Seriously?? Drain plug problem .....

[Bailey]

Seriously, I spent a week torching and wrenching on the drain plug in a six speed and completely ground the thing to bits in the process. Nothing would move it, it just kept rounding off. Ground two flat sides back on and it just ripped up again. Finally ground it flat, drilled it and BROKE OFF THE EASY-OUT .... FLUSH. Now I've still got a stuck plug, but the center of it is filled with super-hard broken off easy-out. I've got another three speed that I picked up as a spare. Supposedly it is good. There was nothing wrong with the one on the tractor, I was just going to change the fluid. Should I just change the whole dain thing, or does anyone have any other easier alternative?????

[midnightpumpkin]

Andy, How about just keeping it full of lube and running it? John U

[Bailey]

:OLittle detail I left out there John ...... Got a little crazy drilling for the easy out, punched clean through. Unfortunately, the broken off easy out is impossible to remove, but leaks gear fluid past ngr2

[dentwizz]

Degrease it and jb-weld the hole tight? For fluid changes I have seen where a lot of little shops use a sucker hose from the top or any suitable access to do it.

[midnightpumpkin]

Andy, Just set that tractor aside and go play with the other dozen or so you have sitting around. It would be a lot of work, but if you split the case,the plug is in the cover side of the case. Maybe you could work the plug out from the inside. You should be able to drive the easy out out from the inside. I have a shot 3 speed, you might be able to use the cover off of it. John U

[Bailey]

Very funny John ......... this is one of the new toys, I was just getting the kinks out and ran into this. You're right though, plenty of other irons in the fire, but I hate to walk away. Maybe I'll take you up on that cover .......

[Oz]

How about welding a rod to the Easy-out, and turning it clockwise to get it out? Just a thought. Oz

[D-17_Dave]

Hardened easy out won't weld. You could take a punch and fracture out the easy out if you had to but you'll most likely have to use the JB weld fix if you keep it going.

[LesH]

What you could do is drill and tap a hole near the existing plug. or even better vyet drill and tap a hole at a 45 degreee angleon the lowest side of the tranny-- that way the chips would fall out. You could vaacuum the chips out. As far as the existing hole with the easy out inside it i would grind the easy out flush and clean, then cover with epoxy. OR Take a hole saw and cut around the outside diameter of the existing plug, then tap to the next largest size. Add new plug. One of those should work. All is not lost.

[country]

No one mentioned it, but if you drilled a hole all the way through the plug, there is a chance that some chips are already inside the case. All of the chips very seldom come out of a hole, especially when you drill all the way through. There is usually a little "cap" that is the very thin wall at the end of the hole that usually pushes foward and breakes off at the edges.

[briggsetc]

Try welding inside a nut on the end of the broken part. You need it real clean to get good penetration. Has worked in our shop many times. Gary

[walker]

righty "tighty" - lefty "loosey". That's how I remember it! Sorry - couldn't resist. We've all been there. Never give up!:p

[MrSteele]

Loosen the easy-out with a punch going in the opposite direction. Takes a while, but works sometimes. Bore to next larger tap size, tap and install a plug that will work. Still, you'll likely have to break the case to remove metal shavings, but