Hi, I bought an older CAT track loader 963 about a month ago and have been doing maintenance on it (it was neglected so I got it pretty cheap). I'm trying to check the oil level in the final drives-- and I can't get the plugs out-- The fill plug, level check plug, and the add oil plug are all designed to take a 3/4" square drive, but all three are pretty badly buggered up from someone previously trying to get these plugs out. I gave all three a pretty hard whack with a hammer (this has worked for me in the past), and tried to remove all three plugs with no success. I tried a 3/4" breaker bar with a pipe cheater on the end and the plugs don't want to move. At this point I usually get out the torch and heat/quench and things loosen up-- but with the final drive half full of oil and a totally sealed compartment, I am reluctant to heat up the plugs. Any and all help appreciated, and thanks in advance. Bob
You might try the wax trick, heat up the plug(s) with a propane torch, use a IR thermometer, get 'em to about 400ºF, then take a beeswax candle, and melt it around the edges, wax will wick its way into the threads, and act as a penetrating lubricant. Good luck, its a tough job!
Had a JD 850 dozer with the same problem, used heat n quench to get them out of the finals with no problem.
I use corrosion x penetrating lubricant, it seems to eat rust and work its way deep down into the threads over a day or so, if you dont want to use any heat..if that doesnt work I usually turn to mild heat and work up from there.
To everyone< Thanks for the advice. This is just an FYI post for anyone else who might be a little worried about putting a torch to a final drive plug like I was! I heated the plugs with my torch -- not to "cherry red", but pretty darn hot, then quenched, and all 3 plugs on each side came out pretty easily. They were NOT coming out without the heat. I will admit I was nervous about this when I started-- heating a plug to maybe 900-1100 degrees with the inboard end of the plug in a sealed container half full of oil and half full of ?fumes above the oil! Seemed a bit like putting heat to a bomb. -- But it all went smoothly-- some of the plugs were up high on the drive in the air/fumes part of the drive, and other were bathed in the oil inside the drive. Thanks again for the advice. Best, Bob
It's a bit like taking a welding machine to a leaking diesel tank, it seems counter-intuitive but so long as the tank is pretty full you can have at it with no consequences. Don't try to do the same with a gas tank though.......
No oxygen no fire. I worked for while building aircraft deicer tanks using old fuel tanks that had gas or diesel in them for years. The tanks were 5,000 to 12,000 gallon in size. We would force the air out with exhaust from a lean burning propane engine. When the oxygen or LEL level dropped below 4% I would torch a 24" hole in it to gain entry for washing them out. Once that was done we would weld in a 24" man hole and all the fittings and anti roll legs.
Another trick that sometimes works for getting plugs loose is a strong air hammer and spinning them out by hammering on the rim