AAAUUGHHH...Cant get tranny plug out!!

[SlantnoseSD]

I have a beautiful bottle of Swepco sitting here but I can't get the filler plug out for the tranny fluid. Luckily I have not drained it yet but I want to get the plug out. I have tried a breaker bar with no luck. How long should I try to heat the bolt for with a blow torch?

It is righty tightey lefty loosey right??

[Joe Bob]

Standard turn to get it off.....I use a socket allen tool on the end of a breaker bar, put a cheater bar/pipe on it and work it....I once had to put a floor jack under the breaker bar to keep it place to break it loose.

Once it's broken loose remove the floor jack and remove the plug.

Replace with an outy plug....

[SlantnoseSD]

I have a 3/8 breaker bar on it and it just won't budge. I'm thining of heating it but for how long?

[Joe Bob]

Have one person use the gas, another on the bar while applying pressure.....with a third person with a fire extinguisher.

I just don't like using gas while under a car full of gas and oil....

Oh yeah....3/8 is not my idea of a breaker bar....1/2 minimum.

[Dueller]

Coounterclockwise loosens it. It may be labor bound...try to tighten it ever so slightly and then try loosening it....stick a big worn out flat bladed srew driver in the thing and smack it hard with the biggest hamer you got. Try some heat. If the thing won't budge, use a breaker bar with a cheater pipe...make sure the allen is good and tight so you don't booger up the plug. Trust me...you ain;t gonna braek the tranny case.

[dentist90]

You want to shrink the plug, expand the tranny case. Don't heat up the drain plug directly. One trick you could try is to get the tranny all warmed up with a long drive, lift the car and apply an ice cube to the plug for 1 min. Mine wasn't that difficult to loosen once I got the right tool... a huge 17mm hex wrench (only $10). REMEMBER: loosen fill plug (side of tranny) before drain plug(bottom) or you may be stranded.

[SlantnoseSD]

I think I'm going to just take it to Jiffy Lube tomorrow and let them mess with it.

[ben parrish]

Ha, Ha, HA, Ha, Ha, Ha, AAAAAAaaaa. Good one.

[86 911]

Originally posted by SlantnoseSD
I think I'm going to just take it to Jiffy Lube tomorrow and let them mess with it.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo!

Have you seen the Jiffy Lube thread on PP OT about a month ago? Here's my technique to getting the plug off:
Take a ratchet or wrench to it and then attach a long pipe to the end of it and use that as your handle. Works almost everytime. Only time it failed me was when taking the axle nut off the rear. Not even an 8 foot pipe could break it off! LOL. Here's a photo of my "setup":

[beepbeep]

If really stuck, hex inprint will round-off making it impossible to remove the plug by allen key. I solved it by welding a nut on wheel-bolt, then welding whole assembly to plug in-situ.

[SlantnoseSD]

Thats great but I dont know how to weld.

[DonDavis]

Need more info, please. How much room are you working with? Car on jack stands? Is it the allen hole or the hex head? If you can SECURELY get on the plug, soak with PB blaster and let sit overnight or at least a couple hours. Then, rig up a longer (at least 24") breaker bar. Like the one pictured above but closer to the end of your CLOSED END WRENCH( if hex type). The one pictured looks like its NOT open end but the type for A/C or plumbing fittings. In most cases, these are fine but if you are having a tough time I would only use closed end wrenches.

If allen head, don't mess around. Go get the right allen wrench and follow the same steps but watch it! You don't want a rounded drain plug in either case but an allen type could be worse to deal with.

Brace yourself firmly and SLOWLY begin to apply pressure. If you still have problems, let us know and maybe another SD Pelican can help out.

Good luck!

[SlantnoseSD]

Its the allen head type. I had the car on jack stands and I have now put it back down and I am not going to mess with it.

[Vipergrün]

Dood, I REALLY hope you were kidding about the Jiffy Lube comment. You could very well end up needing a new tranny if they touch it. Relax, take your time, get a buddy to help you. There are a few guys in your area who I am sure could jump in.

[SlantnoseSD]

I was kidding about Jiffy Lube but I am going to leave it alone until its in the shop next time.

[86 911]

Good to know! I can sleep well tonight (well... this morning) knowing that .

[Doug Steinel]

As an aside to this thread: Why should the filler plug be torqued like this? Breaker bars? Shouldn't that plug be torqued about like a spark plug... say 18 ft-lbs? Did anyone ever have one of these leak?

[Gunter]

They are usually over-torqued but, since the plug is steel, there is some corrosion between it and the Alloy.
The depth of the hex is shallow, so, a regular Allen wrench is not good because when you pull, it goes off center.
Cut s short piece off the 17mm Allen, put it in a 1/2"-drive socket, use a 1/2" breaker bar.
Make sure you have sharp edges on the Allen so it can "bite" into the plug-hex.
If it wants to slip out, put a bottle-jack under the set-up to press up while you turn the breaker bar.
Easy on tightening; these plugs are tapered like NPT and don't need to be that tight.

[livi]

Man, I know what you´re going threw. I hassled with that damn plug some months ago and also posted about it. Got a lot of encouragement and good advice. What finally solved it for me was long leverage and a rich foul language.

The agony, the anger, the frustration of DIY projects on a vintage Porsche corresponds to the huge satisfaction when that &%¤¤ plug finally comes of.

Good luck!

[safe]

My -77 had regular 19mm plugs both for drining and filling, like the oiltank.
Has mine been changed along the way or has Porsche changed the design?

Anyway, I did the Swepco change a few weeks ago and it transformed the tranny!!