Leaving a Little Penetrating Oil in an Engine

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by GregSteimel

Put a torch to for as long as I dared but no luck with the allen. Another dose of PB and I'll try again tomorrow.


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Time is your friend here. Repeating the application of of PB & waiting is a good move.

Use of a hammer type impact driver also helps quite a bit too. This one is my favorite: Sears.com

This is a cheaper version: Impact Screwdriver Set with Case

Add a 1/2" or 3/8" drive Allen bit to one of the above tools & you have a powerful aid in your mission to get that plug out.

[hellosailor]

Cost of a replacement block: (Ahem)
Cost of five pounds of dry ice and a pint of alcohol to make slush?
$5+$2, about seven bucks in all. Enough to freeze it and thaw it multiple times.

Brute force...well, I'd trust the impact hammer, I guess.

[GregSteimel]

I've done the Blaster, torch, give it a try thing a few times and it's not looking good.


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[GregSteimel]

So swinging a hammer is not an option.


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[Mycroft]

First, since it's upside down, make sure you're turning the correct way.

Harbor Freight sells a hex socket set. You can attach the hex wrench/socket to a wrench or electric impact drill.

[bornyesterday]

There's too much play in that multi-set. Those things are only for a field kit no matter how good their quality might be.
You've tried applying force progressively and it hasn't moved.
You need an "L" shaped Allen wrench with one very long and one very short side.
No cheap Chinese tools made of toffee.
The short side doesn't twist like yours is doing. The long side lets you apply enough force suddenly enough to free the stuck screw.
You already know it's tight. I don't understand why you're still using that inadequate wrench?

If I'm cranky it's because tomorrow I have to repair two winch drums damaged in transit because of childishly incompetent packing.

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by GregSteimel

Attachment 81927 I've done the Blaster, torch, give it a try thing a few times and it's not looking good.


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If it is not looking good, then perhaps now is a good time to consider how important it really is to make the desired modification. Before you use more forceful methods, it is prudent to once again consider the cost of "oops".

If you decide to continue & if that sender comes out easily, I'd reconsider the earlier suggestion of connecting a small diameter tube there (1/8" O.D. copper?, with a stress relief coil?) & then going to a remote located T fitting that can pick up both the original sender & your new gizmo. That looks to me like the safest & easiest way out.

If you decide that you simply must remove that plug, then I would get a "production grade" Allen socket. They are harder than other Allen wrenches, even the "good" ones. The productions grade tools will exert a lot more torque before rounding out the head of the fastener. Expect to pay around $20 for an individual production grade Allen Socket. Expect it to come with a warning not to use it with an impact gun. They are brittle & they shatter under impact use.

My usual source:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#allen-bit-p...ockets/=s51unh

[Lojanica]

You've received some good advice including reconsidering your objective. You aren't using the correct tools nor do you have a good plan. Either get help or you're gonna pay a lot more for help after you damage the engine.

[pbiJim]

If the plug is steel & the housing is aluminum, then you might want to try removing the plug while the housing is still hot. Most aluminum alloys expand roughly twice as much as common mild steel with the same rise in temperature. Be careful though, hot aluminum is a bit soft & galling is a possibility.

Another thing to consider: are you sure that is just a plug you are trying to remove? Some engines have Allen head fittings that cover access to things like check ball assemblies or regulators in the oil passage system. I don't know that motor in particular. I am just asking a question here.

Also, if you do go for heavy force to remove that plug, be sure to support the end of the tool that is under the plug, so that you apply only a turning force & not also a side load force to the plug. Please forgive me if this sounds like a very basic statement. I don't know your level of experience with difficult fasteners. Me saying something silly may be less costly than me not saying something that could have been useful.

[GregSteimel]

It never fails. When you ask for ideas on this forum you'll eventually get insults. I don't have a good plan? I'm trying to remove an Allen plug. With an Allen wrench. What was I thinking?


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[Lojanica]

Originally Posted by GregSteimel

It never fails. When you ask for ideas on this forum you'll eventually get insults. I don't have a good plan? I'm trying to remove an Allen plug. With an Allen wrench. What was I thinking?


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Didn't mean to insult. Actually trying to help. From the photo it doesn't look like a simple port in the block. Do you have a schematic for the engine? The reason I ask is it may have a purpose--- spring loaded, set screw, etc. If you really want it out at this juncture I would look at a schematic to find out more info.

[bornyesterday]

Originally Posted by bornyesterday

If the Allen wrench won't shift it and rounds off the hex socket (as usual) you can use a hammer and cold chisel around the edge of the plug.
Work different parts of the circumference if you can so you don't dig too deep in one place.

If I'd seen your photo beforehand I would never have suggested the chisel trick.

That part of the block casting is clearly far too thin-walled, exposed and unsupported to risk using a chisel or an impact driver.

I'd have to ask a metallurgist whether heating such a small, exposed part of a large casting would be safe - my instinct is that it might not be.

If a decent Allen wrench won't shift the blanking screw it might be best to leave it in place and replace the pressure switch with an elbow to a remotely-mounted tee fitting as suggested earlier.

[a64pilot]

It almost looks from the picture that is an adapter bolted to the engine and not an integral to the block casting?

[hellosailor]

Greg, what were you thinking, using an SAE-style Allen wrench instead of a gen-you-whine Yanmar Special Service Tool or Yanmar Hexagonal Bit to remove that plug?
(WEG)

Well, if you've got a dermatologist around...they all use liquid nitrogen to freeze off little bits, so they can point you to a local supplier. Handled with extreme care, that will freeze-thaw cycle the plug more than CO2 would. Of course, extreme care because that stuff gets cold enough to make metal brittle, do not whack the metal until it has all evaporated and warmed back up again.

really...heat, cold, PBlaster, a properly fitting strong bit, an impact driver...something's got to do it. And none of those should be able to crack an engine, unless you've got a sledge hammer behind them. You did try an impact driver with a maul or dead hammer, did you?

[GregSteimel]

I have the parts catalogue and it is indeed a simple plug. And I know when you click on one of these forums it takes you to the end first (?), but as I said at the beginning, my wrench grabs the plug just fine, I just don't have the room to break it loose.

At any rate, I'm only risking stripping it and is then have to do it another way. Which is looking more likely anyway. I like the flex pipe idea, but there's so little room down there.

I'll have to look at the Yamnar damper (tee) and see if it's configured differently than the automotive one I have on hand.



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