Yesterday it was time to change my rear axle fluid. So I jacked up the rear of the car and drained all the axle oil out. My rear axle has the drain plug on the bottom of the axle. After all the fluid was drained out it was time to remove the fill plug(back of rear axle). I found a 13mm socket and tried to turn it. Didnt even budge. Went and got my dads breaker bar to see if that would do the treak. Nope just STRIP it!!! Now the filler bolt has no flats on it! What should I do? My dad suggested to use vise grips. This is my first time changing the fluid and it seems like it has never been changed.

Any help would be great.

Thanks
Leland

1. Spray with PBlaster
2. First tighten it very slightly, then try loosening it.
3. Vice grips may work, but a pipe wrench will be better.
4. Try heat followed by an ice cube (while applying PBlaster) to try to loosen the threads.

Leland:
Both suggestions that you received below are good ones--spray the plug liberally with PB Blaster, rap it several times gently with a hammer to help the penetrant penetrate, then repeat. Let it sit for a little while to loosen up things. Professional mechanics would also use some heat on the bolt, but I don't know whether that is something you want to try or not. The pipe wrench will give you better leverage than the vicegrips. Line it up well so you get a good bite with the jaws. If you have a good bite you can also use a pipe to make a handle extension to give you more leverage if you need it.

In the "ask me how I know" department, conventional wisdom is that you always take off the fill plug before you drain the differential (same thing applies to the manual transmission) so that if you run into this problem at least you can drive to a mechanic to take off the fill plug!

Good luck. The combination of penetrant and pipe wrench will likely work.

Mike Brown
Greenville, NC
1996 965 105K
1986 244 137K
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Mike Brown Greenville, NC 1996 965 94K 1986 244 137K

Spray it with PB Blaster, a “penetrating catalyst” available at Wal-Mart and many auto parts stores. Kroil penetrating oil also works, if you can find it. Spray it three or four or 10 times over a period of 4 to 24 hours. The longer you wait, the better it works. Don’t bother trying WD40.

Vice grips is probably your best bet at this point. Use an alternating tightening and loosening action to break it free.

When you replace it use anti-seize for future ease of removal. Get a replacement bolt from Swedishengineering.com, or a dealer.
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Tom F Three 940s. Lien holder on two more (the kid's). Rust in pieces, '78 245

hi there. the best grip you will get on the plug is with a pipe wrench. vise grips might work. i learned on the board to remove fill plug first so this wont happen. also on a tight bolt or plug make sure you use a six point socket or wrench. good luck. o yeah the car should be on level ground when refilled .