rounded bolt head-hydro drain plug

[The Haymaker]

If you are going to arc weld on a tractor like that, can't bearings in other parts of the tractor can be adversely welded by the welding process-it pits the bearings or something to that affect?? Maybe use a gas welder instead?

No. Just give it a good ground close to the welded object. Current takes path of least resistance.

The heat from welding will also break the oxidation bonds between plug and housing.

E

 

[flusher]

Stuck bolts are always a PITA.
It took me the better part of 2 weeks to get a stuck 3/8-16 stud out of the brake housing on my 1945 Oliver 60 High Crop tractor. I had to do a brake job on that tractor and that stud is the adjustment to compensate for lining wear on the brake band. It was rusted in solid. Kept dosing it with Kroil. Then changed to Mouse Milk. I was able to grind flats on each end of the stud and worked it with vise grips. No luck until I started with the hammer/cold chisel. After about 20 minutes of chisel work, the stud broke free. As you say, it's a great feeling of accomplishment to get a job like that done successfully.

 

[Short Game]

...the drain plug is out.

Congrats. If all else fails, and you can't match the plug, well, you do have that custom one you just built.

 

[Soundguy]

thanks to all you guys the drain plug is out.
i tried the vice grips and it was a no go, they just rode down the taper of the head so i convinced myself i couldnt make it worse and welded the rod coupler to it, about 6 or 8 sharp wacks with the hammer and a steady burst with the impact and she backed out!!! SoundGuy, you know i'm kickin myself now dont ya? from the time i made my mind up to trust my welding to the time i was smilin was probably less than 10 minutes. and the rod coupler was an excellent suggestion. the only rod couplings i could lay my hands on was zinc coated so i hit it with a file and welded from the coupling onto the drain bolt. to get it good and steady i built a platform under the sump with 4x4 and 2x4 blocks and threaded a bolt into the coupling and then backed the bolt out to put upward pressure on the coupling, this allowed me to ground directly to the coupling, that was a big help because when it was grounded to a bolt on the sump it still was a little hard to start an arc through the zinc. the earl.

cool beans.

yep.. I don't mess with em much anymore. if a wrench or pipe wrench slips.. I weld and go. I'm lazy too.. I put a big hex nut in the ground clamp of my welder, hold it up there and tack on 2 sides, let go, then fill in better, then whack and back...

glad you got it.

soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

Congrats. If all else fails, and you can't match the plug, well, you do have that custom one you just built.

good point!

I have a tractor that was essentially a parts tractor I saved. it has parts from about 7 other tractors on it, plus some custom stuff I built / fabbed, and alot of my '2nds' or spares on it. I decided to convert it to a running useable tractor instead of a running parts tractor.. thus I didn't want to put alot of $$ into it.

it's oil drain bug was rounded smooth.. it's a square head on a 2.5" or so flange.. I put some HUGE nut I found on the floor of my shop.. the ID of the nut swallowed the shank of the old plug's square head almost entirely. I welded it on fromt he id of the nut and it spin the bung out. That replacement bung is about 15$ and I sad what the heck. I finished welding it up and cleaned up on a grinder and wire wheel.. and put it back to work with a new gasket.. that's my 950 ford trike...


soundguy

 

[Short Game]

Few things anger me as much as large diameter threads with small dimension heads for the wrench to grab. Idiot engineering, if you ask me. The longer the contact area of those threads, the harder they can stick, and the more likely it is to strip the head. Why do they do that?

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. huge surface area of threads.. small tool contact patch..

 

[SandburRanch]

Few things anger me as much as large diameter threads with small dimension heads for the wrench to grab. Idiot engineering, if you ask me. The longer the contact area of those threads, the harder they can stick, and the more likely it is to strip the head. Why do they do that?

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Rates right up there with a flanged cap screw doesn't it. A hex head that's only about a 1/4 " tall is rather difficult to keep a socket on and it stays that length all the way rather than allowing the socket to reach deeper as it backs out. And skinned knuckles aren't that much fun anymore.

 

[aebsmithcreek]

Originally Posted by Short Game
Congrats. If all else fails, and you can't match the plug, well, you do have that custom one you just built.

that was my plan on the way back home after exhausting my resources and coming up empty handed, seems JD, to protect there parts market sized it at 19mm knowing every podunk parts store has 18 and 20mm. coulda bought a truck load of those. my plan was washed when i discoverd the old o ring is tore beyond use. i gotta go into a bigger town tomorrow and possibly into Georgia so i'll stop at some auto parts stores along the way and see what i come up with for an o ring if nothin else. i called the JD parts man on the way home and went ahead and ordered another one just incase. the sump screen was totaly pluged and i found what looked like a chip of bakeolite in it. i am wondering if maybe i was lied to by the salesman ( imagine that ) or maybe he was lied to by the service dept. the tractor had a cracked site glass that they replaced before i took the tractor and i was assured the old oil was thrown out and new fluid put in but i find it hard to beleive since my neighbor has a JD almost identical to mine that he only uses once or twice a year and has never been stored inside and he hasn't had any hydraulic problems or service. i guess i'm just snake bit that a way.

earl

arc through the zinc. the earl--this was a typo,not much of a typist:ashamed:

 

[SSdoxie]

thanks to all you guys the drain plug is out.
i tried the vice grips and it was a no go, they just rode down the taper of the head so i convinced myself i couldnt make it worse and welded the rod coupler to it, about 6 or 8 sharp wacks with the hammer and a steady burst with the impact and she backed out!!! SoundGuy, you know i'm kickin myself now dont ya? from the time i made my mind up to trust my welding to the time i was smilin was probably less than 10 minutes. and the rod coupler was an excellent suggestion. the only rod couplings i could lay my hands on was zinc coated so i hit it with a file and welded from the coupling onto the drain bolt. to get it good and steady i built a platform under the sump with 4x4 and 2x4 blocks and threaded a bolt into the coupling and then backed the bolt out to put upward pressure on the coupling, this allowed me to ground directly to the coupling, that was a big help because when it was grounded to a bolt on the sump it still was a little hard to start an arc through the zinc. the John Deere dealer didnt have a drain bolt so after i get through hauling trash to the dupm this morning i'm off in search of one, i'm hoping the napa store about 20 miles up the road stocks some stuff that might interchange since they have alot of customers that use tractors in there buissiness's if not its about 30 miles in the opposite direction to the coast where one of the parts stores that caters to the marine customers may have something that will work. i still have to pull and clean the sump screen and am sure it will be plugged up tight, the hydro oil was terrible how in the world could it get so bad in a year? it is seldom stored outside but it is so milky i couldnt beleive it, it looked fine through the site glass. i had promised it to a co-worker who makes bio but it appears to have so much moisture in it that he may not be able to use it. is there anything i can do to displace the moisture in the future? it doesnt get much use through the winter, would running it at idle for 30 minutes to an hour a couple of times a month be enough to boil the moisture off?
thanks again to everyone, not only for the good advice but for the boost in confidence, i feel much more confident in the unknown than i did when i woke up yesterday morning.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

earl.

Let the old oil set for a day or so to let the water settle then pout the good oil off. Your co-worker can use it for the bio and you get an idea of how much water was in there. You may not have left it set out in rain but what about the guy who had before you. Check any shift boots or seals to make sure there are no cracks where water could enter. A plugged vetn cap can also trap warm moist air so it builds up faster the the reservoir.