Tractor Repair: 82 -1290 david brown, rust inhibitor, core plugs

Question
water leaking at rear of engine block.assume its a frostplug.how do you acess it,appears to be near impossible without removing entire block from chasiss. casting from clutch housing blocking acess it appears

Answer
Hi Andrew
Yes they can be a problem --FROST PLUG ? most people refer to these plugs as CORE PLUGS ! THEY ARE INSERTED AT THE END OF THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS AT THE FACTORY.
they usualy start to leak when rust attacks them from the inside via the cooling water , this can be partially eliminated by ensuring that you always use ANTIFREEZE, This has an anti rust inhibitor, and will prolong the life of the engine in many ways!
How ever its too late in this case and the offending plug must be removed and repaired ASAP.
If you cannot dig out the plug with a long spike or old screw driver then you have no alternative but to split the engine /bell housing !
This could be used to your advantage as it will give you the opportunity to examine the clutch and possibly replace the thrust bearing on the clutch movement as well , so its not all bad news !I would recommend that you replace any other core plugs that you may find at the time even if they are not actually leaking!
Good luck.
I regret that the demand for my free services has been over whelming so iam removing my self from the list of helpers in tractor repair.
Martin.