Drain plugs upgrades

What is the popular combo of plugs to upgrade all of the 1st gen 4x4 diff/cases/etc drain plugs? Fixing on replacing the beat up allen style ones with good ole' hex nut style. My OEMs are so beat they need air chisels to get taken off.

I have a 90341-24016 for the front, but curious what people have for the others. Heck for the fill ones too.

 

The reason they're stuck is age and whoever worked on it last. I would go with oem Toyota bolts and washers. They don't require elbow grease when bolting on, hand tighten them and quarter turn with the socket.

 

@turbodb has the answers

 

Right, when everything is done correctly, there isn't an inherent issue with the bolts. But this is real world, for my vets out there, I'm looking for sailor proof, not "if you followed the instruction..."

I already have the one I listed, it is Toyota OEM, has the right thread, pitch, length, magnet etc, but simply is a bolt head style and not allen. Looking for the rest. Sailor/Soldier proof. Murphy likes to be in my life way too much, so I love me some mitigation.

 

I don't think you're going to get much traction here. Most people leave the drain plugs well alone, and they aren't an issue. People who have to change their front diff oil more frequently swap out the allen plugs for the ones you've already linked to, and some people install a drain plug with a valve to the engine oil pan to make their oil changes easier.

Maybe you could paint them orange so you can find them easier under the vehicle?

What cases are you envisioning needing to sailor/solider proof the drain plugs?

 

Any plug (fill, drain) that is allen cause in less than perfect conditions they lead to headaches (over torqued, bad angle etc stripping the allen). I'd just like good ole' bolt heads. I guess I'm off to a good start with the one I already have.

The older I get the more I like mitigation. Honestly kind of irks me 'if you do this, and do that, then it shouldn't be an issue' is like that young kid that sweeps someone with a gun and when called out, 'well if the safety works it doesn't matter'. Nah, lets apply layers here- finger off the trigger, do not sweep, ensure its unloaded etc etc, compound controls so 3% chance changes to .00001%. I don't want a clean room, high dollar tight tolerance allen tool, perfect angle of my arm, perfect feedback through my nervous system that I have a great contact and depth of the tool into the bolt, good torque from previous person that tightened etc to lead to easy removal. I want to mitigate that. I'm making vets cringe.

ORM!

There, I SAID IT!

edit- context: Obviously not the 1st owner of the truck and the bolt is already pretty hosed. No trusting I can get it off at all I took it to Frank at South Bay Truck & Four Wheel- if you local here you know this shop- great great shop. He had to use an air chisel to get it off. I don't want a repeat of this with my own dumb bear hands as I've had my own bad luck/bad practice with allens. So I'm looking to replace any and all allen type drain and fill plugs. If I recall right there is a fill plug as an allen so if you derp and drain first, and then can't get the fill open, you are up sh*t creek.

 

mmmm

Front dif - allen drain and fill
Transmission (auto) - hex head drain, fill from the dip stick
Transfercase (4x4) - hex head drain and fill
Rear diff - hex head drain and fill

engine oil - hex drain, oil cap fill
power steering - reservoir drain and fill
radiator - valve drain, radiator cap fill
AC - evacuate and fill via schrader valve on High and Low lines
gas tank - no drain, tube fill

... So If you've swapped your front diff plugs, you successfully mitigated your drain and fill plug situation.

 

Imma sleep easy now.

 

I used Toyota parts to replace the fill and drain bolts on my front diff while I had it out and empty. Can't hurt.

 

i really hate the hex allen 5mm rustball check plug on my o9 tacoma. I started looking for a good aftermarket one and only found some magnetic oil drain plugs (they look good)

would anyone please let me know if a good replacement for the trans plug

 

I replaced my oil drain plug off ebay with the following and it's very strong...best part is, when you're draining the oil the bolt will stick to the pan and you can also control the initial flow a lot better. I also used the opportunity to buy a couple sets of genuine washers and started using the larger oil filters. Obviously this is just for the oil, but the quality of this bolt is quite nice, very well machined.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/393225794475
https://www.ebay.com/itm/156774960883

 

I’m gonna buy me one of those drain plugs looks like a good one and I like the idea it stays until you pull it out. Thanks for the link and I always use OEM washers.

 

$30 for a bolt and washer? Wow! You must have money to burn.

 

https://www.kaon.com.au/front-diff-drain-plug-to-suit-toyota

https://www.kaon.com.au/front-diff-fill-plug-to-suit-toyota

After dealing with a seized diff plug, I said never again and splurged on these.

 

are those the ssme thread size , just one has a magnet snd the other doesn't? I'd like to know ehat the thread size is to find a couple (those do look good tho) for a lot less than $70 for a couple bolts .

can anyone confirm what the thread size / length is please

 

alright!! it looks like the transmission drain plug is the same as the stupid 5mm hex check plug , based on this review, I just ordered these two for $8 from Amazon, I'll confirm after they arrive on fri. funny, because the dealer told me i can't use a trans drain plug in place of the rustball 5mm hex check plug. I suspected I could since they use the same crush washer like the guy in tbis amazon review says --->

 

also ordered a couple of these for front dif , $16.88 each. I think / hope the drain snd fill is the same , i think it is, because it says they use the same crush washer

and also ordered this 24 pack of washers for $8 .... since the stearlership gets like $3 for just one washer

 

My '07 has all Gold Plug brand magnetic plugs. Only one that didn't work was the front diff. Hex corners hit housing, never got around to modifying it to fit, went back to OEM there.

 

I'm happy with this:

$46 DEEFILL Magnetic Stainless Steel Oil Drain Valve - M12 x 1.25 Oil Pan Drain Plug No Mess, Clean & Safe Oil Changes Compatible with Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Infiniti and More Select Models

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNBWGG14

 

Iirc, the drain is M24 while the fill is M18. No idea what the thread pitch is.