Drain Plug Hydro 70

[ComancheStarFarms]

A new to us 1975 Hydro 70.  Draining & replacing hydraulic fluid & filters.  Adding the Herrs magnets.  So far so good except I cannot remove the rear end drain plug - plug just above the (almost) front of the drawbar.  Supposed to be a recessed 1/2” drive plug.  Put an 18” breaker bar on it - no go.  Added a 2’ cheater pipe & gradually rounded the recessed square hole.  I have a couple ideas as to what to do next but with no experience with a stuck plug I wanted your advice - - before I park it out front with a “FREE” sign on it.

[tractorholic]

Heat the plug. 
Then let it cool. It should loosen it.

Dont melt it.
Good luck

[HydroTek]

Well, that was over tight

weld a 3/4" nut on top of the damaged plug 
the welding will shrink the plug a little and should loose it 

LoL you need to practice overhead weld anyways

[stronger800]

At first sign of anything starting to round off or strip, I stop and get the torch. A process that  has always worked for me 

[dwag]

BTDT, pretty easy to drill out.

[ComancheStarFarms]

Heat with an Oxy-Acetylene or small can Propane torch.  Or a candle?  If I go to drilling it out is that just to get an extractor into it or remove it (maybe in pieces)?  Jacobi’s said this happens enough that one of their guys has gotten good with a hammer & chisel.  That sounds tougher than overhead welding - which I’m not sure I have enough plug left to weld?  I hope to waste my day on this so I’ll report back soon!

[stronger800]

If you drill it, you will have oil dripping on you throughout the rest of your job.  
if you’re unsure of you’re welding skill,  grabbing a flange nut to use would protect the edges better, as you weld in the center .  Or if you want to weld the outside of the nut , go get a taller  coupling nut like  7/16 maybe.  
3/4 nut welded i the center  would be better 
 
candle heat and candle wax wicking practices  are silly imo -when I guy owns a torch 

oxy-acetylene would have heated around that in 10-15 seconds, and it would have came right out with only 2” of blackened paint damaged 

[HydroTek]

Good thing I am not there anymore -- if I caught one of the kids using a chisel - would have gave them a good yelling at 

... oh wait -- I mean instructed them gently

At this point of the damage -- weld a 3/4 or 7/8" nut on the plug
you can drill it out -- but gonna get oil all down the drill and both arms -- will also need a jack or pry board to push on the drill 
Best practice is to use good fitting tools in the first place -- the tool truck has square sockets -- and support the tool so it stays fully engaged in the plug

...even an over tight plug can be removed without damage -- ifn you do it right

[wild one]

• I have been told by some Big Yellow wrench guys  that the first thing to do with a drain plug like that is to give it a big wack with a big hammer !!

[ComancheStarFarms]

Thanks for the help guys - - welded a 3/4” nut onto the plug & it came free so easily that I thought my weld didn’t stick.  But it did.  Fluids changed & ready to start raking.

[stronger800]

Heat works good like that.
Glad you got it 

[HydroTek]

7 hours ago, ComancheStarFarms said:

Thanks for the help guys - - welded a 3/4” nut onto the plug & it came free so easily that I thought my weld didn’t stick.  But it did.  Fluids changed & ready to start raking.

You didn't get the rain up in your area ?
your not much north of me 

we had almost 12 inches in the last 2 weeks

Hay still has water on a lot of my ground 

[ComancheStarFarms]

Lawrence County has also gotten a fair amount of rain.  Our hay ground has enough roll to it that if the dry weather forecast holds then we’ll try to mow tomorrow or Saturday.  Of course this time of year it’s hard to pin down the weatherman.  And we currently have an imbalance with more hay ground than cattle pairs - - so I may take a little more risk than normal.  Now, on crop ground - - that’s a big muddy difference!  Thanks for asking - - Hoosiers trying to stick together!

[HydroTek]

Was up your way yesterday -- Bloomington 

[ComancheStarFarms]

Very close.  We’re east of Bedford 11 miles & south of Bloomington 20 on SR446.  Stop by.