86 GT 2.8L - Previous owner took the before mentioned drain plug out of the water line just behind the passenger side door to protect the lines from freezing, etc. Now I have the car and no plug. The Fiero Store has the plug, but they are expensive ($6 + s & H). Can anyone tell me about this plug so I might find something that will work locally?

No problem. Scrap Yard.

And a valuable lesson..... don't fool around with the coolant drain plugs. Take a hose off, eh?

IMS, it is a standard 1/4 MNPT plug. You can easily find one with a hex or square head and if you look, you might find one with a allen wrench fitting.

Yeah, I went by a fastener shop in Raleigh today, they looked at it and said it was a pipe thread and they wouldn't have anything to fit it. So you confirmed this is a pipe thread I'm looking for, I didn't see anything at Home Depot, but I wasn't looking in the plumbing area at that point, maybe that's where I'll find it.

I got new ones at home depot, its a brass piece. The stock ones have a bad habit of either rusting inplace, or stripping out. I got both for under $5, well worth it.

I tried just pulling off the hose a few times, but its a lot more messy. Also, I found that when I later lifted the car to pull the engine, the pipes woul leak some antifreeze. I don't get that problem when pulling the plugs out.

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--1986 SE V6, Wild Custom Notchback --For Sale
--1984 SE Modified Notchback

I have never successfully pulled one of those plugs out. Every one I have attempted has been rusted in place and the hex stipped out. I just yank the hose.

Jncomutt
You mentioned that you found them at home depot. This is what I found while looking. Home Depot and Lowes both sell NPT plugs, that's true. (BTW - These turn out to be 1/8" O/D) In the 1/8" NPT they sell just one type which is a square head that then protrudes out of the pipe a good 1/4" as opposed to being flush with the pipe. I don't mind the plug sticking out, so much as the threads don't seem to be quite right. These 1/8" NPT plugs have a very condensed thread and the pipe thread seems to be less compressed. I even went to a plumping supply shop and could not locate an allen head or other flush style plug.

the plugs are the ones with just the square head that sticks out, they're not flush..