Stuck transmission drain plug
- fruitcakesa
- 430 crawler
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:19 am
- Location: United States of America
Stuck transmission drain plug
I am finally getting around to doing a complete fluids and filter change on my diesel 1010 and have discovered some scary things.
#1 - water in the winch hyd oil, I drained it out and flushed it twice with diesel before refilling.
#2 - the drain plug for the trans is completely rounded {no wonder the PO did not do any maintenence}. I think it used to be a hex or maybe just a square plug. At any rate after a couple hours of pounding on small sockets [ I broke one when I tried to turn it], using vise grips [which I believe were used originally and thus tore the heck out of the plug] and trying to heat it with my propane torch, since I do not have oxy/acetyl torches, I finally gave up and am asking for any help on removing this plug. I believe there is also water in the trans oil as the dipstick comes out with a milky looking fluid on it.
Anybody got ideas?
Thanks
#1 - water in the winch hyd oil, I drained it out and flushed it twice with diesel before refilling.
#2 - the drain plug for the trans is completely rounded {no wonder the PO did not do any maintenence}. I think it used to be a hex or maybe just a square plug. At any rate after a couple hours of pounding on small sockets [ I broke one when I tried to turn it], using vise grips [which I believe were used originally and thus tore the heck out of the plug] and trying to heat it with my propane torch, since I do not have oxy/acetyl torches, I finally gave up and am asking for any help on removing this plug. I believe there is also water in the trans oil as the dipstick comes out with a milky looking fluid on it.
Anybody got ideas?
Thanks
196? 1010 diesel crawler, Gearmatic 10 winch w/ arch/fairlead, 6 way power angle blade, ROPS w/rear screen
- fruitcakesa
- 430 crawler
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:19 am
- Location: United States of America
- fruitcakesa
- 430 crawler
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:19 am
- Location: United States of America
Maybe not so great
So I spent the afternoon repairing the Hyd control linkage after raising the blade, propping it up for safety, tapping the lever forward to float and snapping one of the ears of that secures the roll pin that holds the lever in place. I wanted the blade up so I could crawl under the machine to remove the belly pan bolts more easily. That done, I proceeded to MIG a piece of angle steel with a hole bored in it to the rounded drain plug.
So far so good. I clipped a vse grip to the steel, slipped a pipe over the vise grip, gave the thing a tug...and proceeded to twist the end of the plug off.
The plug appears to be cast iron, very soft and sheared off at a rough angle.
I was able to grind two flats on the piece with about 1/2 inch between the flat and it is about 1/2 inch long and tapers off. I tried an adjust wrench and vise grips on the nub but it is solidly screwed to the trans and they just slipped off.
So, I am up against it. I don't have torches and if I could get some, would it be safe to heat up the trans housing to try and loosen the plugs grip?
I assume to get it hot enough to help, it would be hot enough to burn the fluid and perhaps damage the trans or the castings.
Any more thoughts?
So far so good. I clipped a vse grip to the steel, slipped a pipe over the vise grip, gave the thing a tug...and proceeded to twist the end of the plug off.

I was able to grind two flats on the piece with about 1/2 inch between the flat and it is about 1/2 inch long and tapers off. I tried an adjust wrench and vise grips on the nub but it is solidly screwed to the trans and they just slipped off.
So, I am up against it. I don't have torches and if I could get some, would it be safe to heat up the trans housing to try and loosen the plugs grip?
I assume to get it hot enough to help, it would be hot enough to burn the fluid and perhaps damage the trans or the castings.
Any more thoughts?
196? 1010 diesel crawler, Gearmatic 10 winch w/ arch/fairlead, 6 way power angle blade, ROPS w/rear screen
if you use a torch heat the plug only and get it as hot as you can red would be nice then weld a nut or something to it you wont hurt anything in the trans just it will hard to get it hot enough with oil on top of it when you heat a plug like that it trys to expand and cant so then when it cools it shrinks
2010 with 622 dozer with mod. 35 ripper and a 2010 with 622 dozer bought in 1969 and a 2010 loader with drott and mod. 36 ripper
Fruitcake,
1. Are you SURE you are workong on the drainplug?
2. If it is a cast plug it isnt going to weld well as you found out.
3. Be careful about putting that much heat on the casting in one area, you could pop the case.
4. May have to drill it out and tap to the next larger plug size.
Chuck
1. Are you SURE you are workong on the drainplug?
2. If it is a cast plug it isnt going to weld well as you found out.
3. Be careful about putting that much heat on the casting in one area, you could pop the case.
4. May have to drill it out and tap to the next larger plug size.
Chuck
1960 440ICD #461094 w/ #63 manual blade Converted to a gas engine two owners ago.
