Stuburn Differential Drain Plug

[lance leblanc]

My lower plug is stipped out. (3/8" ratchet turns inside the plug).
Looking for suggestions to remove it.

I tried gripping it with a pipe wrench but not enough of the plug is exposed to grab securely.

1. Welding a bolt on seems like the easiest fix but I don't have a 220 welder and believe my weld will not hold.

2. Drilling out - but concern for shavings in the rears.

[Kohnke Rebabbitting]

Take a chisel and make it a good fit from corner, to corner, and tap it in to wedge it in, and if you use a square one, then take a wrench, or pipe wrench and turn it.

[Joe K]

I have a piece of square tool steel about 6" long which I ground down to a taper (BOY does that take some time!) This I hammer in place and then turn.

Sort of a home-made "easy-out" (Easy Outs are designed to keep repair machinists in business I think.)

Joe K

[Hicktick]

Weld a nut on it .

[Tom Wesenberg]

Use the correct tool. 3/8" is too loose. I found a dogbone type drain plug wrech at a swap meet, and it has several sizes of squares to stick into the drain plug holes. I would grind down a square piece of 1/2" steel until it fit nice and tight, then put a 12" adjustable wrench on that to remove it. If you're lucky you might find the head on a square headed bolt with the right size to fit in the plug, then you can grip the threaded part with a vice grip. Over the years I've found many plugs that have been tightened much more than they need to be.

[Mitch//pa]

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i have a socket set for square plugs, all different sizes. 3/8 drive is a loose fit and will wear out the plug
Some of the newer transfer cases have aluminum plugs and without the right tool they strip..

[Ray in La Mesa]

I took an old VW wheel stud and ground the threaded end to fit the plug tightly, tapped it in and unscrewed it.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Here's the wrench I bought at the swap meet. On one side it says "DRAIN PLUG WRENCH" and on the other side it reads "643 INDESTRO SUPER U.S.A."

This was the second wrench I saw at the swap meet. The first one was marked $15 and I didn't want to pay that much, so I told my friend that I rode with and he bought it for a buck. This one I had to pay $10 for, but it's worth it. It has 8 different squares and one large flat blade for the 1928 slotted plugs.

[TinCup]

You know I had the same problem. Most of the plug was broken off and I could not get enough of the wrench to grab the plug. I drilled it out with a left hand bit and then used and easy out. I chased the threads just to make sure I didn't have to repeat this step. The new plug fit the ratchet better than my plug wrench.

[lance leblanc]

"Always amazes me how easy some things are when given the right tools to work with."

Checked with the mechanic shop at my office, they had a larger easyout set than the one I have.
It took me longer to get under the car than it did to get the darn plug out!
I let it drip for about 20 minutes, refilled with Varsol until tomorrow when I will drain and refill with fresh 40W

[redmodelt]

40W? That's too light for a rear end.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Is the 40W just for a quick flush? It would be way too light for running in the rear end. I like Mobil 636.

[Mitch//pa]

40 w-----wow that just set off a bunch of alarms

i am not to familiar with varsol will that attack or harm any rubber seals in the diff ??

[lance leblanc]

Originally Posted by lance leblanc

I let it drip for about 20 minutes, refilled with Varsol until tomorrow when I will drain and refill with fresh 40W

Oops, One more example of why one should proof his post before submitting it and running off to do something else.

I will drain and refill with fresh 600W (M-533)

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

To drain rear ends with NO plug, I use my A/C evacuation pump to pump down an old freon tank. Shove on a plastic hose, stick it down in the filler hole, turn on the valve & "SUCK" it out. Bill W.

[Drive Shaft Dave]

That is a good idea, Bill.