Removing a plastic plug stuck in a 2" cast-iron cleanout tee

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Hey everybody,

I want to snake a drain line, through a cast-iron cleanout tee just above my basement floor. The inlet to the tee is a vertical 1-1/2" copper line about 8 feet high. The cleanout has a 2" black plastic plug. I tried to remove the plug by turning it with an adjustable wrench, and I cracked it in doing so. In one picture you can see a stream of water springing from the crack, as the pipe is plugged downstream of the cleanout. And you can see that the corners of the plug's knob are deformed. They were like that before I tried to remove the plug. I have some questions.

What material is the plug made of? What is the best way to remove the plug without making things worse? What major mistakes are possible, and how do I avoid them?

Other notes:
I had tried to replace the plug when I removed it maybe 15 years ago, but wasn't able to thread the new (PVC) plug into the cleanout hole, I guess due to corrosion or fouling of the threads. The old plug went back in pretty easily, as I recall, so I just put the old one back in. Knowing less then than I do now, I don't think I used tape or pipe dope to seal the plug. Likely the threads have been wet and are in worse shape now than they were then. The stoppage is not total, so if I let it set for awhile, the crack stops leaking.

Please advise and mention anything you think is relevant.

cleanoutOverview.JPG
cleanoutLeak.JPG
cleanoutPlugThreads.JPG
cleanoutPlugHeadon.JPG
 
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Breplum

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A combination of techniques may be in order. The material appears to be ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene).
A plumber might use:
  1. recip. saw
  2. drill
  3. heat (toxic fumes will be generated)
  4. chisel
  5. screwdriver
  6. hammer
 

John Gayewski

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Let the water drain. Hest the body of the cast iron. Turn the plug with plier that grip (channel locks). It will come right out. Don't heat the square nut. When you put it back use tape (working it into the threads with the body of the tape roll) then dope it. With threads that large dope the female and Male threads both.
 

Mr tee

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I would cut off the square head, that will leave a hole. Use a hacksaw led to cut down until the threads just start to show then do it again a little bit over to give you a wedge you can yank or pry out. At that point the rest should be removable.
 
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Let the water drain. Hest the body of the cast iron. Turn the plug with plier that grip (channel locks). It will come right out. Don't heat the square nut. When you put it back use tape (working it into the threads with the body of the tape roll) then dope it. With threads that large dope the female and Male threads both.
I heated the cast iron, but I couldn't get the plastic to turn. Well, I did get part of the plastic to turn: the plastic must have gotten heated near the square nut, and I sheared the nut off the rest of the plastic plug.
I would cut off the square head, that will leave a hole. Use a hacksaw led to cut down until the threads just start to show then do it again a little bit over to give you a wedge you can yank or pry out. At that point the rest should be removable.
I used a hacksaw blade to cut in from the broken-open center of the now-nutless plug, toward the cast-iron threads. I cut it in about five places within about an inch, feeling for when I hit iron. I tried to keep the edge of the blade slanted to match the taper of the threads. Actually I slanted it a little steeper, so that it would hit the outer threads first. I was afraid of cutting into the iron threads, but it wasn't too hard to feel it when I barely started to scratch them. I don't think I damaged the threads. I only hit iron in two of the cuts, and those were right next to each other. Then I pried with a screwdriver so that the screwdriver tip was inside, pushing the plastic toward the outside. It was a happy surprise when the ring of plastic broke easily and popped out.

I am inclined to recommend, before cutting the threads, cutting off all of the plug that sticks out of the cast-iron tee, rather than just the square nut. The remaining plastic ring would be weaker than if the flat part of the plug were still in place, and the ring could be broken and pried out more easily. Or so I suppose.

Thanks for all the replies.
 
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