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Was it partially rounded before you started? Trying to understand if the plug is just tight, or really seized. If has never been out, and the plug was not damaged when you started it, I think I would start to consider drilling it out. If the force of the ratchet/breaker bar in a good hole was not enough to free it, all the secondary methods are probably going to fail also. Start small, drill through carefully, and the open the hole up enough to start breaking the plug up with a chisel. Or, maybe if there is clearance, you can get a high quality, large sized screw extractor (looks like a punch with 4 cutting edges on it), drive it in the hole, and then turn it with a wrench while tapping it with the hammer. Just be sure there is clearance so that the punch doesn't hurt a gear. If you've had this out before, and/or the plug was rounded when you started, I would try to find a something that is slightly larger than the hole in the plug. Try Allen wrenches and Torx bits. If it is really rounded, square stock may not help that much. Find one that barely won't fit and drive it in with a hammer - it should get some bite on the edges. Then, tap it with a hammer as you turn it out with a wrench. It's unlikely, but possible. As for heating it up, be careful cause in my experience aluminum doesn't react like steel to get things unstuck. It heats up and cools down much quicker, and there is the risk of it suddenly melting. If the plug is made out of steel, I would find something to drive in the hole (like above) and then have it welded around the top. That would increase your chance of getting it out because you would not be just relying on the weld to transmit the force to the plug. Oh - one last thing - before you try one of the above, strike the plug directly with a hammer or a flat round punch that is almost as big in diameter as the plug. Give it some strong hits - not sledgehammer hits , but strong hits to break any bonds that the plug may have formed with the case.
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08:24:39 01/31/08
