stuck front axle Fill Plug on Deere 2955

gtrgarden1 · Nov 17, 2019

What ideas do you have for loosening the Fill Plug on the front axle of a Deere 2955 tractor?
The plug is not stripped. A breaker bar fits tight in the plug, but no amount of heaving I have done is breaking the plug loose.
I sprayed some WD-40 around the plug yesterday to see if it might penetrate to help loosen the thread [I haven't checked back on that yet]. But, since the plug is on the side of the axle, I'm not sure if any penetrant would have much opportunity to move down into the threads.
I suppose heat would also be an option.

Roadworthy · Nov 17, 2019

I don't know how much work space you have but sometimes an impact wrench can loosen frozen threads. Sometimes you can break a frozen fastener by tightening before loosening but I don't think that would work well with a tapered thread plug.

Tx Jim · Nov 18, 2019

Have you attempted to hit plug with a large hammer? If large hammer doesn't loosen plug my next choice would be an acetylene torch.

dougtrr2 · Nov 18, 2019

Saw this on another forum:

Doug in SW IA

Zebrafive · Nov 18, 2019

Roadworthy said:
I don't know how much work space you have but sometimes an impact wrench can loosen frozen threads. Sometimes you can break a frozen fastener by tightening before loosening but I don't think that would work well with a tapered thread plug.

I was going to recommend the same exact thing. Impact wrench. Try tightening. Sometimes that breaks away from something holding it from turning in the reverse/out direction.

I think I would drill it out before resorting to a torch. If you drill put grease on the drill to collect chips and clean and regrease often. Good luck!