P90a head F54 block correct head gasket

[Captain Obvious]

Be very careful dealing with the front plug. There isn't a lot of room behind it and if you just try to pivot it in place by knocking one side inward, there isn't enough room to swing it to get a grip on the other edge. So because of that, sometimes people drill through them and run a screw or something into them to act as a handle. HOWEVER.

More than one person I know has damaged blocks by drilling through that front freeze plug and kept on drilling into the cylinder jacket. Don't do that.

I drilled through mine (very carefully paying special attention to when the drill broke through the other side) and then I tapped the hole and used a piece of threaded rod attached to my slide hammer to yank the plug out.

Looked like this:

[siteunseen]

Agree with Captain on the 2 end plugs. They are really close to the cylinders. I tried drilling a small hole in one to put a screw in and hopefully remove it and this happened.

[Patcon]

Oops!!!

[Dave WM]

yikes, will be extra carefull, maybe a collar on the bit..

[Yarb]

How about one of the old school mechanical hand drills?

[Captain Obvious]

I think that knowing what you're up against (literally) and hearing about the experiences of people who have drilled beyond the plug should be enough.

Just be careful and pay special attention to when the drill bit breaks through the other side of the freeze plug. It's only a sixteenth of an inch thick.