main cap bolt can be a PITA to get back in properly. I've discovered (thank you, whoever you were) that you can reach down there with a 1/4NPT tap and get get a couple decent threads. Don't need much, all that plug ever sees' is the diffence between the inlet and outlet pressure of the filter. IOW the pressure drop across the element.

Just an FYI,my machiest removed all my oil galley plugs when preping my 396 block & all was fine,he gave me new plugs to replace the stock cast iron plugs which i though was ok but turned out "NOT" to be ok.

When i started the motor all the oil galley plugs leaked including the ones inbwteen the rear of block & flywheel which were all sealed correctly.

Then i removed a couple that were easy to get at,resealed them,let dry overnight,but they still leaked the next day. Then i suddnely realized the plugs were "STAINLESS STEEL" which is notorious for not sealing well esp in cast iron.

I stopped at the machinest and he confirmed the plugs were in fact "STAINLESS" so he gave me back my old stock cast iron plugs.

I then cleaned them up on a bench grinder with a wire wheel,re-sealed & installed them,let dry over night, and wala,not one of them leaked a bit except for the 2 larger STAINLESS plugs inbeteween the rear of the block & flywheel i could not get at.

I now have what i call a controlled oil leak from the 2 large stainless oil galley plugs in the rear of the block untill i bother to either pull the trans/bell housing/clutch/flywheel or just pull the motor again neither of which i want to do anytime soon especially fighting that 700+ lb 396 bbc again.

I pulled the insp cover just to ensure it was not the main seal leaking and the main seal is not leaking at all,i am sure its the last 2 stainless oil plugs in rear of block,that just sucks for sure.

So the moto is "DONT USE STAINLESS OIL GALLEY PLUGS"

Scott

I'd let the machine shop do it, Dawg....

Bill I agree with you however I want to make sure they actually get all the gunk out, and not just "forget" or "fail" to remove the plugs and something happens to be in there.

I already went thru this once before when the machine shop failed to remove a ball of blue silicon in one of the oil galleries....which was discovered after we had to pull out of the engine bay and tear down the engine and put it back together again and reinstall it in the engine bay...after we originally couldn't get oil to come out of the rockers during the initial oil priming.

Thanks SWEATON for pointing out that about not using stailess steel pipe plugs in a cast iron block. Another reason why I'd prefer removing the plugs....so I can keep them....wanna hear another sob story a friend of mine snet his big block in to the machine shop....sons of bitches give him back his block WITHOUT the main cap bolts....luckily I happened to have my old set I gave to him.

Bill I agree with you however I want to make sure they actually get all the gunk out, and not just "forget" or "fail" to remove the plugs and something happens to be in there.

I already went thru this once before when the machine shop failed to remove a ball of blue silicon in one of the oil galleries....which was discovered after we had to pull out of the engine bay and tear down the engine and put it back together again and reinstall it in the engine bay...after we originally couldn't get oil to come out of the rockers during the initial oil priming.

Thanks SWEATON for pointing out that about not using stailess steel pipe plugs in a cast iron block. Another reason why I'd prefer removing the plugs....so I can keep them....wanna hear another sob story a friend of mine snet his big block in to the machine shop....sons of bitches give him back his block WITHOUT the main cap bolts....luckily I happened to have my old set I gave to him.
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You are aware he cannot just install the caps you gave him right?
He will need to have the the caps fit to the block & then line bored & honed, not a cheap deal.
Has he been back to the shop?
In my opinion they owe him a block if they lost his caps :mad:

Main cap BOLTS, not the main caps. I think we're both staying up too late tonight, Mike. :-) Ol' server seems a little slow, too; think it's time for me to hit the sack.
BillL

Yeah Mike it was the bolts they didn't give him. He got all of his caps back.

Speaking of caps would it be a good idea to mark the caps before sending the block off? So that way they don't mix up your caps with someone elses? Maybe etch your initials on the caps and block? Or is that not necessary?

Yeah Mike it was the bolts they didn't give him. He got all of his caps back.

Speaking of caps would it be a good idea to mark the caps before sending the block off? So that way they don't mix up your caps with someone elses? Maybe etch your initials on the caps and block? Or is that not necessary?

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Sorry about that, reading too fast,,, or slow,,, what was the question? :D

They will need the caps to machine the block including boring.
I never bore a block without the caps torqued & most should be at least checked for main size.
Almost every block I see needs line honing as it is too big.
A good shop should not mix them up but marking them is not a bad idea.
Certainly leaves no doubt ;)

Thanks Mike. Yes the friend of mine that got his block back sans the bolts told me I oughta go ahead and stamp my initials in the block somewhere in case they hand me back a different block. I was thinking maybe the underside where the starter bolts up to. I have an electric etcher. :)

Do most shops normally do a line hone? Is one needed for when I install that Scat 9000 crank? (if so no problem I just want them to get it right the 1st time....ya know whuddi mean vern?:D )

Just want to get an idea up front of what to tell them to do. Thanks.

Thanks Mike. Yes the friend of mine that got his block back sans the bolts told me I oughta go ahead and stamp my initials in the block somewhere in case they hand me back a different block. I was thinking maybe the underside where the starter bolts up to. I have an electric etcher. :)

Do most shops normally do a line hone? Is one needed for when I install that Scat 9000 crank? (if so no problem I just want them to get it right the 1st time....ya know whuddi mean vern?:D )

Just want to get an idea up front of what to tell them to do. Thanks.
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Can't really answer that except to say every engine that is assembled here is line-honed.
It is very rare to find a GM block that is not oversize in the main bore & they do tend to vary a bit.
About the only shops who tell you it is unnecessary are shops that don't have one :D
Also, if it is line honed you can be pretty sure it is also straight,,

The reason you can get away without doing it is simply because a little too much clearance is a whole lot better than not enough...

That said, I have done a number of blocks for people without line honing & have even helped put some together using .001 bearings or half .001, half standards. & got the clearance acceptable.
This is exactly what GM does at the factory but they have access to bearings you cannot buy in .0002" increments.

nothing like a little select fit action.

Y'know, it's not that I don't trust people, I do. Sort of like Ron Reagan, "trust but verify." I had a 67 Corvette 427 block "get lost" at a shop once, since then I always make some inconspicuous marks on the block. They handed me back a sleeved 396 block, expected me to go away quietly. They were wrong.

At least I can identify it that way.