L1500 - Oil Drain Plug is Rounded and Stuck

[B7100]

I am going to try the heat and wax first though.

Profnohair

As good as this method can be I don't think it will help in this instance.

A sump plug has a soft washer which seals the plug to seal the oil in the sump so will stop the wax from entering the threads. and is the friction on this washer that stops the plug from coming undone.
The first stage I use for this type of repair is to give the head of the plug a few taps with a light hammer directly on top which some times compresses the washer which relieves the pressure so may be undone with whatever you can grip it with.
Don't hit through the shot with the hammer which may dent the sump if too hard but hit and and bring the hammer away as if you were trying to kill a wasp on the window without breaking the glass.
If after a few attempts this fails then as has already been sugested ,welding a large nut onto the plug.
good luck!
dave

 

[MagKarl]

Yep, no wax is going to get past that sealing washer, plus the threads are probably already well lubed being that they poke up into the oil pan. Get a pipe wrench on there and horse it out. If the pipe wrench won't bite then grind two flats onto the buggered up head and try again with the pipe wrench. It'll come out.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Well if you gents to back to his very first post and look closely at the pictures there is a considerable about of rust around the head of the bolt, and there does not appear to be a plastic washer on there either due to the fact its jammed on there pretty tight. I don't see any gap between the head of the bolt and the bottom of the pan to denote there's a washer in there! And it would seem to me that if a washer was indeed in place on the bolt then he should not have any problems with it being rusted in place because the washer would keep a gap in there and stop rust from freezing the head up.

 

[Orange Tractors]

Also, look very closly at where you are putting a pipe wrench-- the oil pan on my L175 has a round boss that the drain plug screws into. You do not want to accidentally on pupose twist that off, You would then have to pull the oil pan off to either repair or replace it.

Robert

 

[Dennis]

The family has now accumulated 5 cars and 3 tractors. Some of these have sump plugs with washers and some do not. Some have plastic washers some have metal.

Should they all have washers and should these be plastic?

I'm asking because some of the plugs seem to come off a lot harder than expected after I have carefully torqued them at the previous oil change.

 

[Hook]

Try heating the oil pan around the plug and not the plug itself. Use a pipe wrench or vice grips and it should come out.

 

[Profnohair]

Also, look very closly at where you are putting a pipe wrench-- the oil pan on my L175 has a round boss that the drain plug screws into. You do not want to accidentally on pupose twist that off, You would then have to pull the oil pan off to either repair or replace it.

Robert

That is exactly what I was afraid of. I didn't want to grip the upper part against the pan. I didn't know if it was part of the bolt or the pan. Now I know it is called a "boss".

Profnohair.

 

[Profnohair]

I think I am going to take a break from the land itself and work on this on Saturday. I have the canister filter in hand as of tonight so I am ready to do it.

I will try heat with wax first. If not successful, I will have to have a new bolt welded on to the old one.

Will report back when I am done.

profnohair

 

[GWD]

You'll gett'er done. You have a plan and some options. Just keep at it.

 

[birddogger]

Oh, rusted. Then you need Kroil. Soak it down, tap gently with a hammer, let it sit and do the other filter change. Soak again, tap some more.

 

[Profnohair]

Re: L1500 - Oil Drain Plug is Rounded and Stuck - Resolved

Finally got back to changing the oil on the L1500. Applied heat, tried the wax trick (didn't work in this case), cursed, prayed and then settled on removing the pan and drilling the bolt out. For the record, the upper section above the head of the bolt in the original post pictures is welded to the pan and is threaded. I do not know if this is original or a repair from previous problems. The size of the drain plug is 12-1.25 metric thread. Made a gasket from purchased material and reinstalled the pan. Always remember to actually change the filter before adding the new oil. I will remember this in the future. With all of the time that I took to fool with the drain plug, I completely forgot about the filter. Oh well, just a little bit extra wasted oil.

Thanks for all of the advise, but this drain plug was not coming off without extreme measures.

Profnohair

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Re: L1500 - Oil Drain Plug is Rounded and Stuck - Resolved

I wasnt sure if the heat and wax would work upside down, as the wax cant really drip and run into the threads!

 

[Profnohair]

Re: L1500 - Oil Drain Plug is Rounded and Stuck - Resolved

I wasnt sure if the heat and wax would work upside down, as the wax cant really drip and run into the threads!

I actually did it after removing the pan (from the inside where the threads were clearly visible) and it still did not budge. I think the drain plug some how welded itself to the pan itself. I even used a 3' pipe attached to the wrench and it did not budge.

Profnohair

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Re: L1500 - Oil Drain Plug is Rounded and Stuck - Resolved

HUMM well maybe we need to get Aquaforce on here and have a chitchat with him! I've never tried this trick myself, just passing along a cheap and easy trick to try out first.

 

[GWD]

Re: L1500 - Oil Drain Plug is Rounded and Stuck - Resolved

Profnohair: Thanks for the follow-up information on the fix. Too often things are left hanging and everyone wonders about the final outcome.

 

[B7100]

Re: L1500 - Oil Drain Plug is Rounded and Stuck - Resolved

Profnohair: Thanks for the follow-up information on the fix. Too often things are left hanging and everyone wonders about the final outcome.

Totally agree there's nothing worse than reading or being involved in a request for help and and the trail goes cold!
Its a pity the OP did not have access to a mig because looking at the plug, I would have bet the farm that it would have come out but all credit for him getting it out with what he had available.

Dave

 

[Profnohair]

I agree on not liking help request that are not followed up on by the original poster. You think you are going to find a solution for a problem you are having only to find out you don't know what the final out come was.

Profnohair

 

[ipz2222]

10-4 on that posting a fix. In my business ( transmission repair), I have a forum that I can post a problem to and like ott, people all over the world help me fix the problem....
BUT, if I don't post a fix or a final outcome.,, the next time I try to post a a problem, it reminds me that I still have a problem open and I cannot post another one untill this one is resolved.

 

[fj40dave]

I've put these on vehicles I have in the past

http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/

 

[Eric McCarthy]

I'd be a little worried about putting a drain valve like that on a tractor. Seems to me if your doing alot of heavy bush hogging or grading something might flop up and smack the valve causeing it to come open and loose all your oil.