- fruitcakesa
- 430 crawler
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:19 am
- Location: United States of America
#1 - I looked at the 2 places indicated in the Service manual where the plug should be depending on the serial # and this was the only one I found
#2 - YEP
#3 - OK
#4 - I did think about drilling it out and I figured it would be a last resort
#2 - YEP
#3 - OK
#4 - I did think about drilling it out and I figured it would be a last resort
196? 1010 diesel crawler, Gearmatic 10 winch w/ arch/fairlead, 6 way power angle blade, ROPS w/rear screen
The most common side effect of heating a tapered plug in cast iron housing is breaking the housing. Always heat the area around the plug, not the plug itself. Welding a nut to the plug will not put enough heat into the plug to break anything, I have done it more times the I can remember. But, I have watched someone break two housings in a row heating the plug instead of the area surrounding the plug.
Lavoy
Lavoy
- fruitcakesa
- 430 crawler
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:19 am
- Location: United States of America
- fruitcakesa
- 430 crawler
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:19 am
- Location: United States of America
Even on cast iron, it should bite enough to hold long enough to get the plug out. It won't be pretty, and the weld is quite brittle, but it will hold some. If you have a stick welder, then yes, stainless would likely work the best. The best all around stainless that I have ever used is High Alloy 500 or Supermissleweld. They are a high elongation stainless rod that works great for pulling out busted plugs, studs, bolts, etc. Not cheap, but by far the best, if you can find them.
Another option is to drill the center of the plug out, the weld the hole back shut. When the weld cools, it really draws, and will relieve the pressue on the plug to the point they often times come out with fingers alone. You will get some spatter in the case when you do this, so definitely not the preferred method, only a last resort.
Lavoy
Another option is to drill the center of the plug out, the weld the hole back shut. When the weld cools, it really draws, and will relieve the pressue on the plug to the point they often times come out with fingers alone. You will get some spatter in the case when you do this, so definitely not the preferred method, only a last resort.
Lavoy
Well you learn something new every day! I've never heard of this before, but sounds like a neat trick to know.Lavoy wrote:<SNIP>
Another option is to drill the center of the plug out, the weld the hole back shut. When the weld cools, it really draws, and will relieve the pressue on the plug to the point they often times come out with fingers alone. You will get some spatter in the case when you do this, so definitely not the preferred method, only a last resort.
Lavoy
Not in the "Use whenever you can" category, but it sure fits in the "Desperate people do desperate things" category!
In regards to the original post, when these rounded off plugs are stuck another issue is the person who put it in before you may have had a sealing issue too and used epoxy as well, so if it looks like there is any sort of gunk on the exposed threads at all using some heat is darn near always a help IMHO. Propane is fine and it doesn't need to be anywhere close to red, just too hot to comfortably touch. Another method not mentioned yet is to use a chisel on the outside and tap it around, just be sure to wear ear and eye protection because it can get loud and you also have 30 years of rust and trash raining down on you.
- Willyr
- 2010 crawler
- Posts: 695
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2010 3:03 am
- Location: Downeast Maine (North of Ellsworth)
lol uhhh we are missing one key factor here. When FC welded on the plug originally? Did you bobther to have the ground attached to the plug? Or did you put the ground some where else? If you put the ground on a casting seperate from the drain plug you may have electrically welded the plug to the casting with a bad ground.
Seen it before, your not the first to make this mistake.
If you wave welded it to the case you will need to drill and tap it.
Seen it before, your not the first to make this mistake.
If you wave welded it to the case you will need to drill and tap it.
former owner of a 1956 420c
All help is greatly appreciated.
Proud owner of a project 1952 JD 60
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFehqXVd9z4
All help is greatly appreciated.
Proud owner of a project 1952 JD 60
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFehqXVd9z4
- fruitcakesa
- 430 crawler
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:19 am
- Location: United States of America
Done!
I decided to drill it out.
Worked through my small drill index then I got a 37/64 bit and ground down the shank to fit my 1/2" Hole Hawg Milwaukee drill. Used that as the pre drill for a 3/8 NPT tap.
Since the original plug was 1/2" NPT I ended up actually tapping into what remained of the old plug which seemed to be seized in its threads.
Flushed the trans twice with diesel, threaded in the new plug, filled up with new Hydro fluid and I am on to the next task on this beat machine.
In the end you have to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
Thanks for all the input.
Worked through my small drill index then I got a 37/64 bit and ground down the shank to fit my 1/2" Hole Hawg Milwaukee drill. Used that as the pre drill for a 3/8 NPT tap.
Since the original plug was 1/2" NPT I ended up actually tapping into what remained of the old plug which seemed to be seized in its threads.
Flushed the trans twice with diesel, threaded in the new plug, filled up with new Hydro fluid and I am on to the next task on this beat machine.
In the end you have to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
Thanks for all the input.
196? 1010 diesel crawler, Gearmatic 10 winch w/ arch/fairlead, 6 way power angle blade, ROPS w/rear screen
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