front diff fill plug

[87chevy]

So I went to change my diff fluids this morning and ran into a problem. My front diff fill plug is stuck and I mean stuck and on top of that the plug is rounded off. Im the second owner of the TB so I dont know what the crap the first owner did to the plug but now I cant get it off. Any ideas

[JCrayton99]

Buy a new one and an easy out. I wont use any other screw extractor than this:

http://www.irwin.com/tools/screw-bolt-e ... -case-sets

[v7guy]

lots of heat, mapp gas or O/A

[dvanbramer88]

lots of heat, mapp gas or O/A

Make it glow red, And clamp a pair of vise grips on it as tight as you can get em, and hit the vise grips with a hammer to break the plug loose.

[bartonmd]

Just out of curiosity, did you use a 6-point flank-drive (as opposed to corner-drive) socket and an impact?



Mike

[tbangert]

lots of heat, mapp gas or O/A

Make it glow red, And clamp a pair of vise grips on it as tight as you can get em, and hit the vise grips with a hammer to break the plug loose.

Last time I checked, aluminum doesnt glow red...

[v7guy]

Yeah, it won't turn any colors, and when it does it's a quarter second from becoming liquid. It still works with aluminum though.

[KE7WOX]

lots of heat, mapp gas or O/A

Make it glow red, And clamp a pair of vise grips on it as tight as you can get em, and hit the vise grips with a hammer to break the plug loose.

Last time I checked, aluminum doesnt glow red...

Is the plug aluminium? it feels pretty heavy/

[fishsticks]

Is the plug aluminium? it feels pretty heavy/

Steel plug, which explains why it's always getting stuck in the aluminum case.

[bartonmd]

Also, on the heat, remember that you're better off heating the aluminum around the steel plug, because it'll expand away from the hole, not into it. (when materials expand, they expand generally uniformly like the holes are filled with material. The holes get larger, not smaller)

Mike

[DirtyBacon04]

I hate it when the wholes that I'm filling with material get larger... Perhaps I should use a torch, too.

[tbangert]

Is the plug aluminium? it feels pretty heavy/

Steel plug, which explains why it's always getting stuck in the aluminum case.

There must be variations then because my tb has an aluminum plug.

[KE7WOX]

Is the plug aluminium? it feels pretty heavy/

Steel plug, which explains why it's always getting stuck in the aluminum case.

There must be variations then because my tb has an aluminum plug.

Ask another 05 owner. Mine is an 04 and fishstick's is an 02, so it could be possible that 05's switched to an aluminium plug.

[Conner299]

05 owner here... Just used 3 whole of minutes of my break, for you, to get dirty... I got a magnet to stick to my front diff plug.

[DirtyBacon04]

2004. Has a steel plug.

[bartonmd]

Is the plug aluminium? it feels pretty heavy/

Steel plug, which explains why it's always getting stuck in the aluminum case.

There must be variations then because my tb has an aluminum plug.

Mine looks aluminum, but I'm pretty sure it's stainless steel. It's much too heavy to be aluminum.

Mike

[87chevy]

I tried heat but not that much. Was not sure bc of the aluminum case. My plug is steel. Ill bust out the vise grips and use more heat.

[v7guy]

You're going to need a good bit of heat, especially considering the gear oil is going to be acting as a big ole heat sink. Like Mike mentioned, try heating the case around the plug first, just circle motions around the bolt. If that doesn't work just blast the bolt. If you're using a MAPP torch expect to spend 5-10 minutes just heating it up.