Can't break rear diff bolts.

Tried to change my rear differential fluid for the first time since owning the truck. Highly doubtful it has ever been done before.

I cannot get the fill bolt off. Didn't even try the drain bolt, because whats the use if I can't fill it back up?

I soaked it in wd40. Regular ratchet, breaker bar, cheater pipe, nothing. What's next? Or do I just suck it up and take it to a shop?

 

Butane torch, you can pick it up from Home Depot, get it nice and hot and it’ll break free

 

WD40 is not a good penetrant. Try some PB Blaster or Kroil and let it soak in good.

 

Smart to get the fill off, before the drain, so you're already making great choices.

Did you try to remove it with the diff warm/hot from driving, or cold? A little heat may help in this case.

 

Take a hammer and whack the plug straight on. Then loosen with a 6 point socket.

 

i am not trying to be a dick but are you sure you are going the right direction?

 

Just dont kill it! Seems obvious, but some folks lack sense / experience.

 

More penetrant. Give it time. Then some heat and a good whack with a steel hammer tip.

If 100 ft lbs does not do it, then more penetrant and repeat the above the next day.

Try to break loose the drain at the same time. No need to wait.

It will give eventually...

 

Use a chisel and put it on the outer edge of the plug and whack it a couple times with a hammer in the counter clockwise rotation. Guarantee it will work and the procedure often used in shops. A chance you will need a new plug depending on how bad it is, but usually not.

 

As stated above... WD-40 is not a penetrant, you need a PB Blaster, Break Away, type penetrator. breaker bar, and a 6 point socket, and a quick snap to the bar, counter clockwise. Righty tighty, Lefty loosey. Ski

 

While not marketed as a "penetrating" oil, it has been shown to perform as well if not better than penetrating oils.



https://youtu.be/xUEob2oAKVs?si=4TNBUcGxepkDb1BA

 

6 point socket and a 1/2" breaker bar.
The shorter the socket the better.

It will either strip, or it will break loose.
If it strips, go to an exhaust shop and have them weld on a nut.
It will come out then.

 

Tap it with a ball peen hammer. Impact wrench going back and forth.

 

And - according to the test outcome, for best results, make sure you losen two rusty lug nuts before attempting the diff...

 

I changed the fluids in my '96 last year. Probably the first time in its lifetime. Plugs loosened with effort using a 1/2" socket and 2' breaker bar. I sprayed them with PB Blaster the day before after tapping them a bit and heating them up.

Much easier than changing an anode rod in a water heater.

 

WD40 sucks……..it removes sticker residue, but that’s the only use so have for it.

 

I had to use a

$129 Milwaukee M18 Cordless Lithium-Ion 6-1/2" Circular Saw - 2630-20 - ( MILWAUKEE ) - BARE TOOL

Milwaukee M18 (500 ft-lb) on my 4Runner's diff plugs. You can also try heating up the plug with a propane torch.

 

The WD40 of my 60s and 70s upbringing was some petroleum based bad ass shit! And it was highly flammable! We used to light one can as a blowtorch (using a 2x4 to hold the nozzle down) and place another can in the path of that high velocity flame.

When it went off, it shot a huge orange mushroom cloud of flame 30 feet in the air. I guess I'm am partially to blame for them changing the formula to be non-flammable years ago. I don’t know what they make it with now, but it ain't no where near the same.

 

Bullshit, it's WD-40, not WD-41.

 

Lol, your right about the WD41 part but the blow torch story happened. I'm lucky to be alive man.