<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Hey Steve: You are dead on. When I go to the store today I asked for expansion plugs because that’s what will work with their search.<div><br></div><div>I feel sure that freeze plug is a euphemism based on the fact that they do occasionally get pushed out when a block freezes. I don’t think anyone knowledgeable will dispute the fact that they were not originally designed for that and they were always access holes for casting. After enough people used the word, it stuck. Language is like that: common usage is not to be maligned when understanding follows misnomers but draws blanks on accurate terminology.<div><br></div><div><br></div><div>In other words there’s a time to be accurate and a time to communicate accurately. Expansion plug or casting plug will draw blanks from my circle of gear head friends but freeze plug will draw nods. Wording accurately and communicating accurately usually coincide but not always.</div><div><br></div><div>Spencer</div><div><br><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Feb 2, 2020, at 9:39 PM, Howard Pletcher <hrpletch@gmail.com> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">I suspect the freeze plug term originated about the time a Model T first froze up, whether that one protected the block or not and to people not having a clue about how blocks were made, the term seemed to make sense and it has stuck for 100 years. Not unlike the capacitor in your ignition system that everyone calls a condenser.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">Howard</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Feb 2, 2020 at 8:57 PM Stephen Offiler <<a href="mailto:soffiler@gmail.com">soffiler@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">I tend to agree with Thomas that the true purpose of the plugs is related to the cores used in the sand casting process; but I have to wonder - where did the term "freeze plug" come from? The proper terminology, based on the online parts outfits like Napaonline and Rock Auto, seems to be "expansion plug". That strikes me as pretty close to "freeze". On the other hand, every cracked block I've ever seen was equipped with plugs, which does not speak highly of their effectiveness to protect from freezing damage. It strikes me that the term "freeze plug" perpetuates a myth.</div>
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