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WHY ARE THE T CASE FILLER PORT PLUGS ALUMINUM!?!

A

austinaubinoe

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Montgomery County, MD
Ok so I just had a very frustration attempt at changing my t case ATF.

-first the funnel and hose I was using to direct the used ATF into the oil pan overflowed. I kinda had a brain fart and thought that the tube was wide enough, should have just held the oil pan up to the tcase :dunce:

Long story short, im pretty much drenched in dirty ATF......

Then I go to fill it up, and end up stripping the fill plug :gonnablow. And this is using only a 10mm Hex Key and a 12" piece of 1/2 inch pipe. ALUMINUM IS TO FINNG SOFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To top it all off, it starts to rain :smsoap:.
I have a tap and die set, if I drill and extract the plug, what do i do about metal shavings? Can I buy the different style 231 plugs that you just use a wrench?????
 
If you put one of those tops that are on gear oil quarts onto your atf bottle it makes it way easier. No funnels or hoses.
 
1. ALWAYS loosen the fill plug first--in your case you wouldn't have drained the case if you knew ahead of time you couldn't refill it.

2. BEFORE removing the drain plug, see number one above.
 
Huh? Both plugs on mine have huge hex heads, much bigger than 10mm. NP231. Did they change at some point?
 
n1ywb said:
Huh? Both plugs on mine have huge hex heads, much bigger than 10mm. NP231. Did they change at some point?
Click to expand...
Yes, they sure as **** did, and what a dumb move that was! I suppose they saved a couple of pennies on steel. When I got my 99, one of the first things I figured to do was to change the fluids. That fill plug was already buggered, as well as seized after a bunch of years in salt and snow, and would not come out. I finally had to weld a key to the plug. As soon as it was out, I replaced it with the nice big 30 mm. plug from an 89.

If the absolutely had to put in a small plug with a recessed head, why the **** not a 3/8 inch square recess? Why a hex? :explosion
 
One nice thing about hex socket heads is you can stick an EZ out in them without driling first :D My damn VW passat VR6 had tons of those things (stupid german sh*twagon).
 
^^^^PLEASE EXPLAIN! oh wait, you just mean a bolt extractor right, sounds like a plan.


sorry I was being a baby about it, just really pissed me off, plus i spilled ATF everywhere...

I gotta go get some old style plugs, I actually had to look up online what size hex to use because both my TJ and XJ haynes manuals only mention the old style plugs. Anyone know what size plugs they are, can I buy them at Home depot or something?

and they are definitely Aluminum, it stripped way to easily.
 
man Im having a very hard time finding a replacement. really want to get the old style, but have no junkyards close by. Im going on an offroading trip next friday, so if anyone knows the specs on the filler plug that would be a huge help.
 
austinaubinoe said:
man Im having a very hard time finding a replacement. really want to get the old style, but have no junkyards close by. Im going on an offroading trip next friday, so if anyone knows the specs on the filler plug that would be a huge help.
Click to expand...

MT Mike said:
Thread size M22-1.50, head size 30mm, NAPA part # 704-1346 (Balkamp parts line). Less than $12, all steel. HTH
Click to expand...

If you can't find one at a NAPA let me know, I've got a few spare cases sitting around and can send you a plug off one, then pick one up at a yard before work some day.

This and external torx are two of the reasons I hate Chrysler / AMC the most.

Also - Joe already said it but this is why we were trained to always remove the oil fill cap or TC fill plug before the drain plug at the quicklube I worked at. Ever put five quarts of oil into a crankcase through the dipstick tube? It SUCKS!
 
Thanks for the offer but at this point its either pick up new ones from napa, or cannibalize my tj..... going on that trip this friday.

MT Mike, Thanks ALOT for that info, I googled and googled but could not seem to find it. I dont why Q-tec has a whole page on 231 parts, BUT NO PLUGS!

And that was retarded to drain it before I knew I could refill it. It was just both plugs were stuck, so I was spraying some PB, and I just got a little to excited when the drain plug broke!
 
Just ordered 4 old style plugs from rock auto for $20 shipped, almost half the price of napa.
 
For future reference, in case you run into one of these things that just can't be found, consider the option of just welding a cheap wrench socket to the face of the plug. If there's clearance, you end up with a nice standard square hole and plenty to grab onto.
 
In addition to ensuring that you'll be able to refill your transfer case, you'll also find that removing the fill plug first will help prevent you from getting ATF all over the place. It allows air into the case while the fluid flows smoothly out of the drain hole. When you remove the drain plug first, there is no separate inlet for air and the fluid tends to "glug" all over the place each time the case gasps for air through the drain hole.
 
I'd be a little concerned about dissimilar metal galvanic corrosion occurring with a steel plug in the aluminum tcase. Stainless steel would be better. But maybe I'm just being paranoid. I'd def load up the threads with anti-seize.
 
While we're complaining, why did Blue Torch use a hex socket plug on their dana 30 diff cover? Took me forever to find the right hex key and it cost $15!

dana30_pop.jpg
 
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