Drain Plug will not come loose!!

[NYOlivers]

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to remove a steel square drive 3/8" pipe plug out of a Aluminum Oil pan? I am working on one of my tractors and I was going to drain the engine oil and I could not get the plug out. I have not serviced this tractor before and I do not even know if the pipe plug is the correct drain plug for it, I don't think it is. I started with box wrench, then a adjustable wrench, then tried 2 different square drive sockets because the plug started to get distorted and round off each time. I then tried to heat it but the aluminum removes the heat to fast. I even tried twist sockets that are supposed to remove rounded off bolts with my 3/8 impact. No movement at all just kept rounding off the flats on the plug. I can get a some what of a decent bite on it with a pipe wrench but I do not want to break the pan. I was thinking of maybe trying to weld a large nut over the plug and maybe the heat from welding it will help brake loose the rust around the threads. I have a lot of room around the plug and I think I could get it clean enough on all sides to get good penetration on the steel plug if I weld it. I guess I am worried about pulling out the threads on the aluminum. Any ideas??? Thanks in advance...

 

[showcrop]

I have a way that I and others have used but I want to be sure that it is appropriate for your make and model before I tell you.

 

[NYOlivers]

68 Oliver 1850 with a perkins diesel.

 

[Dave H (MI)]

Vice grips and a lot of finesse.

 

[RedMF40]

On my Ford 9N the square drain plug has a large flange around it. Both the drain plug and pan are steel. Probably many years since it had been removed and it would not come loose even with the big breaker bar. Put the air hammer on low air pressure and tap tap tap on the flange itself for maybe a minute. It came loose with the pipe wrench I'd been using. However, if your plug threads right into an aluminum pan this may not work without damaging something.

 

[NYOlivers]

Tried vise grips. Maybe not enough finesse!!

 

[NYOlivers]

I thought about that but I'm not sure if
it would get the rust to break loose with
out distorting the aluminum.

 

[Janicholson]

Put a large hex nut that just fits over the rounded corners (grind the corners if needed) then weld it in place. The welding will slightly swell and heat the plug, breaking its bond with the aluminum. Let cool to cold so the plug then shrinks. Use a nice 6 point socket and off it comes. Jim

 

[NYOlivers]

That is what I was thinking of doing.

 

[grizz02]

pipe wrench and bar

 

[SVcummins]

I was pulling a motor apart the other day and the bolts were stuck in the aluminum housing a little bit of heat on the aluminum and it broke the corrosion and came right apart

 

[MarkB_MI]

When you say you're "heating it up", what are you using for your heat source and what is it you're heating? You'll never get it hot enough to free up using a propane torch; you need acetylene. Also, you can't heat the aluminum, as it will melt before you get it hot enough.

You need to directly heat the plug; it will break free once it's hot enough. Get your pipe wrench adjusted and ready, then heat the plug with an acetylene torch. Try not to heat the surrounding aluminum; focus the flame on the plug. As soon as the plug starts to glow red, grab the pipe wrench and try to turn the plug. If it doesn't turn easily, apply more heat. It seems counter-intuitive that heating the plug will free it, but it will; you're breaking the chemical bond between the iron and aluminum. Note that if you get the plug too hot, there's a risk of setting the oil in the pan on fire, but most likely it will just boil.

 

[NYOlivers]

I was using a oxy/acc. Torch. I did mean the steel plug itself. I understand how it works. This particular time it did not work... I do not want to ruin the aluminum oil pan.

 

[MarkB_MI]

> I was using a oxy/acc. Torch. I did mean the steel plug itself. I understand how it works. This particular time it did not work... I do not want to ruin the aluminum oil pan.

Mo' heat. You're more likely to wreck the pan by taking out the plug cold than by getting it too hot. The aluminum pan is a huge heat sink.

 

[Phil9N3667]

Has anyone ever "tightened" a pipe fitting/plug to get it broke loose!!?? This works 99.9% of the time I do it. Tighten it just enough to see it move, then it should come on out. Sounds stupid, but it works.

 

[dr sportster]

Final answer -- more heat. You could get that steel plug cherry red without affecting the alum pan.

 

[rrman61]

Last resort: drill it a little at a time.small bits then progressively larger until it unscrews or cave it in on itself