Any solutions for a stripped differential drain plug?

[Flipzide]

hey everyone, i ended up stripping my diff drain plug a while back when i was using a breaker bar. i got a replacement plug in the other week and now I have no clue on how to remove the old one.

any solutions i can try before buying another diff cover?

[g6civcx]

Weld a socket to the plug. Drill the plug out and retap the thread with a larger plug. Leave the old drain plug alone and drill/tap another drain plug.

I always remove the filler plug first before removing the drain plug. If you can't get the filler off, don't take out the drain.

[Slip&Sliden 240]

A big easyout. We deal with this all the time at my work.

[Ragnarok043]

just get the biggest screw extractor you can find, you can get them at most hardware stores.

[Flipzide]

Tried the welding a bolt to the diff plug.

the dude that did it sucked so my friend's shop ended up changing the diff fluid for me as a favor since i couldnt get out the drain bolt...

i have to find a new diff cover though. +rep to you guys for your suggestions :).

[racepar1]

Welding a nut to the old, stripped plug is by far the best solution. If the plug was tight enough to strip, then an easy-out will most likely not work. You 100% for sure CAN get it out, you just need to be more determined. Changing the cover is a pain in the ass if the diff is still in the car, I would try EVERYTHING I could think of before I resorted to that.

[((sr)) kelly]

if you dont have a welder, get the biggest vice grips you can, and beast it!

[Matej]

Also try spraying it with PB Blaster, it actually works surprisingly well.

[projectRDM]

if you dont have a welder, get the biggest vice grips you can, and beast it!

Since the plug sits flush in the cover that suggestion is pointless.

[Flipzide]

Welding a nut to the old, stripped plug is by far the best solution. If the plug was tight enough to strip, then an easy-out will most likely not work. You 100% for sure CAN get it out, you just need to be more determined. Changing the cover is a pain in the ass if the diff is still in the car, I would try EVERYTHING I could think of before I resorted to that.


yea at my friend's shop today we tried welding it, but the bolt kept snapping off.

i believe the guy that my friend got from another shop across the street to weld it screwed it up even more. we just decided to drain with a pump and fill it up at the fill plug since the drain plug is in worse condition than what we began with.. ugh.

im just gonna replace the cover... it's gonna be a while before my next diff oil change anyway.

[racepar1]

Don't weld a BOLT, weld a NUT. A nut works better, but you have to weld the holy hell out of it. What kind of welder was the guy using? If you weren't so far from me I would tell you to bring it to my shop. I guarnatee I could weld a nut good enough to break the plug loose with my neighbor's miller mig welder.

[Jung918]

heat up the drain plug. you should do this with the cover off.

[Flipzide]

Don't weld a BOLT, weld a NUT. A nut works better, but you have to weld the holy hell out of it. What kind of welder was the guy using? If you weren't so far from me I would tell you to bring it to my shop. I guarnatee I could weld a nut good enough to break the plug loose with my neighbor's miller mig welder.

i honestly have no idea. my friend was pretty ticked off as well, but oh well.

maybe ill ask them to try a nut next time, but the dude who welded horribly still charged me for labor... full of shit, but i didn't want to argue cuz i had more things to do at home since i have a track day tomorrow.

[ManoNegra]

Drill and tap would be my method of choice.