The dealer has those plugs they round off all the time.
Replacement front diff drain plug
I fear my torque wrench is out of adjustment. I managed to strip the head of the transfer case drain plug whilst changing the oil this weekend. I was the last person to change the oil, so it must have been my over tightening.
I'm going to have to use a screw remover tool to get the drain plug out.
I'm looking for a source of a replacement drain plug. I could just weld a nut to it after removal, but I'd rather replace it with a new one. I'm thinking of replacing both the drain and fill plugs (the fill plug did budge, but it is also beginning to wear) - TIP, always undo the fill plug first in case you get the drain plug out and cant budge the fill plug.
I suspect my torque wrench (yep, my bad for buying one at Harbor Freight) is faulty. The 24mm heads on the rear diff and transfer case were also very tough to remove, and now have a bit more wear than I would like. I'm thinking of replacing those when I change that oil again.
I've already ordered a new torque wrench.
So. Anyone point me to a source of drain plugs and fill plugs. I'd like to get the front diff oil changed this coming weekend to keep the transfer case and rear diff oil changes on schedule with the front diff. A full set of plugs for both diffs and the transfer case sounds like the ticket.
Here are some pics. Much worse than when I first had problems. I tried torx heads and all kinds of oversized allen wrenches before calling it a day.
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I'm going to have to use a screw remover tool to get the drain plug out.
I'm looking for a source of a replacement drain plug. I could just weld a nut to it after removal, but I'd rather replace it with a new one. I'm thinking of replacing both the drain and fill plugs (the fill plug did budge, but it is also beginning to wear) - TIP, always undo the fill plug first in case you get the drain plug out and cant budge the fill plug.
I suspect my torque wrench (yep, my bad for buying one at Harbor Freight) is faulty. The 24mm heads on the rear diff and transfer case were also very tough to remove, and now have a bit more wear than I would like. I'm thinking of replacing those when I change that oil again.
I've already ordered a new torque wrench.
So. Anyone point me to a source of drain plugs and fill plugs. I'd like to get the front diff oil changed this coming weekend to keep the transfer case and rear diff oil changes on schedule with the front diff. A full set of plugs for both diffs and the transfer case sounds like the ticket.
Here are some pics. Much worse than when I first had problems. I tried torx heads and all kinds of oversized allen wrenches before calling it a day.
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I bought one of these sets
Using the left handed drill bit I bored out the hole, about 3/4 of the way through the bolt. This wasn't enough to free up the bolt. I had to use a bolt extractor, tapped firmly in to place. It took a fair bit of pounding on a breaker bar to finally free the bolt.
Here are some pics of the extractor tool.
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With the tool removed you can see how it bit in to the newly bored hole
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The old and replacement bolt side by side (the old bolt has marks on the side where I had to lock it in a vice to get the extractor tool out)
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Here is the cause of the problem, and the solution. A cheap torque wrench, and my new torque wrench, If you are going to service your own vehicle, then be careful which tools you buy at Harbor Freight, a torque wrench should not be one of them
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Using the left handed drill bit I bored out the hole, about 3/4 of the way through the bolt. This wasn't enough to free up the bolt. I had to use a bolt extractor, tapped firmly in to place. It took a fair bit of pounding on a breaker bar to finally free the bolt.
Here are some pics of the extractor tool.
With the tool removed you can see how it bit in to the newly bored hole
The old and replacement bolt side by side (the old bolt has marks on the side where I had to lock it in a vice to get the extractor tool out)
Here is the cause of the problem, and the solution. A cheap torque wrench, and my new torque wrench, If you are going to service your own vehicle, then be careful which tools you buy at Harbor Freight, a torque wrench should not be one of them
Attachments
Amazingly the old oil in my front diff looked like new, even with 50k miles on it. Mobile 1 full synthetic. I'm putting Royal Purple in today, and hope it looks as good when changed.
This oil has had 50k miles since it was last changed
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This oil has had 50k miles since it was last changed
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1 - 17 of 17 Posts
