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Crankshaft Plug for C/S Prop

T

T.O.Craig

Well Known Member
Hi to all,
I'm getting ready to install my prop and I am wondering how we are removing the plug from the crank....My first thoughts were to drill the center of the plug, and use a easy-out? How are others doing this?
 
The front plug or the one deep inside the crank?

If it is the front, get a ball peen hammer.

Put the ball against the center of the plug and smack the back of the ball peen hammer with another hammer a couple times.

This will turn the out-ee plug into an in-ee and it should come out with a magnet at this point.

Sounds brutal but it works like a charm.
 
I pulled it out. I drilled a 3/16 hole, but NOT all the way through, removed the drill swarf, took an awl and punched out the remainder of the hole to keep everything clean. Screwed the tip of a slide hammer in and popped it out.

I did drill off center, but it cocked the plug and made it a little more difficult to extract. Doing again I would drill in the center.

The pre drill makes the punching very easy.

YMMV several ways to skin this cat.

Be ready, oil will pour out and there will be debris in there even if new.
 
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Brantel said:
The front plug or the one deep inside the crank?

If it is the front, get a ball peen hammer.

Put the ball against the center of the plug and smack the back of the ball peen hammer with another hammer a couple times.

This will turn the out-ee plug into an in-ee and it should come out with a magnet at this point.

Sounds brutal but it works like a charm.
Click to expand...


Years ago, they taught me what you just wrote in A&P school.

BTW, "MythBusters" BUSTED the myth about hitting hardened steel. Will bust that myth with the above link now before someone brings it up.

Actually "MythBusters" did it twice and both time busted the myth.
 
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BillL said:
I pulled it out. I drilled a 3/16 hole, but all the way through, removed the drill swarf, took an awl and punched out the remainder of the hole to keep everything clean. Screwed the tip of a slide hammer in and popped it out.

I did drill off center, but it cocked the plug and made it a little more difficult to extract. Doing again I would drill in the center.

The pre drill makes the punching very easy.

YMMV several ways to skin this cat.

Be ready, oil will pour out and there will be debris in there even if new.
Click to expand...


I presume you meant --

I pulled it out. I drilled a 3/16 hole, but NOT all the way through, removed the drill swarf, took an awl and punched out the remainder of the hole to keep everything clean. Screwed the tip of a slide hammer in and popped it out.
 
az_gila said:
I presume you meant --

I pulled it out. I drilled a 3/16 hole, but NOT all the way through, removed the drill swarf, took an awl and punched out the remainder of the hole to keep everything clean. Screwed the tip of a slide hammer in and popped it out.
Click to expand...

Good save Gil. Absolutely NOT all the way through. It allows the awl to punch easy and keeps drill swarf out of the bore.

Thanks for the edit!!
 
Brantel said:
The front plug or the one deep inside the crank?

If it is the front, get a ball peen hammer.

Put the ball against the center of the plug and smack the back of the ball peen hammer with another hammer a couple times.

This will turn the out-ee plug into an in-ee and it should come out with a magnet at this point.

Sounds brutal but it works like a charm.
Click to expand...

Hitting two hammers together is asking for trouble. I used to think it was a load of s#!% until it happened to me (regardless of what myth busters says). While using two brick hammers (one as a chisel) to break up some old brick pavers a chunk of one hammer broke off and stuck into my thumb. A piece large enough that a pair of needle nose pliers was used for extraction. You wont see me hitting two hammers together again. Lesson learned.
 
J_Turner said:
Hitting two hammers together is asking for trouble. I used to think it was a load of s#!% until it happened to me (regardless of what myth busters says). While using two brick hammers (one as a chisel) to break up some old brick pavers a chunk of one hammer broke off and stuck into my thumb. A piece large enough that a pair of needle nose pliers was used for extraction. You wont see me hitting two hammers together again. Lesson learned.
Click to expand...

It does not take that kind of force to make this work. Your not busting bricks, your just putting a dent in the plug which is very soft. Like Pete says, use a dead blow if you are worried about it.
 
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Thanks

Thanks again for the input. I did understand what Bill L was saying prior to making the NOT change in his post. Will do it this morning. Thanks again to all.
 
I have put a self tap screw in and I'm using a slide hammer, but it is not moving. Maybe I will further dent the plug and try again. Hope that works
 
T.O.Craig said:
I have put a self tap screw in and I'm using a slide hammer, but it is not moving. Maybe I will further dent the plug and try again. Hope that works
Click to expand...

I hope you did not mix the procedures. Denting partially first would just make it tighter in the bore. Keep slamming that slide hammer to pull it out. It will crown it out and remove it.
 
The freeze plug that was installed by the factory was already dented in on the center of the plug. It would seem that would already make it some what not as tight if I am understanding the dynamics of it all. I will continue with the slide hammer, but as another option I could dent it in more to release more of the side pressure.
 
I did not have a slide hammer, so after drilling/punching a hole as described above, I found a long, thin lag bolt. Drilled an oversized hole in a piece of scrap wood, put the bolt thru it, started it in the hole in the plug and then just kept screwing it 'in'. The wood spanned across the crankshaft and prevented tbe bolt head from moving in beyond that. As you tighten, the plug comes out.
 
Freeze plug

The small pre-existing dent in the plug was put there during the install to flatten it a tiny amount and make it wedge in tight. The last 40 or so of these I have removed have been with a slide hammer. #10 hole drilled in the middle and 2 good whacks and they usually pop right out, if its stubborn just keep banging with the slide hammer. Rarely a drill chip or 2 will be be left in the bore and it is easily reached and removed.


Don B
RV 9 Rebuild in Progress.
 
Success

Thanks to all,
I used a larger self tapping screw, a little WD-40 and she popped out with the slide hammer. time to move on......:eek:
 
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