Stripped breather bolt

[canoetrpr]

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?

 

[ToadHill]

A small machinist hammer and a cold chisel. Tap counter clockwise until loose, then replace with a real bolt.

 

[Eagleview]

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 .

 

[wushaw]

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.

 

[Rockman]

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.

 

[canoetrpr]

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.

 

[Eagleview]

Thanks , the one on my New Holland TL100A is spring loaded to prevent seal damage . It would probably screw straight in as a replacement .

 

[RFB]

Did you get it out, and did the square head just round-off?

Replacing that ala Iron Horse's suggestion seems intriguing.

 

[canoetrpr]

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

 

[jimmysisson]

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

 

[MJPetersen]

This bolt took a 8mm crescent wrench... I don't know if anyone makes pipe wrenches that small

I have never heard of a cresent that was "8mm". 8mm is less than 3/8th of an inch.


Mike

 

[wushaw]

I have never heard of a cresent that was "8mm". 8mm is less than 3/8th of an inch.


Mike

Yea like 5/16" is a direct alternate wrench size.

 

[Eagleview]

On soft headed bolts it is an easy matter to select a slightly smaller multi hex socket and drive it on with a hammer . The socket will mold the head of the bolt to its own shape . Then simply undo with a ratchet . You will have to drive the bolt out of the socket with a pin punch after . It sounds a little rough but it has worked many times for me .

 

[canoetrpr]

Iron Horse - good thought.

Jim, that sounds like a pretty useful tool. If I would have read your post before I went shopping I might have looked for something like it.

I decided to pick up a set of 5 locking pliers - something that I don't have in my toolbox. I'll give those a shot first.

Found all kinds of other goodies for stripped bolt removal. Found these gizmos that you tap or hammer in (after driling) and then undo with a socket / rachet. Guess I'm not the first guy to have stripped a bolt eh?

Mike - I picked up a good set of combination wrenches that go down all the way to 6 mm. They are tiny! Odd going under the tractor with a little wrench like a 7 mm

 

[builder2]

Visegips

 

[canoetrpr]

I got the breather taken care of last night so I thought I'd write an update. Thanks for all who posted. I tried visegrips - no luck. Finally a little teeny tiny pipe wrench did the trip. A new breather plug was $1.97 and my local Kubota dealer even had it in stock!

All greased up now and I didn't over tighten this time. I also put a bit of some anti-seize stuff on the new bolt before putting it on.

 

[Eagleview]

I love it when we get some closure on these things , good on you .