Siezed Drain Plug

[nisskid]

ok so went to take my diff out to shim it up, but the bloody drain plug does not want to come out. have used a lot of leverage (maybe 1m) and still didnt budge. so just wondering what i can do from here. should i just take the housing off and just wait for the oil to piss out of the opening? or is there something else i can do?

[Beer Baron]

heat is your friend. get out the oxy torch if you have acess to one and heat up the area around the plug. also make sure you are using the right tool. a half inch drive is not quite right, they are a metric square drive. you can buy the proper square drive tool for them and it works much better. and once out you can replace it with a drain plug that has a bolt head on it.

also, make sure you can open the filler plug first. nothing worse than undoing the drain, then being unable to drive the car anyway cause the filler can't be opened.

you can also get the small cans of freeze spray (i assume liquid nitrogen in a can) to try and cool the plug. not sure how effective they are though as I've never tried one.

[Dantay]

my old man tells me used to spray WD40 on his sparkies every 12 hours for days to get them out back in his day.

[Gtrgodzilla67]

i got one this is what i do when the square is no longer there, i get say a 22mm nut and weld it to the drain/fill plug . then attack it with the rattle gun, Never fails,

[FineLine]

I've had some success by grinding a large punch to the shape of the insert and flogging the shit out of it with a 5 lb dumpy hammer then trying to undo it a la normal.

( I really dont grind the punch but just use the 1/2 inch socket extension)

Do this at your peril because chrome vanadium can shatter under impact

[nisskid]

thanks for all the suggestions guys, ended up getting it free by basically just finding a stronger tool and pulling as hard as possible on the 1mtr long leverage, finally gave, my f**king god was that tight lol.

also, make sure you can open the filler plug first. nothing worse than undoing the drain, then being unable to drive the car anyway cause the filler can't be opened.

yeh mental blank, cant beleive i didnt do this haha, first rule of gearbox/diff oil changes and i completely forget

[nisskid]

i might just use this thread for any other issues im bound to come across with the rest of the process, the centre is out and got a new one going in with the shim, just gave it a clean with petrol as it had been sitting around and collected some crap, just waiting for it to dry atm

[nisskid]

mm, seems when putting one of the half shafts back in, its not lining up. looks like the viscous has slipped enough to throw the teeth out of alignment on one side. any ideas?

[FTO]

I've had some success by grinding a large punch to the shape of the insert and flogging the shit out of it with a 5 lb dumpy hammer then trying to undo it a la normal.

( I really dont grind the punch but just use the 1/2 inch socket extension)

Do this at your peril because chrome vanadium can shatter under impact

Next time take a slightly dull edged cold chisel & ball pein hammer..bite into the exposed side of the plug at about 45 deg angle, and make a series of strikes to turn the plug to loosen it...works 100% of the time on anything..drain plugs, wheel lock nuts, rounded bolt heads, broken studs, steering lock bolts, rusted bolts..you name it . Impact power..just keep it legal