Can't pull drain plugs for hydraulic fluid....

[cchardwick]

This is really weird, I bought some hydraulic fluid and a filter for my 1974 Case 1737 skid steer and I'm all ready to change the fluid but I can't find an allen wrench that will fit the drain plugs. 3/8 is too big and 5/16 is too small. I tried metric too, 9 mm is too big and 8 mm is too small. 9 mm is actually a bit larger than 5/16 and I thought for sure it would work but it doesn't. It seems the only size inbetween is 11/32, a standard size in a socket set but not in an allen wrench. I called all around trying to find an 11/32 in an allen wrench with no luck, including NAPA, sears, tool king, Lowes, Home Depot, and even called a tool manufacter and searched the web, no luck at all. Any ideas on how to get these plugs out? I was thinking of grinding down the 9mm a bit but I'm afraid if I don't get it right that I may strip out the plugs and be in worse shape than I'm in now.

 

[Fishfiles]

I don't thnk I have ever worked on a 1737 , but have worked on a lot of other Case machines , I wonder if the 1737 is about the same as a 1840, which the plug for the hydraulic tank is threaded into the rear bottom of the machine looking up , I have had a lot of trouble getting those out in the past , if it is made the same way your problem maybe that the allen head plug has been hit a few times and is smashed up a bit , you may have to take a grinder and open up the allen recess a little bit on the top to get to the real size ------ if all else fails you can weld a nut to the plug and get it out with a socket then get a new plug , they make some special welding rods for welding nuts to bolts that work very well if you can find them but don't really need them to weld this , I don't see why your plan to grind down a allen wrench to fit it wouldn't work , I have seen a few that were very tight , you may also try some heat around the plug but try not to heat the plug its self and then spray it with something like Areo Kroil while it's still hot , a large easy out made also work , or even a hammer and chiesl to get it to turn , good luck fishfiles

 

[cchardwick]

I don't thnk I have ever worked on a 1737 , but have worked on a lot of other Case machines , I wonder if the 1737 is about the same as a 1840, which the plug for the hydraulic tank is threaded into the rear bottom of the machine looking up , I have had a lot of trouble getting those out in the past , if it is made the same way your problem maybe that the allen head plug has been hit a few times and is smashed up a bit , you may have to take a grinder and open up the allen recess a little bit on the top to get to the real size ------ if all else fails you can weld a nut to the plug and get it out with a socket then get a new plug , they make some special welding rods for welding nuts to bolts that work very well if you can find them but don't really need them to weld this , I don't see why your plan to grind down a allen wrench to fit it wouldn't work , I have seen a few that were very tight , you may also try some heat around the plug but try not to heat the plug its self and then spray it with something like Areo Kroil while it's still hot , a large easy out made also work , or even a hammer and chiesl to get it to turn , good luck fishfiles

I got them out! I was about to grind down my 9 mm when I decided to check to see if it would fit theother plugs. Three out of four plugs were stock (two gas plugs and one hydraulic plug) but one hydraulic plug was a 9 mm! So I didn't want to grind down my one and only 9 mm since it fit one side. I finally realized that the plug I couldn't get was sticking out a bit under the skid steer so I tried a pipe wrench and it worked! I went to the local auto parts store and was able to get two new plugs for less than two bucks each, both with magnets and square holes that accept a 3/8 inch breaker bar NICE! I did find that on both plugs I had a TON of metal stuff stuck to the magnets. The one that was stock (not the 9 mm replacement) had what looked like a big metal washer that had broken into large pieces, some pieces almost as long as the plug itself. Wonder what that was from? Maybe a previous repair? All that metal really gets me nervous..... Even though it's over 30 years old, the machine only has 1200 hours on it.

 

[Fishfiles]

I got them out! I was about to grind down my 9 mm when I decided to check to see if it would fit theother plugs. Three out of four plugs were stock (two gas plugs and one hydraulic plug) but one hydraulic plug was a 9 mm! So I didn't want to grind down my one and only 9 mm since it fit one side. I finally realized that the plug I couldn't get was sticking out a bit under the skid steer so I tried a pipe wrench and it worked! I went to the local auto parts store and was able to get two new plugs for less than two bucks each, both with magnets and square holes that accept a 3/8 inch breaker bar NICE! I did find that on both plugs I had a TON of metal stuff stuck to the magnets. The one that was stock (not the 9 mm replacement) had what looked like a big metal washer that had broken into large pieces, some pieces almost as long as the plug itself. Wonder what that was from? Maybe a previous repair? All that metal really gets me nervous..... Even though it's over 30 years old, the machine only has 1200 hours on it.

Ya gots me throwed off ! , I am still guessing a 1737 or what ever you got is the same as a 1840 , the mention of more than one plug to drain the hydraulic tank , did you maybe take out the plugs for the chain cases which would have had 10w30 in it , and probally mixed up with water making it milky looking , the reason I say that is the mention of the broken in two washer , if you did drain the chain cases don't forget to fill them up as filling the hydraulic tank won't get oil to those cases unless you have a bad seal on the drive motor

 

[Fishfiles]

I got them out! I was about to grind down my 9 mm when I decided to check to see if it would fit theother plugs. Three out of four plugs were stock (two gas plugs and one hydraulic plug) but one hydraulic plug was a 9 mm! So I didn't want to grind down my one and only 9 mm since it fit one side. I finally realized that the plug I couldn't get was sticking out a bit under the skid steer so I tried a pipe wrench and it worked! I went to the local auto parts store and was able to get two new plugs for less than two bucks each, both with magnets and square holes that accept a 3/8 inch breaker bar NICE! I did find that on both plugs I had a TON of metal stuff stuck to the magnets. The one that was stock (not the 9 mm replacement) had what looked like a big metal washer that had broken into large pieces, some pieces almost as long as the plug itself. Wonder what that was from? Maybe a previous repair? All that metal really gets me nervous..... Even though it's over 30 years old, the machine only has 1200 hours on it.

Ya gots me throwed off ! , I am still guessing a 1737 or what ever you got is the same as a 1840 , the mention of more than one plug to drain the hydraulic tank , did you maybe take out the plugs for the chain cases which would have had 10w30 in it , and probally mixed up with water making it milky looking , the reason I say that is the mention of the broken in two washer , if you did drain the chain cases don't forget to fill them up

 

[cchardwick]

Ya gots me throwed off ! , I am still guessing a 1737 or what ever you got is the same as a 1840 , the mention of more than one plug to drain the hydraulic tank , did you maybe take out the plugs for the chain cases which would have had 10w30 in it , and probally mixed up with water making it milky looking , the reason I say that is the mention of the broken in two washer , if you did drain the chain cases don't forget to fill them up

No, it's different than an 1840 from what you are saying. I read the owners manual, it has two interconnected hydraulic oil tanks, one on each side and also two gas tanks, one on each side. Looks like it's a split oil / gas tank on each side with a total of four drain plugs, two for gas and two for oil. I did notice that when I pulled one oil plug it nearly drained all the oil from both tanks and from the looks of it, people were draining it like that since only one plug was upgraded to a 9 mm.