Rear diff plate removal?

[projekt1]

The perevious owner striped the he'll out of the fill plug on the rear diff. I tried a couple things (wd44440, locking pliers, vice grips, gator claw or whatever it's called and lastly tried to make some straight ends with a hammer n chisel) and none worked so I'm resorting to removing the back plate. I already removed all the bolts but the plate won't come off it won't even budge.
How do I get the plate off???
Any ideas on removing the fill plug before and after I take the plate off?

I remember someone selling aftermarket rear diff plates that looked pretty nice but I couldn't find that thread...does anybody have it?

Thanks in advance

 

[steve]

I assume you have taken off the rear mustache bar. The cover is sealed with RTV silicone and once all the bolts are out you have to cut/break the seal.

 

[projekt1]

Nope the rear mustahce is still on. The diff is supported by a jack at the moment. To cut the seal should I use say a thin razor or something else?

 

[2gGSXEclipse]

How do I get the plate off???
Any ideas on removing the fill plug before and after I take the plate off?

If you can get access to a welder you can always weld another bolt head on top of the stripped head and put the cover in a vise and you'll have a non-stripped bolt to put you wrench on.

As far as cutting the seal I'd say try a razor blade. Can possibly use a small pick tool or a gasket scraper. Id try the razor blade firrst though

 

[projekt1]

Thought about the welding part but my welding buddy moved to sac. I don't have a vise either so worst case scenario Ill go to a local shop n see what they can do for me.

 

[DSM-sagacious]

You can always drill a hole in the plug and use an ez-out. Works for any stuck bolt. You can get one from any auto parts store.

 

[projekt1]

You can always drill a hole in the plug and use an ez-out. Works for any stuck bolt. You can get one from any auto parts store.

Yeap, already planning on doing just that only problem is I don't have a clamp so ill have to stand on it or figure something out.

Anything I should look for while the plate is off?

 

[projekt1]

Okay guys, I tried the razor knife and a putty knife but still no luck. So taking the plate is becoming impossible just as is the fill plug.

My buddy n I were brainstorming and came up with; unbolting the diff and axles from the um, where they bolt up to (don't know what they're called) and pulling it out of the car just enough to turn it upside down and fill her up through the drain plug then reversing the process.

The concern here is, is the grease in the cups going to all fall out? Will unbolting it from the driveshaft be ok?

Please let me know what you guys think and if there's any other ideas.

 

[projekt1]

As I was getting ready to unbolt the axles and diff (so that I could pull it out and fill it up from the drain plug like I mentioned above), I decided to give the plate another try. I gave it a couple hard whacks with a heavy hammer then waited a sec then hit it again and the plate came off. I already had the bolts removed for about 3 days so maybe that helped too. A friend took it to his house to remove the fill plug from the plate which btw he had a hard time doing due to the plug being put on so tight. He brought it back to me and the pix will show what he had to do. I cleaned up the flat surface where the washer goes because after failed attempts with vise grips it left that part with small gauges/scrapes. I then cleaned both surfaces on both the plate and diff followed by applying a thin layer of copper gasket. I torqued it all down (not to spec cause I couldn't find them). It'll sit to dry overnight then I'll fill her up with redline 75/90.

Thanks for the help and maybe this will help someone out in the future.

 

[steve]

Is that a loose washer in there?

 

[rlacasse1]

Sure looks like it.

 

[Redwidow]

I saw that too and thought the same thing? I hope its not or it was removed

 

[projekt1]

Are you guys talking of the the silver washer looking ring thing at the bottom of the diff? If so, no its not a washer its the end of the drain plug pooping up from the bottom.

I hope that's whats you guys are talking about and thanks for looking..

 

[Redwidow]

Yea we were. That makes way more sense though. The way the light is hitting it made it look just like a washer, but thats what i get for thinking

 

[1995gsx20g]

now that really messes with your eyes.