Gearbox Refiller Plug Woes

[Jersey Royal]

Hi Folkes,

 

Just drained gearbox oil and cleaned out filter to overdrive, all went well here.

 

I had previously put a hole in the gearbox tunnel to allow easy access to the oil filler plug. However the plug end is slighly bured and i cant undo with my spanners, , so jacked up car and attackled from the underside, still no go and starting to become a real pain in the rear.

 

The only option i can see is to remove carpets tunnel cover etc etc and tackle the little swine from above

 

Once i have removed the offending article i am going to get the end of a socket welded to the drain plug, to enable me to easily undo it within the car without have to remove half the interior

 

 

Any one had similar experiences like this or is it just my luck.

 

Regards

 

Guy

[scotty]

They are quite often hard to undo if they havnt moved for some time . I have used large stilson in the past to undo a stubborn one . They are quite good as they tighten up with as more pressure is used . If you use a new plug with copper slip it shouldnt sieze again .

[jean]

I had made myself an "adaptor" to undo it. Just take a rather large nut , file the thread side into a square same size as the plug, slightly tappered. Just fit it over the plug and undo it with an appropriate spanner

[Richard Crawley]

Replace the drain/refill plugs with tapered, SS plugs that incorporate an Allen key socket in them & you will never have problems again; & don't over tighten them!

[ianhoward]

Hi Guy

 

I had an extremely similar problem with my first TR6... Being a clever s*d I checked to see if the filler plug could be removed before draing the G/B oil!!! Suffice to say I had extreme difficulty - i.e. it wouldn't budge - so off with the tunnel - and still no joy. I ended up partly drilling the centre of the plug sufficient to get a Stud Extractor in, and with the combination of a small stilson (and brute force) managed to move the thing eventually. Since then I have always put a couple of wraps of PTFE tape onto drain and filler plugs. Not only does this aid sealing , but also seems to aid in future removal.

 

Best regards

Edited April 20, 2007 by ianhoward

[marvmul]

You can weld a nut onto this stubborn plug, but don't weld it in one go, or the gearbox casing can melt around the plug. The heat of the welding will help loosen the plug.

[jean]

I fully agree, there are many ways to modify or replace the plug, you might also fit a new one or buy a plug spanner. But sometimes you will have to remove the old one first, and there lies the problem

[Guest ron]

Hi

I've done the welded nut method from underneath the car, not much fun but once the nut is welded on the plug comes out remarkably easily, presumably due to the heat involved, I 'screwed' the nut onto the damaged plug then used a MIG at full blast to do a couple of untidy tacks.

Ron

[Andy Moltu]

You can get a socket that fits the plug (7/16ths square) - Cromwell tools do them although you may have to order it.

Failing that weld a hex not onto it & undo with a socket.

[Jersey Royal]

Hi

 

Thank you ALL, for your experiences and ideas , i am sure they will be useful for others who read this thread.

 

In the end i removed the tunnel etc, and applied a pair of vise grips to the nut and then with leg power forced it to move, unscrewed it fine, refilled with oil. I replaced this plug with a spare gearbox drain plug which has a hex head. Put on some PTFE tape a screwed her up.

 

As i mentioned before i have a 2 in round hole in the tunnel to allow access to the filler plug, next time it should be easy.

 

What should of been a two hour job tops, ended up taking me about eight hours .

Job done juts as well as i have a meet with a Uk Classic car club tomorrow.

 

Regards

 

Guy