water drain plug,,,,,help

[wackston]

went to drain the water seperator on my truck today, and the plug is siezed right in there, long story short now the allan key is stripped and I dont know what I'm going to do to get it out, I dont really want to drill it and use and easy out, dont really want to get metal shavings in my fuel system,,, does anyone have any ideas to get the plug out or any other ideas?????


03, F-350 6.0L,

[PSDMikeB]

you are not the first to do this... if you search around you'll find some similar stories.

Some of the common solutions have been to use JB Weld and glue the allen wrench into the hole. Some have used a sharp chisel on the face of the drain plug to get the plug rotating. Others have replaced the entire cover.

I would suspect you could drill it partially (not full depth) and get an extractor to bite if you are worried about shavings in the fuel. Either that or take the entire cover off the HFCM, do your work, clean eveything up and reinstall.

I bet you could use a dremel tool to cut a slot and get a flat screwdriver to work (or cut two slots and use a phillips if you are ambitious)

However you do it, buy the new drainplug that has a knurled outer rim that you can undo by hand. The new plug can be bought at many sites, but I think Tousley has it for a good price. http://www.tousleyfordparts.com/part...catalogid=7351



MikeB

[wackston]

thank you very much for ur help,, didnt have too much time to look at it today, but this weekend I will have a better look at it,, is the cover easy to remove??, honestly it doesnt even look like this drain plug has ever been removed,, does anyone make a pet-**** style plug that you can put a hose on the end so you dont spray fuel all over the place?

[PSDMikeB]

Not sure about the cover without looking at it... I suspect it is just a couple of bolts, but may also be an electrical connector? Shouldn't be too hard.

As far as the drain plug - I think those are pretty unique threads, doubt you'll find anything else hat will work. However, the new style has the extended threaded portion that acts like a keeper so the plug doesn't come all the way out. Effectively what it also does is provides a drain path for the fuel to follow. It makes a lot less of a mess when draining with the new style plug (The picture below shows an old style plug and a new one)

MikeB

[PSDMikeB]

Just looked at the book (can't sleep!) and it appears you would have to remove the fuel lines and electrical connectors (if my eyes are still working).



To remove the fuel lines you will need a fuel line retainer clip tool, but I think you buy that at most auto parts stores.

MikeB

[wackston]

thanks again guys,, I'm going to try cutting a slot and using a screwdriver first, if that fails I will try drilling part way and and easy out, if that fails I'll pull the thing off,,, going to order one of those plugs first though