So like the title says... I went to put in/change out the gear oil and the fill bolt is welded and chewed up bad enough where i can't get it with the socket. I was just wondering if anyone here could tell me other ways to put gear oil in there besides the fill bolt. I was thinking on the opposite side if I remove the drive shaft from the rear axle and the round part after that, could i just funnel it in there from that spot? Someone please offer some suggestions cause I know my truck needs it and I love her too much to let this go unfixed .

 

IF you have a welder, weld a nut onto the fill bolt and use a socket on the nut to remove the plug. That is how I would approach this problem.
Anyone else with ideas?

 

sorry i hope that message wasn't too confusing, im just kinda tired. I would try that if I had a welder, but i don't even know if I could break the weld of the bolt/washer to the axle. How hard is an old weld to brake by hand? I have a 18"+ breaker bar that is real solid and I could do about 350-400ftlbs of torque by hand, would that do it?

 

you'd be havin to kick it to exert like 700-1200 ft/lbs of torque on it for maybe a split second, that MIGHT do it. depends on if the person who welded it knew what they were doin or not.

 

Is this a front or rear diff? Is it a hex head plug (6 sided) or the allen head insert type that is round?

Is it actually welded on or just on there good?

 

if its an allen bolt.... have fun thats all i got to say...

 

I got the allen bolt type off yesterday on Rock Slide's 4rnr front diff drain plug with a set of Cornwell bolt extractors...pick the size that is just a tad too big...seems like it was about 1/2"...pound it in the hole...hit it with an impact...and make sure you have the oil drain pan close by. Came off in seconds.

With the hex head type, try pounding on a size smaller socket and then hitting it with an impact. If that doesn't work, welding on a cheap nut works too.

Not really hard with either type of plug to get it off, just takes some patience.

 

U mean smaller socket right?


also...if you must, you could just fill it thru the breather.

 

I had this problem earlier this month. Take an angle grinder and slowly cut off layers of the bolt head. This will relieve the tension on the threads and you should be able to start to get it out.

 

Obviously the previous owner loved her just as much, that why he fitted a chastity belt.

 

Nelson M, if it's true, and your drain-plug is welded...literally. Your best option would be to drill out the exsisting bolt and simply re-tap it for a bigger bolt using a fine-thread tap. Put a nylon washer and some teflon tape on the new larger bolt and your good to go. Another option you want to try first wouuld be taking an angle grinder or better yet and small die-grinder with a small cut-off wheel and try to cut the weld away from the bolt. This is a serious pita but I've done it on large-equipment after guys have "tack" welded bolts rather than using red lock-tite. Good luck.

 

get a dremel!

 

weld a 5' bar onto it and there you've got a 5-foot moment arm!

 

*Edit* A dremel might work I've been told *Edit* .

 

Go back and read his post. He does not have a WELDER.

 

a dremel well the one i got works great for small accurate work like grinding weld.... also a air die grinder would work good too. i would just empy it around the diff and fill through breather.. unless its a daily driver in which case i would fix it of just swap another axle as i have many!

 

Thanks everyone, lot of good ideas here, I will permanently fix it once I get enough money to buy something.. right now I just need to replace the fluid or just put some in period cause I know its probably low cause I have never changed it and it has 265k miles on it. I can remove the drain bolt without a problem and I was just wondering exactly where is the breather? I'm pretty new to all this work but I like to learn it. And yeah it is actually welded solid on the axle, and its a good weld..
I do drive it everyday, so i can just replace the fluid now and fix it for good when i aint broke.

 

If you look at the axle from the back of the truck, it should be on top, just to the left.

 

As soon as I find a picture of the diff breather
I'll post it here for ya.

here is a pic I pirate off of 4x4wire. The breather is the smaller tube coming from the top of the axle hump just to the left as TeamGonja stated.

 

Yours probably doesn't have the tube, just a little metal cap fitting coming out of the axle on the left.

I would highly recommend you fix it properly though. Cut/Grind the weld, then use one of the techniques above.

I did the "weld a 5' bar" on the fill plug once ...