Front Diff Drain Bolt Upgrade?

I went ahead and preemptively got the Kaon adapter and 24MM plug kit, imported from Australia, since I was going to be buying a 10mm allen socket anyway. It would be my luck that I'd strip out the original plug and have to extract it anyway, so might as well just bit the bullet and not worry about it.

Was about $50 US with shipping, which is probably a fair bit more than buying a good quality allen socket and the Lexus plug, but figured this way I get a 24MM drain plug to match everything else ( I bought the 24mm fill plug, too). Tool and plug in the kit seemed very high quality.

https://www.kaon.com.au/front-diff-tool-and-24mm-drain-plug-to-suit-toyota

 

Are the front and rear Lexus diff fill + drain plugs the same part numbers front and rear?

 

Hi! I would recommend to get a 2ft or so breaker bar with and hit it once and it will brake loose super easy… people tend to have issues with short bars…

I feared the same but with my long around 2 feet harbor freight bar it broke loose at the first try. No drama…

 

yes, you used the same gasket.

 

you only need front diff. Rear already has hex
9034118060 (fill)
9034124016 (drain)

 

Can confirm. Just did my diff fluids and replaced the front plugs. Front drain plug broke loose without issues thankfully.

 

How'd you like the Cosmoline? Thinking of going that route in fall to protect it from the lovely NE Ohio winters.

 

I've done a 2nd diff oil change at 30k miles before I move onto a normal schedule now that I'm comfortable break-in is complete.

It's been almost 2 years now and absolutely no corrosion anywhere on the frame and the drain plugs were just as easy as before. No touch ups needed other than when I do maintenance in an area. Coated surfaces do collect some road grime, so it's not a nice and shiny finish and ends up looking like a matte dirty surface. I had an alignment at about 20k after the dealer noticed some valid tire wear issues and the tech commented on the effectiveness of the coating.

I have been super pleased about being able to pull a partial can off the shelf and use it for the touch-ups without an aerosol or sprayer failure.

I would do it again and plan to pick up the amber RP-342 and spray the rocker cavities.

 

I had to weld a nut to my front diff drain plug to get it off. Didn’t have no issue with the fill plug.

 

I changed my front differential fluid at 30K miles. I had the upgraded drain plug on hand, but did not use it. I had no issues removing the OEM hex drain plug.

As someone remarked upthread, if you make sure the hex recess hole on the OEM plug is clean and you properly use/firmly seat the hex allen wrench, it's not going to strip out.

 

Definitely bookmarking this for when the time comes.

 

2nd Gen 2008 Tacoma :
My fronts were frozen solid , 1/2" Impact would not budge them.
Soaked in WD 40 for couple of hours.
Sprayed Walter Cold Shock , and used a chisel to knock them loose. They moved quite easy. 1st time using the stuff.
Has the MAP torch out, but this was way easier. Replaced with the Lexus parts as above. Other places came out with no issues.

 

2nd Gen. How long since those plugs were last removed or could this have been the first time 16 years later?