club.liberty.asn.au

About a week ago we replaced the Transaxle and Rear Diff oil in No2. Son's MY09 2.5i Liberty Wagon.
When we did it we added NULON Smooth Shift Treatment Additive G70 to the oil.
I was impressed enough with the results that I through that my Spec-B Wagon would also benefit from a Gear Oil change.

So this morning we put the wagon up on axle stands and started with the rear end first.
The square holes on the Drain and Fill Plugs take a 1/2 inch square drive nicely, so this is what I usually use.
This will be the first time I have changed the gearbox and rear differential oil since buying the car two years ago.
I could not move the drain plug. Huff and puff and blowing those houses down, but nothing would move.
Who put these back in?
Have they ever been removed before?

Finally, in desperation the ratchet handle was inserted into the square hole and I used the trolley jack to jack up end of the ratchet handle.
Finally, with a lot of persuasion, the plug moved. Shyte!
Something inside my head told me not to drain the oil yet, get the fill plug loose first. A diff with old oil is better than a diff with no oil?

Well Oil Beef Hooked! I could not shift it. The plug was stuck tight as!
http://i.imgur.com/PMkZ1CT.jpg

To get to the fill plug you need to work around the branch in the exhaust behind the diff cover.
A short extension bar is used between the Fill Plug and the ratchet handle.
A piece of 3 by 2 was place on the metal brace behind the diff mount for the end of the extension bar to rest against.
Again, using the trolley jack all that happened was the end of the extension bar sheared off.
Image number 1 in the photo.

Back to the tool box and get another extension bar.
Same deal with the trolley jack.
Another one bites the dust. Twisted the end off the extension bar.
Image number 2 in the photo.

Not to be beaten, I went looking in the scrap metal box.
There I found a piece of 19mm diameter torsion bar.
A 13mm square end was fashioned on the end of the bar and a stripped 1/2" drive socket welded on the other end.
Same deal with the trolley jack.
This time the 1/2" socket twisted off the end of the bar. Time for a bigger socket.
Cut the socket off and welded on a larger (also and stripped) socket.
Same deal with the trolley jack.
This time the fashioned end of the torsion bar twisted off.
Image number 3 in the photo.
Well Oil Beef Hooked, again!

What to do now? Cannot budge this sucker?
This time back at the scrap metal box there was a piece of case hardened shaft from an old gear-pump.
Same deal as with the torsion bar. Weld an old 1/2inch drive socket onto the end and fashion a 13mm A/F square on the other.
Back under the car, place the 3 by 2 into position and use the trolley jack.
Trolley jack push 1 - no joy. Readjust and trolley jack push 2 - still no joy. Readjust once more and trolley jack push 3 - there was the loudest CRACK as the plug moved in the thread in the diff cover?
It took three more movements with the trolley jack before the plug could be moved with the ratchet handle by handforce alone.
Image number 4 in the photo.

I started at about 8:30am. It was not until 11:00am before I could start draining the diff.
Holy Shyte! What a job!
I do not know what the average DIYer would have done in this instance?
You can see the damage done to the standard extension bars?

I am storing the final bar (no.4) away in the garage. It saved my skin and I am sure that it will help with a stubborn fastener in the future.

Post Script.
When I finally finished the oil change I took it for a test drive. The results with the NULON G70 Smooth Shift Additive are very impressive. Can thoroughly recommend it!

Very innovative way to resolve the issue. I would have burned it to the ground.
When there's a will....

That is full on. I have had some stubborn nuts in my time, broke 2 good quality breaker bars on a 32mm axle nut on my old car.

Also had to jack up the car and lower the car onto a breaker bar with 4ft of 5mm thick steel water pipe sheathed over it on my old Jeep to remove the the rear diff pinion nut .

I would have tried the 1/2 head on my breaker bar if I could get to it. Isn't the thread aluminium? Not sure how it would stand up to such force without stuffing the thread of hex plug.

Makes me wonder whether the workshop would have done the rear diff oil when they changed the gearbag oil at 100K on mine.

I hate when a simple job becomes soo much harder than it should be.
Another thing you can do if you have the ability to do so is heat up the housing around it. This expands the metal ever so slightly but can make the world of difference.

Always used my electric rattle gun on even the tightest of bungs and after about 10 secs it gives in and spins free.

found this after having the diff in a vice with a huge breaker bar and it just flexing the bar lol

Then get tightened up with thread tape and torqued to spec

Shaheenis wrote:Isn't the thread aluminium? Not sure how it would stand up to such force without stuffing the thread of hex plug.

Nope the plug is steel and very tough...but can marr up easily using the 1/2 drive to move it

It took me until the fourth time I read oil beef hooked before I got it haha

Good write up though

I read the title, and thought "Spam?"
But then i re-read it, realised it was a post by a regular member, and eventually got it as well.

Seriously great effort. I'd have given up and got someone else to do it myself....

Just got it. I wasn't saying it with a Scottish accent in my head .

By the way, the "CRACK" was just the sound of the plug moving.
The diff cover is fine (luckily).
Bitch of a job!

Unbelievable, your going through exactly what has happened on my sons RX Impreza! We tried to change the diff oil and come hell or high water or rattle gun that plug was not moving. Spoke to my mechanic (a Subaru specialist) and he mentions that he has a heap of cracked diffs out back from exactly the same problem, trying to remove the fill plug. He said that the plug has a tapered shape and that over tightening of the plug jams it in for good, hence the cracked diffs (it's worth noting the car previous owner used MRT in Sydney to service the car) Options are do what you did and try to get it out and hopfully succeed or crack the diff and have a possible $300 - $500 cost for another diff. I thought maybe use an on-site thread repair mob that drills out the plug and re-seats a new one. Diffs not leaking anywhere so we assume that there is oil in the diff.

Still not sure what we are going to do.

Rob.

What size drive rattle gun?

Brunsy3.0 wrote:What size drive rattle gun?

Half inch drive gun direct onto the plug, no extension needed.

Rob