engine and drivetrain Drain & Fill Plugs

[davidmcw]

Just got '02. Drain plug on transmission can be removed. Fill plug is frozen. Has any one used speedo connection to fill transmission?

[nbristow01]

The guy that did mine said you need to use a hammer and smack it a few times. i could not budge mine, he tapped it medium hard with a hammer and it came right out. It is a tapered bolt

[chipperwerks]

You might start with really light taps.... Would hate to see you post about how you fix the threads on the fill bung or worse how to repair the hole you punched in the side! Just thinking worst case...no really,spray it, tap it,try and turn it. Rinse and repeat.

[TobyB]

Can't fill via speedo- wrong angle, and too low! Also, you'd have

to remove the drive gear...

Get a longer wrench- the fill can be REALLY wedged in there....

Worst case, cut a small hole in the tunnel above the vent hole, pull

the vent plug out, and fill it that way. Then add the remote vent

to it up in the engine compartment, and in future you could fill it that way!

shoot, I should do the race car that way...

heh

t

[davidmcw]

Sounds like an excellent plan if all else fails! Thanks, Toby!

[davidmcw]

I've tried the hammer routine to no avail. Wanted some other option before moving to a larger hammer! Did not want this to turn into a nightmare.

[ncoonen]

1. Soak the plug threads with a quality rust penetrant like Rost Off or PB Blaster.

2. Use a propane or MAP torch to warm up the plug. Don't get it red hot! Just warm it up.

3. Use a long handled wrench; add an extender if you can.

4. Repeat as needed.

Heat and rust penetrant will work if used with patience. Have a fire extinguisher handy! The smoke wrench can be unforgiving.

Good luck...ned.

[M3M3]

#1 and #3 above are the way to go.

[nbcbird]

Golden rule of trans and differential maintenance--ALWAYS REMOVE THE FILL PLUG FIRST.

[roadhog0]

I Used a 17mm allen with a 17mm boxend on it and a put a pipe on the box end. Came right off. Leverage is your best friend!

[JerryC]

I bought a 17mm hex wrench, cut off about 1 1/2 inches, and stuck that piece in a socket with a breaker bar. With enough leverage, you can move anything.

[stumpedtown]

Wanted to add something that helped me more than any other approach with my fill plug - first warming up the car, then trying to loosen the plug. Night and day difference.

[Clevis Woodruff]

I'm in a dilemma for which I hope to get some direction.

 

I was going to replace the differential oil on our '75 and took the advise of others to loosen the fill plug BEFORE draining the diff.

 

Here is what I encountered:

 

It appears that a previous owner swapped out a skidded-up drain plug with the fill plug.  Plus, there appears to be some kind of foil gasket.

 

It feels like the hex socket is partially stripped, because 10mm hex has a loose fit about halfway into the socket but won't bottom out, however a 3/8" hex bottoms out and fits more tightly in the bottom of the socket.  I'm wondering if a PO crammed an SAE plug in there and used a home-made gasket to prevent leaking.

 

Anyway, I couldn't get it to budge with a 3/8" drive hex on a 15" breaker bar (pushing counterclockwise/upward from underneath the car isn't very efficient), so I tried to use the chisel method.  All I did was turn up a couple of nice chip curls on the face of the plug:

 

The second photo shows how the outside half of the hex socket is bunged up.

 

Unless someone here has better advise, I'm going to use a hex driver on an impact wrench, and if I completely round out the inside of the plug, then I'll use one of these:

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Clevis Woodruff
Double entry of same photo

[NYNick]

Holy crap what a disaster. Your approach looks logical and should work however.

[mvliotta]

Is it an open diff? May be worth to swap it out as they are pretty cheap, if things don’t go your way with that buggered up plug.