Best tool ???
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Matthew Currie
NAXJA Member #760
Some later TC's have a diabolically difficult socket instead of the nice big 30 mm. hex, and if you get a used one that's been messed up it can be a bear to get out. The hole is rather shallow and easy to ruin with the wrong wrench. On my 99 I actually ended up having to weld a wrench socket to the remains of mine. It's the same thread as the 30 mm. hex, fortunately, so it can be replaced if you can find the older type of plug.
What I have found that helps , is to coat the threads (lightly) with plumbers pipe dope,the white kind with -PTFE or Teflon.It seals the threads and provides some lube. Also just snug up the plug,,,no need to be excessive.
Matthew Currie
NAXJA Member #760
Yah, that's the one. The plug is really too snug for such a small head, especially after many years, and the previous owner had apparently tried to use an SAE wrench on it. By the time I got it, no Allen wrench would fit it tightly enough. The big old 30mm is much nicer.
Is it still 1/2" NPT like the front axle? I was going to order some magnetic plugs while I had it on the lift the other day but the NAPA guy acted like I was asking for a third ear or something, so I will have to mail order. Also are there any inexpensive turdy-five covers with a pipe thread fill plug?
that allen plug is the devil incarnate. pipe wrench or the big 30mm socket gets the job done for me on the other one. the socket can be a pain in the ass sometimes because the head on that plug isn't the same as a normal bolt head it's about half as tall.
I found a lot of the sockets have a bevel on the inside to help guide the socket on to a nut. The problem is that the plug isn't very tall and I had a problem of the socket slipping off due to the bevel. I ended up grinding the socket down so there was no bevel and it worked a ton better.
Re: Re: Best tool ???
I've done this too, not for this exact application but for a similar low profile nut (I think something to do with a JGC PS pump?) I used a HF impact socket as it's cheap and 6 point.
ParadiseXJ
New member
Just an FYI...
Remove the fill hole first (top).
Then the drain plug (bottom).
Not fun draining all the fluid out just to find you can't refill it because the top one won't come out.
Matthew Currie
NAXJA Member #760
Alas, the TC is not pipe threaded.
Pretty sure mine is, but mine has the hex recess not the 30mm hex. Apparently two completely different back covers then?
Matthew Currie
NAXJA Member #760
I don't recall that the hex was tapered like pipe thread. I do know that the 30 mm. plug off an 89 TC I had in the barn worked in it, so as far as I can see, they stayed the same.
Happytrails
New member
Didn't have a 30 mm. But used a 1 1/4 inch 6 point socket I had laying about. Its a bit loose, more like 32mm. But being a 6 point it worked. And ParadiseXJ's advice is important. Remove the top one first.