I stripped my rear diff fill plug, how can I get it out?

[sicwitit]

so what do you think was the cause for it to seize? rust, thread warpage? if it was rust, I wonder if its ok to silicone the outside of it so it doesn't happen again? Knowing me, I would of broke the whole thing and been searching junkyards for a replacement! Good job on the removal, and I saw the Royal purple in the back ground, should be a nice little upgrade when its all done.

JT

[Andrew224]

Awesome, glad to hear you got that SOB out!

I think the metals of the plug and differential just react to one another and bond. It looks like the threads were pretty clean once it came out.

Probably wouldn't have this problem as bad if the fluid is changed more often and that plug is taken out more than once every 7 years.

Nice job dealing with a bad situation. Consider it a good learning experience.

Did you clean off your magnet before you took that picture? It looked pretty clean compared to mine when I took it out. I felt uneasy with the shavings (and that was at 45K miles!) but was glad that I changed it when I did. I guess I'll see what's in there when I change it next time. I still need to do my front differential. Hopefully I can get to it before this winter.

Andrew

[sicwitit]

so, is the plug AL, or Steal? I think I'd look into finding another plug of the same type of metal that the rear diff case is made of. If they really are different types of metals, this will always be a problem.

[Empty V]

I'm not sure why the filler plug was frozen. I didn't see any signs of oxidation anywhere on either of the plugs. As you can see in the pics they look extremely well preserved. I did find some crud in the threads of the drain plug which I think might be teflon tape but that one came out easily. The plugs are composed of stainless steel and I'm guessing the diff is some kind of hardened steel so there isn't any clashing of metallurgy. I think it's much more simple then that. 200,000 miles on a plug that has been heated and cooled thousands of times will get stuck. I'm sure there's bolts and other inserts that are stuck in other places. A few of the bolts on my tow hooks(taken out to mount grille guard) were jammed but came out with the impact driver. Damn I love that tool!

There were metal shavings on the drain plug and when I emptied out the old oil there was a bunch of substrate at the bottom. I think this is something I'll be doing every 25K miles. Next is the AFT fluid woot woot!

Billy

[sicwitit]

man, your going all out!! You should consider upgrading your brake fluid with Super Blue to go with those new brakes.

[kkamakasi]

Okay guys. I going through this right now but with my drain plug instead of my fill plug.

I was able to EASILY back out my fill plug with my electric impact wrench.

I stripped the crap out of my drain plug though.

So I have a few questions. Can someone outline what I need to do with a torch? I keep reading about the "torch" method.

Assuming my drain plug is NOT stripped, do I just heat up the plug with a torch until it glows and try to back it out?

[01silvapathy]

Yes thats basically all you do, just run the torch over the area in a sweeping motion til it gets red hot. Dont keep heat on one area for too long cause you want even heating. Once its red hot try to back it out with a hand tool first if that does not work hit it with the impact. The idea here is that heated metal expands thus freeing up some tension on the bolt and allowing it to back off.

[alexf20c]

if you're hesitant to apply heat to it, or don't have a heat source (propane will take FOREVER), you can just drain the diff through one of the mount bolts for the 3rd member. those studs are removable and once removed, allow the gear oil to drain from the case. you need to remove the lowest nut, then use the double nut method to back out the stud. if you're lucky, the stud will back itself out from the getgo because it will be seized to the nut.

reinstall the stud/nut to 90lb-ft.

[kkamakasi]

Yes thats basically all you do, just run the torch over the area in a sweeping motion til it gets red hot. Dont keep heat on one area for too long cause you want even heating. Once its red hot try to back it out with a hand tool first if that does not work hit it with the impact. The idea here is that heated metal expands thus freeing up some tension on the bolt and allowing it to back off.

So you're supposed to heat up the areas AROUND the seized drain plug, and NOT the plug itself?

[fueler]

nah dont worry about that, just get the heat on the seized plug as well as the area immediately around it.

you dont need to get it red hot - propane will heat it just fine and MAP gas will torch the &#!+ out of it!

[kkamakasi]

Well, I was just curious, for future references..

it's kinda too late for the torch method for me. my drain plug is fubar. looks like I'm going to have to find someone who can weld.

[CanuckQx4]

Any exhaust shop will have a mig welder setup and ready to weld

The attachment might cost you $5-$10 or you may have a spare in an old socket set or something, and just throw a non commercialized exhaust shop $20 to weld it on quick for ya

When I brought my prelude in once to get something welded to my engine mount bolt, I asked the guy how much he wanted for the quick weld and he said a round of coffes would do it at Timmy Ho's. $7 later, s*** was gravy

[ARKQX33V6]

Empty V, locktite blue may be too hard for you to remove that plug in the future. If it is a parallel threaded port, just put anti-seize compound and wipe clean after snugging the plug. Too many guys tighten these plugs way too tight and maintenance should be done every two years. By the way check your rear seals at each wheel for hypoid leaks.
LSD requires modifiers in the lube to allow some friction. If that was the first change out do it again in Spring...cheap insurance.

[alexf20c]

it's almost impossible to find gear oil these days, that is not LSD-compatible. do not add friction modifier.