Removing oil galley plug

For those who have installed oil temp probes in the forward oil galley of
their Lycoming engines, how did you or your A&P remove the 1/8" NTP plug?
I've got one that is stuck tight and I don't want to booger anything up
trying to get it out. I've heard horror stories of people having to drill
them out because they are stuck but I'm wondering if an impact driver could
be used without causing any damage to the case.

Any experience or thoughts would be appreciated.

Jim

Any experience or thoughts would be appreciated.

Old motorcycle tricks are to degrease & dry the plug and wrench with
gasoline & air. Use a brand new black oxide (not cad or zinc plated)
hex key, and heat the block locally with a heat gun to ~200 degrees.
You might also sand blast the hex key to get even better grip. I don't
think an impact driver would help. You definitely want to avoid
dinging the hex - and that would be easiest with a manual wrench. Does
the plug stick out enough that you can also grab the outside diameter
with a visegrip to get still more torque?

You are right in your thoughts in that you have only one chance before
these things get really ugly. Good luck.

The plug only sticks out 1 thread. It's been painted over, and from
scraping the paint off, it looks like pipe dope in the thread. I haven't
tried valve grinding compound yet, maybe a combination of heat and compound
with a new oxide hex key with a ratchet will work.
Thanks
Jim

"nrp" wrote in message
oups.com...


Any experience or thoughts would be appreciated.

Old motorcycle tricks are to degrease & dry the plug and wrench with
gasoline & air. Use a brand new black oxide (not cad or zinc plated)
hex key, and heat the block locally with a heat gun to ~200 degrees.
You might also sand blast the hex key to get even better grip. I don't
think an impact driver would help. You definitely want to avoid
dinging the hex - and that would be easiest with a manual wrench. Does
the plug stick out enough that you can also grab the outside diameter
with a visegrip to get still more torque?

You are right in your thoughts in that you have only one chance before
these things get really ugly. Good luck.

"Jim Burns" writes:

The plug only sticks out 1 thread. It's been painted over, and from
scraping the paint off, it looks like pipe dope in the thread. I haven't
tried valve grinding compound yet, maybe a combination of heat and compound
with a new oxide hex key with a ratchet will work.

Motorcycle people have many of the those plugs to deal with & swear
by the hand-impact drivers; you preload them with a twist and hit
it with a hammer. The hammer keeps the key deeply seated.

Buy a 1/2" square drive key from Snap-on or such.

I concur with the preheating but also suggest getting some Kroil
Oil from Kano labs. It makes Liquid Wrench look like mouse milk.
--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

I've considered the hand impact driver as I actually own one, but I'm
tentative due to the aluminum case. Any positive/negative experiences?
Jim

"David Lesher" wrote in message
...
"Jim Burns" writes:

The plug only sticks out 1 thread. It's been painted over, and from
scraping the paint off, it looks like pipe dope in the thread. I haven't
tried valve grinding compound yet, maybe a combination of heat and
compound
with a new oxide hex key with a ratchet will work.

Motorcycle people have many of the those plugs to deal with & swear
by the hand-impact drivers; you preload them with a twist and hit
it with a hammer. The hammer keeps the key deeply seated.

Buy a 1/2" square drive key from Snap-on or such.

I concur with the preheating but also suggest getting some Kroil
Oil from Kano labs. It makes Liquid Wrench look like mouse milk.
--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

On Nov 6, 12:33 pm, "Jim Burns"
wrote:
I've considered the hand impact driver as I actually own one, but I'm
tentative due to the aluminum case. Any positive/negative experiences?

The impact driver isn't going to hurt the case but the lack of control
from a swinging hammer just might cause you to strip out the hex in a
situation where a wrench handle in knowledgeable hands, wouldn't.

What is the hex key size? 3/16 inch?

NRP

"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
I've considered the hand impact driver as I actually own one, but I'm
tentative due to the aluminum case. Any positive/negative experiences?
Jim


I've pounded on a lot of aluminium cases on motorcycles... What you DON'T
want to do is twist the handle very far (1/8 turn max). And you would want
to start out moderately and kinda build up with the hammer blows - don't
start with a 5 pound sledge, eh?

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

I you had to drill it out how do you keep the shavings out of the
engine? Just curious....

Jon Kraus

Jim Burns wrote:
For those who have installed oil temp probes in the forward oil galley of
their Lycoming engines, how did you or your A&P remove the 1/8" NTP plug?
I've got one that is stuck tight and I don't want to booger anything up
trying to get it out. I've heard horror stories of people having to drill
them out because they are stuck but I'm wondering if an impact driver could
be used without causing any damage to the case.

Any experience or thoughts would be appreciated.

Jim

Exactly my biggest fear and before I damage it or go that far I'll turn it
over to my A&Ps. Just speculating that maybe one wouldn't drill completely
through the plug, just enough to start a large EZ-out to back out the plug.
I guess you could insert a magnet into the galley to catch any of the plug's
shavings.
Jim

If you end up having to drill it out (ugh!), pressurize the galley from
somewhere else with shop air so that any chips get blown back to you.

I'm not a fan of EZ-outs for something that is extra tight, as you may
end up distorting the threads in the case.

Penetratiung lubes etc won't penetrate the threads if there is pipe
dope in them. Instead the lube will probably get on the wrenching
surfaces & make a stripout that much more likely.

My read at least...... Still - good luck!
nrp