Stripped breather bolt

   / Stripped breather bolt #1  

canoetrpr

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2005
Messages
2,382
Location
Ontario, Canada
Tractor
Kubota M7040 cab/hyd shuttle - current, Kubota L3400 - traded
On my L3400 front axle housing there is a grease nipple and a breather plug. The breather plug is a wierd 4 corner bolt rather than a normal hex one. You are supposed to remove the breather and pump in grease until it flows out of the breather.

Being a newbie, last spring on the 50 hr service I think I over tightened the breather bolt. Today trying to do my 100 hr service I could not loosen it any (using a crescent wrench) and have managed to strip it pretty good. Kind of irritating as it is not made of any real hard metal - stripped pretty easily.

I was able to get 3 or 4 squirts of moly grease in there today without taking the breather out.

I have two questions that I hope someone can answer:

1. How the heck does one go about getting a stripped bolt like this out?

2. How urgent is it that I get this breather out and replaced even though I was still able to get grease into it?
 
   / Stripped breather bolt #2  
A small machinist hammer and a cold chisel. Tap counter clockwise until loose, then replace with a real bolt.
 
   / Stripped breather bolt #3  
You usually dont remove the breather to grease the component . Unless it is a different kind to what is normal . It has a spring loaded valve in it that opens when you grease the nipple allowing excess grease to flow out of it which indicates the chamber is full . If you mean by stripped you have rounded the square off , just leave it .
 
   / Stripped breather bolt #4  
Your talking about the piviot point right????

If so I dont remove anything, I just pump grease in till it won't pump anymore.

Oh if you rounded the head off you may try vise grips and see if it will get a hold to remove it.
 
   / Stripped breather bolt #5  
canoetrpr said:
On my L3400 front axle housing there is a grease nipple and a breather plug. The breather plug is a wierd 4 corner bolt rather than a normal hex one. You are supposed to remove the breather and pump in grease until it flows out of the breather.

Being a newbie, last spring on the 50 hr service I think I over tightened the breather bolt. Today trying to do my 100 hr service I could not loosen it any (using a crescent wrench) and have managed to strip it pretty good. Kind of irritating as it is not made of any real hard metal - stripped pretty easily.

I was able to get 3 or 4 squirts of moly grease in there today without taking the breather out.

I have two questions that I hope someone can answer:

1. How the heck does one go about getting a stripped bolt like this out?

2. How urgent is it that I get this breather out and replaced even though I was still able to get grease into it?

To remove the rounded off plug simply use a small pipewrench to turn it out with. If your manual says to remove the plug before greasing I assume it is to avoid building preasure and blowing out the seals.
 
   / Stripped breather bolt
  • Thread Starter
#6  
wushaw - yes this is the pivot point. I wonder how many people actually remove the breather plug. Like Rockman said, I believe it is to prevent blowing the seals with the pressure from the grease gun.

I did it by the book the first time around - just over tightened :-(

Ironhorse, this is a pretty plain breather - just a bolt that you are told to remove before pumping grease.
 
   / Stripped breather bolt #8  
Did you get it out, and did the square head just round-off?

Replacing that ala Iron Horse's suggestion seems intriguing.
 
   / Stripped breather bolt
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Not quite yet. I'm going to head down to the hardware store to pick up a little pipe wrench. This bolt took a 8mm crescent wrench... I don't know if anyone makes pipe wrenches that small :)
 
   / Stripped breather bolt #10  
There's a little pair of pliers, 7"?, everyone ought to own, made for brake line (metal pipe) fittings. These are customarily rusted solid and tight as get out. These pliers are pretty sharp-toothed, and the upper jaw extends way out around the lower one, so small squeeze on the handles provides good pinch on the fitting. I imagine they're still made, mine are 30+ years old. They look a little like these: KD Tools 203 - Battery Nut Pliers
Not adjustable, but will grab something from about 3/8 to 5/8. On second thought, they might be too small for your breather, but they're real handy anyway.
Jim
 
 
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