If I have to weld it........

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flintknapper

flintknapper

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Still changing fluids on '97 I bought recently. Rear diff. fill plug is so rounded off from someones previous attempts that you would just have to "know" that it was once a 24MM hex head. Unbelievable! The front diff. fill plug was pretty buggered up and had clearly been put on with an impact ,but it did come off (with an impact).

My question is: If I have to weld a nut onto the fill plug what electronics do I need to disconnect to keep from frying them. Would it be easier to use a large EZ out.

And an unrelated question...why do people keep stealing my centercaps? Jeeeeez
 
I have never seen a bolt extractor that large, but you could dremel or grind some off to get it to maybe fit a 22mm or something. At least then maybe you'd have a better chance.

With the electronics, remember that when you weld, the electricity is going to go the path of least resistance, to put the grounding clamp as close to the workpiece as you can and make sure you grind a clean area for it to clamp to. This was recently discussed on several welding boards and the overwhelming resounding answer was if you put the ground clamp close to the work piece you should never really have a problem. The old wive's tale of disconnecting the batteries doesn't really do anything when you consider how many electrical components the 80 has.
 
BTW, when you grind down the bolt, I'd leave enough on, that you have to seat the 6 point socket by whacking it on with the BFH.
 
Junk, Now you have.

You could try a cold chisel and a big hammer. Try to catch where an ear was and hit a sharp blow CC to get it to break loose. Nothing to lose if it's already ruined. Also, if you have a really good pipe wrench (sharp teeth) you might just catch enough of the plug to pull on it.

Bill
EZ-outs.webp
 
flintknapper

Photoman said:
Junk, Now you have.

You could try a cold chisel and a big hammer. Try to catch where an ear was and hit a sharp blow CC to get it to break loose. Nothing to lose if it's already ruined. Also, if you have a really good pipe wrench (sharp teeth) you might just catch enough of the plug to pull on it.

Bill
Click to expand...
You would have to imagine where an ear was, because I mean this thing is round! It is also somewhat tapered from the diff. out towards the back making it hard to get anything on it. I tried robogrip just for fun...no dice! I guess if I removed the rear sway bar I could get a pipe wrench near it. I'm thinking of welding a nut or a piece of flat stock on it and going from there. Thank you for your reply.
 
Photoman, I was thinking of the bolt extractors that fit over the rounded off head, not somehting like an easy out. Easy outs are pure anthrax. Not surprised you happen to have a few laying around as I'm starting to think that Grainger uses your place as a mid-warehouse :D
 
how about cutting a slot into the bolt head and then working from there?
 
If you're thinking screwdriver... my thought is it's so tight which is why it's rounded off that it would not come out with a screwdriver. Then it would be weaker too. Just my view though.

Look at it this way.... it would be worse - it could be mine :D
 
flintknapper

Junk said:
If you're thinking screwdriver... my thought is it's so tight which is why it's rounded off that it would not come out with a screwdriver. Then it would be weaker too. Just my view though.
Look at it this way.... it would be worse - it could be mine :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've read about some of your bad luck. My little brother is the same way....if it was his, the plug would be brass or aluminum to boot. This baby's definately not coming off with a screwdriver. Somebody ran it down with an impact if I had to guess. Oh, well....I'll put in new ones with antiseze and be done with it. Love my Cruiser!
 
have you already bought new ones? if not you can get the recessed hex magentic drain (more rock friendly) and use the factory magnetic drian for the fill plug, there was room in the front have not tried it in the rear yet
 
If you grind most of the head off the fill plug, the threaded part will spin right out. It takes a little work, but it's very straight forward. Exact same thing happend to me on my 40 (only I was the bozo that rounded the bolt head off).
 
slight hijack, but could be useful to someone...

I realize your situation is too far gone for this, but here are some things I learned when I was in a similar situation.

The rear diff fill plug on my 1991 was rounded off by the PO. I couldn't get my 12-point 24mm socket to work even with an impact. Before rounding it completely I went to sears for a 6-point but they don't have 24mm 6-points on the shelf. However, they did have 15/16 in a 6-point so I got one of those. I was able to use that with a breaker bar and get the plug out. I'd even argue that the 15/16 was a better fit than the 24mm.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but thought this might be useful to someone here...

Eric
 
Eric_FJ40 said:
I realize your situation is too far gone for this, but here are some things I learned when I was in a similar situation.

The rear diff fill plug on my 1991 was rounded off by the PO. I couldn't get my 12-point 24mm socket to work even with an impact. Before rounding it completely I went to sears for a 6-point but they don't have 24mm 6-points on the shelf. However, they did have 15/16 in a 6-point so I got one of those. I was able to use that with a breaker bar and get the plug out. I'd even argue that the 15/16 was a better fit than the 24mm.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but thought this might be useful to someone here...

Eric
Click to expand...

"I'd even argue that the 15/16 was a better fit than the 24mm. "

That's exactly what I did, and your right 15/16 is better than anyother size Sears metric socket that I have used. ;)
 
Eric_FJ40 said:
I realize your situation is too far gone for this, but here are some things I learned when I was in a similar situation.

The rear diff fill plug on my 1991 was rounded off by the PO. I couldn't get my 12-point 24mm socket to work even with an impact. Before rounding it completely I went to sears for a 6-point but they don't have 24mm 6-points on the shelf. However, they did have 15/16 in a 6-point so I got one of those. I was able to use that with a breaker bar and get the plug out. I'd even argue that the 15/16 was a better fit than the 24mm.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but thought this might be useful to someone here...

Eric
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, I am sure this is a common problem for LC owners and certainly not the end of the world. I'll get the thing off...and I have new ones ordered. I was just amazed that someone completely rounded this thing off without trying something else.
My Cruiser has 108,000 miles on it so hopefully what I find in the diff. won't be too bad.
 
I'll bet that the gear oil inside will be okay - if that fill plug is rounded that just means that someone has been there before and probably changed the fluids!
 
you might also check out a mitsubishi dealer, I think (think!) that they have plugs that are the same size as toyota, but with a 1/2" recessed square for a socket wrench.

I've been meaning to test that theory, but haven't done it yet.

the 10mm hex plugs are what I've got on top & bottom on my rear diff now, they are great. I did buy a 10mm hex for the socket wrench, and also keep a 10mm allen key in the truck (and another in my toolbox) so that if/when I go to change the diff fluid, I'll be able to open it up instead of looking all over the garage for "that darn 10mm socket"
 
RavenTai said:
have you already bought new ones? if not you can get the recessed hex magentic drain (more rock friendly) and use the factory magnetic drian for the fill plug, there was room in the front have not tried it in the rear yet
Click to expand...

Raventai-
Where does one go to find these magnetic drain plugs? Is there one place that sells them for both diffs, tranny and xfer case? Even better if i could also score some for my 62 as well!
<hijack over> :D
 
for the diffs Cdan, not sure for t-case,
 
Several good ideas here, but one not suggested yet. Here it is...
Careful use of the BFH earlier mentioned can often loosen a tight bolt or plug. Rap the head of the bolt repeatedly with a hammer, preferably a hard-face dead blow type. This causes the bolt to loosen by peening the metal around the threads and under the bolt head, reducing tension on the bolt. The effect is better with many light blows than a few hard hits. It is more effective on bolts that go into softer metals, or plugs that have a soft gasket under the head, IE your situation.
Part of the effect is that the head is beaten out into a larger diameter. Then you can bang a socket of the original size onto the head and possibly get a grip.
No matter whether this or any other method works for you, make sure that you have a new plug on hand. Getting the damaged one out is only half the battle. A new plug or bolt makes the solution permanent.
 
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