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Please help, I am trying to change the oil in my manual transmission and I cannot get the drain plugs out to save my life. There is only 6 inches of clearance between the top plug and trunk wall, too small to get an impact in there. I can't seem to get enough torque on my ratchet wrench to get them loose.
Yes remove the rear cover and attack the plugs on the workbench......uses simple paper "seal"
Also why I tell people to remove the FILL plug first before they drain the transaxle to avoid being stuck with an empty trans
Try a BIG bar with a GREAT hex key on it. If that fails, you can pull the cover as Jim B recommends. But... It's a chore trying to secure the cover on the bench to get a better pull on the bolt. Advantage though that you can add heat if needed.
These drain plugs just need to be tight enough to seal. Kind of like the block drains, some TFE paste thread sealant works wonders, so you need only tighten them enough to keep them from falling out.
It is tight for space behind fill plug. I found combo of adapter and 3/8 breaker bar and 1/2"socket (10m hex isn't it?) that could fit i.e. use a breaker bar. Ratchet not very long and if you use ratchet to break high torque you'll wreck it.
I still managed to snap a cheap adapter on first attempt.
When I helped another owner friend to remove same plug on his S4 he had a vertical profile air impact tool that could fit in the gap and did the job.
Make sure the Allen is well seated - this isn't a plug you want to round off.
If you have a welder, and a sacrificial wrench, you can make a slim clearance tool by welding a same size metric bolt to the wrench, just cut off the excess bolt threads.
Just to clear, when people are talking about taking off the rear cover, they are talking about the rear cover of the transmission itself?
Just want to make sure that's what we're talking about. It seems excessive for an oil change, but I guess that's 928 living at it's finest. If this is the best solution short of making a tool that will do the trick, I am assuming pulling the rear cover is not all that difficult?
I am re-assured that I'm not the only one to have difficulty in this area.
Wolf.....very rear end, right? Looking at the back?
I used a big breaker bar. I got the stuff, if you need it, you are welcome to borrow. If you need a hand, let me know, you can run it over to my place and we can get them off.
Wolf.....very rear end, right? Looking at the back?
I used a big breaker bar. I got the stuff, if you need it, you are welcome to borrow. If you need a hand, let me know, you can run it over to my place and we can get them off.
A very generous offer, I may take you up on it but it will be a couple weeks til I can get free. I'll PM you if I can't get anywhere with it soon. Thanks very much
I tried the worlds biggest breaker bar on my '82 Transmission, and it wouldn't budge ... then I used an impact gun and it came straight out. Perhaps I'd already loosened it.
+1 on the use of teflon tape, and correct torque, to stop it jamming again.
Also, when draining -- AFTER getting the fill plug out, as Jim mentioned -- be sure to remove the front drain plug as well so you drain it completely. On my trans the front plug had a magnet on it, the rear did not. This may vary depending on MY and who worked on it in the past... Plug is visible in the pic below, just above the yellow saddle on the jack:
06-13-2015, 12:58 PM
Transmission Drain Plugs
