Another Front Diff Drain Plug Stripped

the first time i replaced it, clean at 70k miles. this 2nd time, dirty. use 4wd like you, never. 1000 miles a year?
other than the plug problem, all those fluids are cheap and easy to change, since i am keeping this one for 300k miles, i am going to do every 25-30k.. would rather overkill and clean in case i keep it in the family at 300k.

 

i torqued mine last time, and now will need to chisel off. will not torque next one.

 

THANK YOU --- No fluid leaks out, so no fluid gets in!.. I was looking at some video saying soak it. i did, hit it with liquid wrench. then said , how the hell is it going to get behind the washer IF ITS THAT TIGHT.... UGH.

 

https://www.kaon.com.au/store/p17/Diff_Plug_24mm_Toyota.html
https://www.kaon.com.au/diff-drain-plug-removal-tool-to-suit-toyota-hilux

A disk with 10mm hex key on one side and 24mm hex nut on the other. Insert key into plug; apply wrench to nut.

 

How's that supposed to be any different than putting a 10mm hex bit in it with a ratchet? Maybe slightly less off angle torque because the wrench would be closer to the plug, but who's really gonna use a wrench and not an impact or ratchet?

 

since it’s flush with the face of the hex fitting, probably less likely of it rounding the hex area due to not engaging straight on? That’s the only small benefit I see of it.

 

I didn't read the five pages but read about half of the posts.

Hit it with a hammer first. I've removed lots of Allen plugs like this and if you give it several highly motivating whacks with a hammer first, they come out with a lot less effort. I also use Williams Allen socket bits. They are Snap-Off Industrial Brand.

 

It has a 24mm on one side and a hex on the other. It’s made of hardened steel and larger then the original plug. It’s designed to be used after the plug has been stripped but not completely rounded smooth. You hammer it in flush then give it a twist. It came from Australia so it took a little time and this was before covid but it was fun to track it I got a lot of updates as it made it’s way. I also got the 24mm drain plug from them I think when it was all said and done I paid about 60 bucks but to me it was money well spent.

 

Yeah I think that’s part of why this tool works so well. It cuts into the old plug like an extractor and to get it in you have to hammer on it pretty good. I also used heat and Penetrating oil for whatever it was worth

 

I like the lexus version with a actual hex nut... If i had know it was available at the time I would have saved money on the dimple magnetics one (although that one is stainless)

Are they basing the torque on the drain plug purely based on the what a bolt with the same diameter thread size is rather than the fact that its just a gasketed drain plug?

 

I think the torque spec is 25 lbs. that’s what I tightened mine to and it didn’t take much to click. Seemed tight enough but not too tight to me.

 

The actual torque spec is 48 lb-ft. which seems insane for a drain plug. The fill plug is only 29

 

God damn guys I gave up today trying to do the front diff. The fill plug came out relatively easy but the drain plug will NOT move. I cleaned out the hole to the point where it's clean enough to eat out of and made sure that the 10mm allen key is all the way in. Nope. Won't move.

I first hit it with a propane torch before I even started and then used an impact wrench that goes up to 250ft/lb and that was a dud. Then I took a 2ft break bar and it started to strip so I stopped. Right now, it's half way stripped and didn't move the drain plug at all.

I then tried to tighten it a bit and then loosen it but it won't give in either direction. One thing that I did notice is that the oil is super clean so I just decided to leave it alone for now. I did the rear diff and transfer case without drama and would like to do all three just to satisfy my ADD because I know it will bother me until it is done.

I might give it another shot tomorrow and if it strips, then I'll weld the 10mm bit to it and see it is works out.

 

If you still wanted to change the fluid you can use one of the fluid pumps and a small hose inserted into the fill hole to suck out most of the fluid.
Like you i noticed that the fluid in both the transfer case and front diff looked like they were in great shape when i went to replace them with Amsoil Severe Gear 75W90 so probably wasn't really needed but did it because I had all the oil, gaskets etc and decided to do them all. I don't think i will ever need to do those again. The rear diff on the other hand did indeed need a change and even at 10,000 miles. The oil came out with with the look you would expect of two gears that had gotten to know each other quite well with a silver particulate sheen to it and a fuzzy drain plug magnet.

 

Did you try a penetrating oil like PB blaster or aero kroil? Soaked in for a couple days at least.

 

I had to call my father out the other day to put one hand against the ratchet head and hold the 10mm allen socket in there tight while I got two hands on the breaker bar. I did strip it a tiny bit when I was trying it myself. Three hands is better than two in this case.

 

Found a couple pics of the stripped plug I got out with it. Like I said it was a little pricey for it and it shipped from Australia so it took a bit. Not sure how long it would take now I got mine before all the coronavirus shit happened. Also ordered the new drain plug from them. I got the one from Lexus with the 14mm head but I liked the 24 better. You hammer it in to the stripped plug it’s machined larger so it cuts in and grips extremely well. Used it for mine and also a friend. So far it’s two for two.

 

Yeppers....had the same issue. Plug overtightened.

Used a 3 lb hammer with a cold chisel. Set the chisel in a manner that the hammer impacts would force a counterclockwise torque. A couple of bloody knuckles, mashed thumb and numerous blue words.....the drain plug came loose.

Ordered a replacement with gasket. Hand tightened like the engine oil drain plug. Firm and snug. No torque wrench. 8 months.....no leak. Probably good until the next change.

 

Adding in my stupid way of getting these plugs un-stuck:

1) if you have ball end, round end, or even a chamfered hex bit, cut it flat to get max surface area on the plug
2) put it into the well cleaned hole with a breaker bar, metal ratchet, or similar, handle at about a 45 degree angle ready to loose up towards the cab
3) insert 3 ton jack under the handle and jack it up until the plug loosens

Seriously done this on 3 plugs so far have yet to fail or strip and I've even used the same 3/8" craftsman ratchet for all of them. When I did it on the truck, it lifted the whole front end before giving, I was amazed. 4Runner popped loose much easier, although I tried the 1/2" impact on that first, maybe that helped loosen it.

 

For anyone else wondering about a bailout option, I went through various attempts on my own with this drain plug in my driveway and did some damage to the allen socket but not all the way trashed. I even bought the aussie tool to convert to hex just to try and be sure of my failure, again no dice despite some (perhaps overly tentative) swings with a hammer. I knew I was risking making a big mess of things due to my lack of familiarity with the various techniques and lack of experience here and didn't want an expensive learning experience.

Ended up just taking it to the dealer for them to help me out, got routed to an experienced mechanic, all done, no trouble, $211 which is high for pure fluids but they swapped in my new hex head bolt so I should be good to go from here out.

In the grand scheme of things, while it is a bit of a hefty price, I felt this was one good use of a more experienced set of hands.