Front diff drain plug torque - is it 48 or 29?

I need a sanity check, please.

Regarding 3rd gen, 2016 Tacoma, 2.7L, 4cyl.

Everyone on YouTube and everywhere else is saying the torque for the front diff drain plug is 48 ft-lbs. But I swear the service manual (which I got from this Tacomaworld thread) says 29 ft-lbs.

I am not a mechanic, am I mis-reading the service manual?

See page 2143 under section "DIFFERENTIAL: DIFFERENTIAL OIL: ADJUSTMENT"). To me it's saying for both drain and fill plugs, the torques are the same: For front diff plugs it's 29 ft.lbs; for rear diff plugs it's 36 ft.lbs. The rear diff torque for both (36) matches what everyone says. And the front diff fill plug torque (29) also matches. It's just the drain plug... Manual appears to say 29 but everyone is saying 48. I don't get it. Which is it, and where in the manual does it say 48?

Manual says this:
---

Torque:
Front differential carrier assembly -
39 N·m {398 kgf·cm, 29ft·lbf}
Rear differential carrier assembly -
49 N·m {500 kgf·cm, 36ft·lbf}

 

Here’s what I have from one manual I downloaded from TW- don’t remember the thread but it says 2006 FSM on the first page…- when I did my service it’s what I followed.

 

29 ft*lbf on the fill plug. 48 ft*lbf on the drain. The drain is hard to read in the diagram.

 

And differential carrier assembly is normally referring to the whole third member which an IFS truck won't have.

 

I always refer to this guide when doing maintenance. Has all the torque specs for everything...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-diy-maintenance-quick-reference.406712/

I also replaced the front diff drain plug with the Lexus equivalent which has a bolt head instead of a female hex head...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/front-diff-drain-plug-alternate-oem-part.604989/

 

OK, I see it now. Thanks. That diagram is on page 2212 of that service manual. Says 48. OK. I thought the Internet was gas-lighting me.. but I guess the Internet is actually right sometimes

And yeah, I already have that Lexus plug in-route - bought

$19 abczok 1 Pc M24x1.5 Stainless Steel Transmission/Front Differential Magnetic Oil Drain Plug Fit for 08-20 Lexus GX460 LX570; Toyota 4Runner FJ Cruiser Land Cruiser Tacoma Tundra Replace 90341-24014

the one on Amazon that Team Oil Drop recommended

I'm going to be doing this for the first time on my 2016 Taco.. and everyone is scaring me about having to take off this hex bolt. I need to get myself prepared...

 

Mine came off without issues when I did my diffs a few thousand miles ago. I used the Lexus plugs as replacement but looks like you got yours already. It's a tighter fill space but a pump or syringe works well.

 

Get a proper 10 mm hex socket (3/8 or 1/2 drive)

 

If you haven't bought the gear oil yet, I highly recommend the squeeze bags. I did bottles with a pump and hose and it was a pain in the ass. Never again!

 

Do you replace front and rear diffs with the Lexus drain and fill plugs or just front only? I’m going to be doing mine in about 5K miles and getting prepared. TIA

 

48Ft-Lbs is correct for the drain plug

I'd recommend doing this with the driveline cool. I usually do it hot and the drain plug will always want to strip. I hand torque it every time with a calibrated torque wrench and even with the "lexus" plug everyone is talking about I almost stripped it last time.

For the best chance at success, use a pick to clean the hole in the plugs, insert your socket fully then with a 3LB hammer hit the socket into the hole as hard as you can (swinging from your back) atleast 7 times before even attempting to loosen the drain plug. If you see the drain plug start to strip then use penetrating oil or hammer on it harder before trying again. You can do the same with the fill plug if you like and it'll basically spin off by hand afterwards but the fill usually isn't much of a problem.

Instead of fighting again i'd decided to just torque to the same as the fill plug this time and see what happens

 

It’s just fill/drain plugs, it’s not like it’s a spinning engine part or a part carrying load. I think those torque specs are way too high. Snug it up and an extra pull to get it Gutentight. 48 ft lbs? Good grief.

Before That Guy tells me he trusts the Toyota engineers more than me, remember the official Toyota torque spec for leaf spring U bolts was 27 lbs.

 

Oh, great, something else I need to worry about!

I bought the oil already - friend of mine was a manager of a dealer parts department and got me a good discount on Toyota OEM oils... He then promptly retired a month later LOL so I lost my contact for "cheap" fluids.

What is this "squeeze bag" oil you speak of? I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere... any links?

 

Just the drain plug. I'm hearing the fill plug is fine (remember, the fill plug torque is only 29 - the drain plug is 48 which is probably why its causing the problems).

I'm about to go in the garage and do this now... Amazon just delivered the new drain plug. I'll report back of any horror stories that occur.

I'm half-tempted to do the same. But being that this is the first time I'm doing this myself, and I have no actual experience at being a mechanic (I don't even play one on TV!), I'll try to stick with the manual. If its a pain to remove, I might just go to 35 or something.

 

Amsoil has their Easy Pack and Valvoline calls it Flex Fill...

 

For some things torque spec matters, for others it doesn't (within reason). Nuts that set preload for bearings or something like a ball joint I'll always use the spec. For a drain or fill plug of any kind it only has to be tight enough to seat the gasket and not to fall out and loose enough to not strip the threads. There's probably a published torque spec for the oil drain plug too but I've never brought out the torque wrench for an oil change.

 

There can be reason for concern.
Mine was in good shape and I still managed to strip it with a breaker bar and proper socket.

I just slurped it out from the top with a pneumatic brake bleeder.
Takes a couple minutes longer, but I'm not dicking with that plug again.

If it had come out, I wouldn't have torqued it back to 48...

 

Just the front. The rears are already hex socket style. Picture below compares the OEM front drain/fill to Lexus drain/fill.

 

Thank you! I ordered the drain and fill plugs direct from Lexus so I’m all set.

 

If anyone is interested this is where I ordered my drain and fill plugs.