plugged drain holes

[jkillelea]

Hi Everyone,
Great discussion on drain holes. I have a GPW that has the drain holes plugged with brass (?) I think they were brazed closed. Does anyone know how I might get the brass out? Will a torch melt the material if it's not too hot? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
John

GPW 1674
GPW 60019 (a late script)

[OldGPW]

I'd consider just drilling it out and re-threading it.

[jkillelea]

Hi. Thanks for the reply. That might be a good idea. I'll have to find where the center of the hole is. Guess I can do that by grinding slowly.
John

[OldGPW]

You could probably see the center best from the bottomside.

Wonder what "bubba" was thinking closing it up

[OldGPW]

Wanted to add:

Don't forget to use a smaller drill bit than the original or your thread/plug size will be off.

[jkillelea]

Thanks oldGPW.
I thought doing it from the bottom would be a better idea.
John

[Chuck Lutz]

Be careful....they are not set into the impressed area very well and you might end up popping them out...which may be OK and make the task easier. You can then put it in a vise and center the drill better....if you do destroy the threads, just take the size up from 1/4" to 5/16 or 3/8" if you have to, it is a pretty beefy drain.

[jkillelea]

Thanks Chuck. So you're saying that the threads are originally 1/4 inch?
John

[Chuck Lutz]

Well....the BOOKS say "1/4 slotted".....but let's hold on a minute....your question got me to thinking that's AWFUL small and the hole seemed bigger in my jeep, so....

I just went and checked my GPW which has one DP missing, but it looks to me like the THREADS are 1/2" IP in the original one still in the Ford tub......so I went to the parts stash and I have TWO of the DPs with some squareheaded plugs in them and....they seem to be 1/2" IP and the square head fits very nicely into a 723 wrench on the 3/8" end.....

So....again is this just an error in those old books or will some one go out anc check the drains on their Ford and ACM tubs?

[Ben Dover]

1/4" N.P.T. National Pipe Thread) to be correct. The 1/4" Pipe Thread is actually approximately 1/2" in diameter.

[jkillelea]

Thanks everyone for your help.
It's great to know that the bond between OD people has no physical bounds. As to "Bubba"... It's easy in a way to see what they were thinking and why they did things that don't make sense to us. The problem is ours. WE wouldn't think of defiling our sacred MV's. Bubba had a different agenda; and it wasn't to preserve historic military vehicles. Bubba just needed to do a quick fix to solve a problem that cropped up just then; and it didn't need to be fancy at all. The drain holes in my jeep allowed water to come up through the floor. Bubba probably told his mechanic: "Horace, I'm darn tired of catching my foot on that darn bolt in the floor. Either find something flat that will stay in or weld the darn thing up so I don't have to ever think about it." "How much you charge me to weld it?" "Fine, just do it."
Problem solved.
John

[lt.luke]

If it IS braze or solder, yes, simple heat, with some flux if you can, will remove the plug. Also, if it is these types of materials, they may not tap out as it is a bind, not a greased fit. Carefull you don't get it too hot.

EDIT: bind = BOND and greased = THREADED stupid auto correct on my phone made a funny!

[jkillelea]

Thanks Luke.
I'll have to try it when I get to that stage of restoration. What do you mean by a bind not a greased fit? Also, what kind of heat should I use? I don't have an acetelene torch myself, but could find someone who does. Hardware stores, etc. have brazing setups with mapp (?) gas. Would this be the right amount of heat?
Any help would be appreciated.
John

[lt.luke]

MAPP with O2 SHOULD be fine. You only need enough heat to melt the material, and MAPP is sufficient for this task, as is propane and natural gas when used correctly. From memory, in order of potential BTUs, Natural Gas, Propane, MAPP, Acetelyene. I may be wrong, but the point is, Acetelyene is the hottest, with MAPP the next hottest, and propane below that. All of them will work. MAPP by itself will probably work too.

See my edit. Brazing and Soldering creates a bond with the metal, so unlike a screw, it will NOT twist out cold, but will have to be heated and reversed, or drilled and retapped in order to remove it. If you try to extract it as if it were a bolt, at best you'll wollow out the hole you made for the extractor, at worst, you'll break the extractor.

[Ben Dover]

It will be a good idea to invest in a 1/4" Pipe Tap to clean the threads.The do not cost much. Note a pipe tap is taperes to match the plug, it should only be inserted enough to clean out the threads sufficient to just install the plug. If you thread too deep the plug will screw in too far.