Frozen Gear Box Drain Plug

[Nskookum]

Have had my '84 911 about a year.... a Newbee. In trying to learn and do more of my own maintenance ...decided it was time to change out the gear oil. Bought what I needed ..i.e. hex socket etc and proceeded to attack the task. Worked the fill plug first, although a little tough it broke loose and I was able to remove and check the fluid level. Next went to the drain plug and unfortunately it was not as easy. And of course as it goes you take several good hard attempts and the socket begins to round out the inside hex form. Now there is not enough there to work with.

Any thoughts on how best to remove this plug?

[r buchanan]

Have had my '84 911 about a year.... a Newbee. In trying to learn and do more of my own maintenance ...decided it was time to change out the gear oil. Bought what I needed ..i.e. hex socket etc and proceeded to attack the task. Worked the fill plug first, although a little tough it broke loose and I was able to remove and check the fluid level. Next went to the drain plug and unfortunately it was not as easy. And of course as it goes you take several good hard attempts and the socket begins to round out the inside hex form. Now there is not enough there to work with.

Any thoughts on how best to remove this plug?

First, I have had better luck with a 17 mm hex wrench than the socket. Besides the hex wrench is only ten bucks. They are sharper on the corners and 'bite' better than the socket bit.

Here is an old trick on frozen cap screws or plugs. Yes they tend to be in there very tight.

First, use a good quality penetrating oil such as Liquid Wrench. Wear safety glasses and spray a healthy amount on the plug.

Be sure to clean around the plug first so the oil is actually getting into the threads. Spray oil twice a day for two days.

Go find something else to do for a couple of days. Let the solvent work.

GENTLY try to back out the plug with a long breaker bar. Use firm steady force. Do not hammer on the bar.

Next you can try to warm the trans housing around the plug with a small butane torch. Use extreme caution and care and warm around the outside of the plug. Once the case is hot to touch..try again. Don't overheat anything.

You may also be able to gentle tap the plug with a hammer to loosen it up a bit. experience here is important.

Don't peen the opening of the cap...however this may be an advantage to you at this point.

I have also made a glob of JB weld and "fixed" a rounded out cap screw. Making sure it is clean inside the cap (really clean and grease free) mix up a peanut size portion of stick it up into the cap. Just as you do this, coat the 17 mm socket with vaseline or PAM (from the kitchen) and insert it into the cap.

Make a prop or use a small jack to hold the socket in the plug overnight. You may have success the next morning.

Make sure that NO epoxy gets into the threads...any epoxy will just come right off the socket.

After all of this fails...go to a machine shop that has the correct extractor..and buy yourself a new bottom plug.

Robert Buchanan

[webrest]

Hi, Have recently been through this myself. My level of competency is fairly sound and would not class my self as a mechanical butcher in any shape or form but I have to be frank this little exercise gave me hell Yes I tried all the correct methods of removal before ending up with a complete mess on my hands nothing would work to remove that blasted plug. Same deal the fill plug came out relatively easy in comparison but the drain plug was locked in firm. When the Hex head of the plug finally cracked and gave way I was looking at serious trouble to remove.With nothing to lose I welded a 12mm bolt [not too long] to the socket head plug. I then heated the surrounding alluminium casing to a fairly warm but long way from melting obviously and proceeded to remove with 17mm socket and 24" long breaker bar. Came out no problem, but I do admit that I was worried for awhile. If you do not feel confident to do this yoursef I might suggest that you take your car to you local exhaust place as these guys are pretty good with the MIG and and oxy heat. You [or they] will have no difficulty in welding to the plug it will take the weld nicely. You can drain your oil at this time and have a new drain plug ready for fitment. The trick here it is not to do what the clowns before you have done, tighten it up to within an inch of its life so that you can never get it out again. Try this. Cross drill the head of the socket plug with an 1/8" or less drill and tighten to a little less than the recomended torque then tie & wire the plug to the casing, you may have to drill another small hole in a convenient place I did. Do this and you wont have the trouble in the future. I am convinced you wont have any dripping issues either, afterall the plugs are tapered. Good luck with your new project