Front Diff. drain plug stuck......

I had to put an impact gun to my rear diff. (24mm.) to break it loose. I guess the Toyoda gorilla installs them on the assembly line.

 

on the front diff hit the plug with a hammer a couple of times and then put the 10mm hex socket with ratchet in and while pushing with one hand use the other hand and hit the top side of the first hand with the palm of the second hand. with break free every time. never had a problem doing that why at work.

 

Mine was a little tight, but didnt cause me any real problems.

 

-Had the same problem a few weeks ago. Went to sears and bought a hex socket. Ended up attaching it to a breaker bar and finally broke loose. I also did it soon after a trip, so the engine compartment/diff. was warm. Good luck!

 

Just got a 03 trd tacoma, in an attempt to break that front diff plug loss I seem to have messed up the hex, guess I did not have the hex in all the way. I did not get it to budge and now I'm worried its stuck forever...

I have two options, take it to the dealer and get bent over...
or
Pickup one of the pumps that can suck out most of the old oil from the fill??

Being that I had suck little success with a regular ratchet, I am thinking an EZ out would not be much better??


Any suggestions, I rarely take vehicles to the dealer and think they'll charge me a ton to get that plug out, any thoughts there??


thanks all!

 

Luckily my wife works for enterprise rent-a-car and has some connections with the local shops and dealer. I hate our local Toyota dealer though, horrific service! I need to get it inspected anyways so maybe I will give that a shot. I will still need to get a new plug from Toyota, $11.

Anyone know where to get the best/cheapest Toyota OEM parts online?

 

buy a "disposable' 10mm hex socket and a new drain plug. weld the socket to the plug...actually, first use a punch and give the plug a few good solid hits, then weld the socket on and go to town on it. sometimes a blunt smack or two can help to break the threads loose. i don't think an ezout is gonna cut it if the plug is really tight, it already ruined, so buy the new plug and sacrifice a 10mm hex socket. once it's welded to the plug you can wrench away without having to worry about slipping or stripping. drilling it out will be a PITA or somewhat expensive at a shop...they don't want to deal with it anymore than you do good luck and report back on how you got it out.

 

UPDATE

I do not have access to a welder till I make it home ot see my parents, so while I was picking up the new plug I said what the hell, lets see what toyota can do with it... What they did was strip it out even more all to give up and send me on my way... Hey thanks University Motors of Morgantown!!

So when I will have to wait till I get home next to try the welding method out, I just hope I dont crack the case int he process, then I would really be up crap creek!

 

Just realized this was a 10 year old thread, but if someone else finds it searching for this issue as I did.... I was able to easily suck out all the diff fluid through the fill plug and then refilled. Seemed easier than than fighting with the drain plug that would not budge.