Stripped transmission drain plug - Ford 4100

[TractorGuy]

That's pretty ugly. I would take an air chisel to it.

 

[FarmaBro]

The plug looks proud of the surface. If you can get good purchase with a chisel, it might be worth drilling out the center as large as you dare and caving in the plug from the side. I don't expect that thing will come out in one piece.

 

[CoyPatton]

Looking at that picture, I still think you have some corrosion from dissimilar metals going on. I still think a bit of heat will help to break that loose. It does not need to glow red just get it warm. If you have access to an air chisel, use it. The impacts from it or from a hammer and chisel will do wonders in breaking it loose. Your current plug is already destroyed so do worries there. Go from the outside edge and try to follow the turn of plug as if unscrewing it. If you drill out the center, you can crush he plug to the center as you chisel and save the pan threads. I would try to stay 1/4” away from any edge if possible. That allows for good threads in the pan to remain and then a hot plug (again it should not need to glow red) will crush to center fairly easy.

 

[RalphVa]

I bought an 80's Ford 4100 diesel a couple of years ago and I need to change the transmission fluid. However the plug is stripped, so I can't get it out. It's the type with an inverted 1/2 inch square which was almost completely rounded. I couldn't get any bite with my 1/2 breaker bar so I ordered some extractors. The plug seems to be soft metal as the extractors seem to get a little bit of a bite and then just start eating away material.

I'm not sure what else to try, I was going to try and collapse in the sides so that the threads would be loose but it sits almost flush with the transmission housing so I can't really get much forse from the outside.

Any suggestions?

Seal it up with epoxy and buy an oil extractor. I no longer use drain plugs on any of our engines. Haven't for about 6 or 8 years.

Ralph

 

[sixdogs]

Take it to a dealer and let them do it. You're doing things for the first time here and there's a learning curve to many of these suggestions. You could wind up making things much worse. Sometimes, paying to have things done makes life much easier.

If you're too far from a dealer there usually are tractor repair guys around that will come out to your place. I've called on help a couple times and I think it saved me.

 

[Vizslaman]

I warm the area around the plug with a propane torch the spray the centre of the plug with plumbers pipe freezer, rapid contraction of the plug usually gets it undone

 

[Other Bob]

Seal it up with epoxy and buy an oil extractor. I no longer use drain plugs on any of our engines. Haven't for about 6 or 8 years.

Ralph

So I got the extractor yesterday. I started the tractor yesterday and drove it around for about 5 minutes then let it sit and idle for another 20 minutes to warm the transmission fluid, however the fluid was still cool to the touch. I was thinking with the clutch out in neutral there would be enough spinning and friction going on but I guess not. I'm thinking it won't warm up without some kind of load, is that your experience? Maybe if I pick up a large bale and drive around for a bit.

 

[Other Bob]

Take it to a dealer and let them do it. You're doing things for the first time here and there's a learning curve to many of these suggestions. You could wind up making things much worse. Sometimes, paying to have things done makes life much easier.

If you're too far from a dealer there usually are tractor repair guys around that will come out to your place. I've called on help a couple times and I think it saved me.

I'm not a dealer type of person, I've been doing all my and family car repairs for 30+ years. In that time I've only had a couple of occasions where I couldn't figure out the problem and took it to a shop. One of those times they coudn't figure it out either after a couple of hours diagnosis, then when it died on my way home from the shop I figured it out. Being stuck on the side of the interstate gives you new motivation to check things you hadn't checked before. If I don't do things for a first time then it's always the first time. First times can be frustrating but usually the same thing is pretty easy by the second or third time.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Well not really. Sadly, those of that that dabble in so much stuff, can't possibly remember everything. Maybe just some basics, applicable to a broad range of problems.

I like to think that a clueless person (Me) that cares, and has the luxury of time, is always a better bet than the clueless person at the dealer that is under time pressure and in all probabilty doesn't really care.

 

[sixdogs]

I'm not a dealer type of person, I've been doing all my and family car repairs for 30+ years. In that time I've only had a couple of occasions where I couldn't figure out the problem and took it to a shop. One of those times they coudn't figure it out either after a couple of hours diagnosis, then when it died on my way home from the shop I figured it out. Being stuck on the side of the interstate gives you new motivation to check things you hadn't checked before. If I don't do things for a first time then it's always the first time. First times can be frustrating but usually the same thing is pretty easy by the second or third time.

Good way to put it and it's how I learned. Most things I did wrong the first time or two but gradually figured it out. With you're positive attitude, you'll be OK.

 

[Fuddy1952]

All that he said was "Drain plug" and everybody started having flashbacks. Good luck, I hope that it doesn't take a year and 2000 posts to get it out.

.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I would buy a cheap extension and weld it into the plug. Let it cool overnight and turn it out. Or I have a number of spare sockets that I use for these kind of situations. Just weld the socket onto the plug. Let it cool and turn it out in the morning.

 

[Other Bob]

I would buy a cheap extension and weld it into the plug. Let it cool overnight and turn it out. Or I have a number of spare sockets that I use for these kind of situations. Just weld the socket onto the plug. Let it cool and turn it out in the morning.

I had that thought as well but was concerned about welding an extension. Do you grind off the chrome or use a non chromed impact style? I'm a welding NOOB, I have a 110/220 Mig welder but can't get the tractor close enough to my 220v plugs so would have to use 110v.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I once made cheater plugs to change a 110 volt extension cord to a 220. 220 to 110 with about a foot of wire in between and then 110 to 220 on the other end. We had to take them apart though as the hired men wreaked a few motors on us. That wouldn't cost a whole lot and it would let you use your Mig on 220 volts if you so desire.

Here's what I would do: It doesn't matter if you use a chrome extension or a black one. Just grind the chrome off of the chrome one. I would also cut it off enough so that the ball is gone. You'll get a better weld with it out of the way. Use a hydraulic jack or something similar to hold the extension up into the drain plug. Use a warm enough amperage to give you good penetration and weld the extension on. Let it cool and work on turning it out. If you have an impact gun set it on low and rattle the plug for a bit before turning up the force. I don't think it will take much to turn it out after welding on it as the heat will expand the plug and then as it cools it shrinks.

If you don't have an impact gun then use a hammer and hit the extension up from the bottom to help loosen the threads. It would be good if someone would turn an the plug as it's being hit by the hammer. That would be similar to an impact gun only more controllable.

Good luck.

 

[WranglerX]

I would buy a cheap extension and weld it into the plug. Let it cool overnight and turn it out. Or I have a number of spare sockets that I use for these kind of situations. Just weld the socket onto the plug. Let it cool and turn it out in the morning.

That suggested several pages ago...... But you want to try to ease it out while still hot....

Dale

 

[Industrial Toys]

You could also get some HEX stock and TRY and weld that on. Could even use a bottle jack to wedge it into perfect position and not have to hold it for welding. Then cut off the hex stock and put a socket on it. Maybe even square stock and just use a big adjustable wrench.