Hydraulic Piston Pump Rebuild Ford 3400

I have used the forums on this site to do several repairs to my recently purchased Ford 3400 tractor. Thank you everyone who have posted to the site, your comments are more helpful than you will ever know. I am currently rebuilding the hydraulic piston pump on the tractor and I am stumped as to how I remove the round metal plug on the rear of the gear housing in order to access the nut holding the pump shaft in place. The instructions in the IT manual say to remove the snap ring on the outside and then remove the plug. I got the snap ring off just fine but the directions do not describe how to remove the plug. I do not want to cause any damage by banging on it without knowing exactly how it comes out. I need to pull the pump shaft out in order to replace the seal and the bearings but I cannot get to that nut without pulling the plug out first. I've stared at this pump for hours and researched it until I was blue in the face. Attached is a picture of the parts diagram for this pump. Part number 33 is the plug I am trying to remove. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you,

Aaron

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Smack the middle of the plug with a hammer and punch to dish it, reducing the diameter. Should come right out. IIRC a new plug is in the rebuild kit.

Thanks for the reply gatchelguy. I just looked at the rebuild kit again to verify whether there is a new plug with it and there is not. I purchased the major rebuild kit that came with all the springs, balls, bearings, gaskets, plates, o-rings etc... Lots of stuff in there but no replacement plug. Attached are two pictures for your reference. One picture shows the nut I am trying to get at so I can remove the drive gear from the pump shaft. The second picture shows the plug that I am trying to figure out how to remove so I can get to that nut. It appears to me that the only way that plug can be inserted into the gear housing is from the outside. The hole inside the housing where the nut is recessed is smaller than the plug diameter. However, when I look at the plug it seems like it is to big to fit in from the outside too. Is the new plug suppose to be just small enough to fit in the hole from the outside?

I rebuilt my pump and there was no plug in the kit either. I don't remember how I got it out but it wasn't easy. Try some penetrating oil and some tapping . . . and patience. There is an O-ring behind it to seal. You could probably use a concave type freeze plug of the right size if you ruin it.

Thanks for the input Mike. I took gatchelguy's advice and smacked it with a large diameter punch right in the center and she popped loose. I was then able to get it out. Now the plug is coned in the center but I think if I install it upside down with the cone pointing up I should be able to smack it again and flatten it out in the housing. With a new seal under it and a new snap ring holding on top I'm hoping it will make a tight fit.

Mike, when you rebuilt yours did you replace the tapered bearing and race, the spindle bearing, seal, and drive shaft? The kit I bought came with everything but the tapered bearing and the shaft. The race for the tapered bearing was included but not the actual bearing itself. Also, there is a little scoring on the shaft from the old seal. Is it a bad idea to re-install that shaft with the scoring on it if I replace the seal? A new shaft is really pricey and I don't want to replace it if I don't have to. Same goes for the tapered bearing. Attached is a picture of the pump shaft. Notice the two groves on the shaft that formed from rubbing on the old seal. Thanks for your comments guys.

I ordered the kit from this site and it was from Tisco, not the greatest quality. I had to adjust nearly all the ball cages to allow the balls to work properly. The bearing looks fine. Shaft too, just polish up that line from the seal. Start with 120 and use progressively finer grits and get to 400 or 600, but stay off the area that runs in the needle bearing. Make sure you clean ALL the abrasive off.