While I was tuning up my outdoor power equipment I made a boneheaded mistake with my lawn mower. I was putting the drain plug back in my mower with a socket wrench completely forgetting it was plastic. As soon as I realized something didn't feel right the head completely sheared off leaving the threaded portion of the plug in the drain hole.
There's no place to grab a hold of it now. I believe the threaded portion of the plug is hollow but there's still a bit of the top left of the plug so I can't see through it or stick anything in it.
Any advice on how to get it out? I have a replacement coming today.
So far this is what I've been thinking but I'm open to other options
- Heat the tip of a wide, flat screwdriver with a propane torch so it will melt the plastic and make a slot. Let the screwdriver tip cool and try to unscrew it with the screw driver.
- Drill 2 holes so I can stick the tips of slightly open needle nose pliers in the holes and twist it off.
- Try to remove what's left of the top and use a nipple extractor to remove the threaded portion. This tool works great for broken sprinkler risers but I can't think of how to open up the top to insert the tool.
Here's a picture of the drain plug. Only the threaded portion remains.
from SearsPartsDirect.com