My son in law has been quoted about $750 to replace the front welsh plugs and the starter motor on his TF 3 litre Magna. (Apparently coolant has leaked onto the starter and fried it.) . He says the workshop has said the tranny needs to come out to get at the welsh plugs. I've had a look at my own TF Magna and the 2 front welsh plugs above the starter dont look difficult to get at to me. (The exhaust manifold and and starter would have to come out but not much else I think).

Am I missing something here? Is there another welsh plug hidden behind the starter motor or somewhere else that I cant see and is very difficult to replace?

I have a pit and am happy to do the job as long as I don't have to remove the tranny or engine.

Thanks for any advice.

If the fronts have rusted out the others will be marginal too. By all means redo the fronts, put a good coolant in the car, and keep your fingers crossed.
I've always done the lot, but that was with engines out of the car.

I think you'll find there may be welch plugs located behind the flywheel hence the need to either remove the transmission or remove the engine.

Cheers
Peter

I think you'll find there are welch plugs located behind the flywheel hence the need to either remove the transmission or remove the engine.

Cheers
Peter

Understood, but those ones wouldn't be responsible for leaking coolant onto the starter would they?

Madmax. I believe the 'rear' plugs were replaced a couple of years ago.

I havent got the car to look at yet. Hopefully I will have it in a couple of days and can put it over the pit. Gotta get it started first. (As I said, the starter is not working at the moment).

The one(s) that leaked and damaged the starter will be located on the side of the engine block adjacent to the starter.

Cheers
Peter

The one(s) that leaked and damaged the starter will be located on the side of the engine block adjacent to the starter.

Cheers
Peter

Yes, I've had a look at those ones on my own TF. They look like they could be replace reasonably easily 'in car'. Agreed?

Agreed -the ones at the front look easy to replace once any auxiliary components are moved out of the way. The ones at the rear may present more of a challenge.

Cheers
Peter

Knock one side of the welsh plug in with a screwdriver and hammer, then fish the plug out with a pair of pliers.
Make sure the crank case opening is clean and free from damage.
Use a good sealant on a new welsh plug, drive it in with a big socket and hammer. It needs to go in straight. The lip of the welsh plug needs to go in far enough to sit on the sides of the hole itself, ie below the level of the chamfer at the outer edge of the hole.

Look at the old plug and try to work out why it leaked, if it is corroded through lecture the owner of the car about coolant and why it is important.

Of course, if the leak is due to the crank case opening being cracked or missing a chunk of iron, well . . . .

Thanks Gentlemen. We put the car over the pit today. The visible front and rear welsh plugs looked fine . Looks like they had been replaced within the last year or two. The starter problem was most likely just a bad battery connection. But anyway we pulled the starter out for a closer look. There was a very fine mist of water inside the casting that half surrounds the starter motor drive gear. This could have been from a small leak in the flywheel welsh plug or could simply have been condensation. ('Yeah sure' I hear you say). I drilled a hole in the bottom of the casting to assist drainage. We'll throw some stop leak into the radiator and cross our fingers.