So today I went to change my differential fluid and when I got under the car guess what I found..................the idiot that owned the car before me apparently tried to change the fluid but STRIPPED both the fill bolt and drain plug. Is there anyway to get these damn things out or do I need to buy a new differential now?

I contacted Lexus and was told that they do not sell the bolts.........which I'm not sure if they are full of it or not.

 

Umm don't buy the diff. just yet cause you will burn some cash. See if you can find someone with a impact hammer or air chisel and try to take it off that way. If that doesn't work I guess you can go buy another one. That or you can get crazy and drill your own drain plug and level plug. Then use a a tap and find a similar Toyota thread bolt and do it that way. Thats if you want to save some money. I would probably do that. Sucks to hear that happened.

 

Yeah I tried my Impact wrench which has 250ftlbs but it did not budget it .

 

buy one of those reverse sockets that grabs on the outside of the bolt or nut and spins it off. i know matco and snap-on sells them.

if that doesnt work...take off the diff. remove the back cover. drill out the old plugs. go to your local auto parts store and buy 2 new plugs. most toyota plugs should be the same. after you drill out the old plug install the new one.

taking off the diff with no experience shouldnt take you more then 1.5 hours.

i have removed the diff before in 30 mins...with a floor jack and stands. no lift

tools you need:
19mm or 21mm socket(front diff mount)
m10 allen socket(for axles)
m12 allen socket(for rear diff mount)
14mm wrenches/sockets(driveshaft)

good luck

 

I can't remember if the drain & fill plugs are in the cover on the sc. If they are, just take that off and take it to a machine shop. If not, you can remove the whole diff and just take that in to the machine shop.

The place I like to go to charges 20-40$ a pop, and is very good at what they do. Much rather give them 20-40 dollars and just get it done right than wasting tons of hours runing bits, using the die grinder, breaking off easy outs, ect. I've pulled my fair share of broken off bolts, studs ect and I wouldn't do it again if I didn't have to. The last one I did cost me 50-60$ in broken tools ect, and took 3 days of bs.

 

okay im retarded. you are right. the plugs are in the pumpkin and not in the cover. and they are allen not hex. i was thinking of the trans plugs.

take the diff off...

another thing that works is getting a bigger allen head socket and lightly tapping it into the plug.

 

Thanks for the prompt responses!

If I (my mech) drains the diff using the plugs, will that drain ALL the diff fluid? Or will some be left over in the gears (kind of like the Auto Trans)?

Also, if I'm looking to drain the diff fluid, how much fluid is in there? 1 Gallon/3.8L?

 

Pulling the drain plug will drain all the fluid. The drain plug location is the lowest part of the diff. The easiest way to get the plug off is to take a nut, say get a 7/16 nut. Then hold it over the drain plug centered. Weld the center of the nut so it welds the nut to the drain plug. Then you can use a socket and take it off easily. Plus the heat from the welder will tend to help loosen the plug.

The diff holds around 4 pints. I would recomend to use Redline 75/140 diff fluid.

Lawrence