Don.

I've managed to loosen both drain plugs on my tranny, but the fill plug looks like its stripped. I believe the proper procedure is to remove the rear cover with the tranny in the car, and deal with the fill plug out of the car. I do have a few questions on this that I'd appreciate some help on:

1) Is removing and replacing the rear cover as easy as it sounds? Just get a new gasket and a fill plug? The reason I ask is there is some sort of electrical connection that needs disconnection on the rear cover and I'm wondering if there is some sort of mechnical linkage I can mess up or mis-align by removing the rear cover. The manual mentions rear backup light & speedo sensor need to be dealt with when the tranny is removed, I assume it's one of those.

2) The reason there are two drain plugs is that there appears to be a hump in between them, so there are two areas where oil would collect. This got me thinking: Can I drain all the oil, tilt the car by either jacking up the rear or the front, and then put in 4 quarts of oil through one of the drain plugs? I may need to use some plastic hose to get over the "hump", but this would be easier than dealing with the rear cover. I assume with more than the specified 3.8 quarts the two oil areas would equalize to the proper amounts on level ground since there is only one fill plug. Also, since this is not an auto tranny, I assume that slightly overfilling it would not harm anything. Are my assumptions wrong?

3) Why are these things overtorqued? The manual specifies 14-17 ft lbs. I estimate that it took over 100 ft lbs to crack the drain plugs.

Sooner or later I'll get all these little issues settled and you guys will start seeing me again at the group rallies!

Cheers,
Don

Jim bailey - 928 International

just remove the rear dif. cover the sensor is the speedo impulse sensor and it just sits on the outside counting magnets through the aluminium cover . Some "certified mechanics " seem to think big bolts need to be very tight and do chin ups on the wrench .

Steve J.

Don - I recently went through the same ordeal. I tried one more thing as a last resort before pulling the cover - and it worked! I soaked the plug with penetrating oil for a day or two. My hex sockets were beveled on the ends (like the one on the right). The socket hole on the drain plug is very shallow and easy to strip. I ground the end of the hex driver flat (the one on the left). The sharp corners "bit" in the bottom of the drain plug socket and I was able to get it out. I also used a heat gun to heat up the area around the plug (be careful). Then I replaced it with a new one. Good luck!

Don.

Hey Steve, I think I'll try grinding the hex driver flat. I did notice that the ends on mine were beveled, but my plug is most of the way stripped by now, so I'm not sure how much that'll help. I've soaked the plug in penetrating oil for a couple days, and tried jb welding the hex driver to the plug, to no avail. In desperation, I even used a propane torch on the cover around the plug (yes, I know the gas tank is right there, but hey, I'm a wild and crazy guy).

I've now taken about 10x the time it would have taked to remove the rear cover, and from Jim's description it doesn't sound so bad, but for some reason I just dislike disassembling more than I have to. One more thing to try and the cover comes off.

Thanks Guys,
Don

BarryW

Mine were pretty tight too. I used anti-seize on them when I put them back in so I, hopefully, won't have the same problem next time. The steel plug in the aluminum housing tends to electrolyze itself together after a while.

Don.

Just thought I'd post an update in case this happens to anyone else: I tried cutting the hex driver with a dremel tool and the driver apparently bit enough metal to finally turn the plug. My hex driver looked exactly like the one in Steve's picture. Did you buy yours at AutoZone like I did, Steve? Tranny is filled and happier with Redline/Mobil 1 mix, and all the plugs are back in with liberal amounts of anti-seize.

Thanks for all the help,
Don

Steve J.

Congrats, Don. As a matter of fact I think I did get those hex drivers at AutoZone..hehe.... I knew I would probably only get one shot at it before it was wallowed out beyond hope.

ViribusUnits

Get your tranny hot before you try anything.

It makes a HUGE diffrence. With the tranny cold, I could do chin up on a cheeta pipe, and get no where. With the tranny warm, I got it out with about 30 ft*lb of troque.

The aluminum cools down and really grips the bolt when it's cold. I'm not sure it's possible to remove the nut w/o stripping it with the tranny cold.

Steve J.

I had the axles out on mine so was unable to drive it. I ran it for a long time in gear while up on blocks and the tranny never warmed up. That's when I tried the heat gun. If you can drive your car you will have an easier time warming up the tranny.