If the snow & ice keeps me home tomorrow, then I'll try to tighten the plug with vice grips. I also got one of them fancy pin-grip sockets like Matt mentioned if the vice grips don't hold. Hopefully the fuel is leaking from the plug and not an unseen pinhole nearby. The plug looked pretty small -- the 1/8" George mentioned looks about right.

I noticed (caused?) the fuel leak while blasting crud off the back of the differential at a DIY car wash. I was going to try to top off the rear with some new Hypoid 85 wt oil. Not only did I get a nice coating of aeu de gasoline, I also didn't find the correct wrench for the differential plug before my hands started freezing.

The plug in the differential seemed to be looking for a good bit of persuasion before turning. What is the proper tool to remove the differential plug?

Thanks again,

Joe in WV

When washing the car in 20 degree weather the water freezes on contact.

Joe;

1,2. 7/16" Hex head plug 3/8" pipe thread (or there abouts, from memory)
3. No washer (brass on brass taper seal...maybe teflon tape, but you know what I prefer!)

Consider yourself lucky if its just leaking from the plug...that can (hopefully) easily be replaced...it could be leaking from a rusted through pinhole...but if the plug is mangled beyond hope, just get a replacement one FIRST, then abuse it in whatever way you need to to to remove it, preferrably by vice-grips grabbing onto what's left... reinstall replacement with anti-seize...jeah, I know its brass and doesn't (shouldn't) need it, but how do you think the old one got mangled in the first place?

Use a drill and easy-out type extractor ONLY as a LAST RESORT, and NOT WITHOUT FIRE PREVENTION PRECAUTIONS!!! I'd put a rag around the drill and then the whole drill in a plastic bag which just the bit sticking through a hole and duct taped as a seal to prevent fuel from getting ignited by sparks at brushes! Much better yet would be to use an AIR POWERED DRILL....no sparks! Drain tank with a siphon as well as you can first to minimize spillage. But fire precautions are always a good idea when working with the tank and open fuel! You might want to have your brother-in-law the firefighter stand-by so that he can extinguish you if the need arises!

Good Luck

It is NOT a bolt!! It is a PIPE PLUG, probably 1/8"-27 NPT.
If you screw a bolt in it you will screw it in more ways than one because
if you change the thread to something other than the thread it already
is, it will NEVER seal again!

When you install the new plug, wrap a couple wraps of teflon tape around it
and it will not only seal better, it'll be easier to pull next time.
Don't leave a bunch tape sticking inside the tank, because stray strands
of it are not good in fuel pumps, carburetors, or even fuel filters.
--
George Downs, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Central US

I believe it is supposed to be a slightly tapered bolt with a 7/16" hex head on it... Shouldn't need any type of warshers or anything.. that's what the taper is for.

If you can't get it off due to its roundedness... you might try Sears. last Xmas I got a nifty little kit of sockets designed for removing rounded off bolts, and I gotta say, it worked beautifully on very rusted, round old suspension bolts

Don't try to cut it with your oxy-acetylene torch :-)

Of course, even if you do get it off, you'll need to either find another, or somehow make yours work again... It is not a standard type bolt though. It probably just needs to be tightened a tiny bit to stop the leak if that's where its actually coming from.

-Matt