leaky rear diff and stripped filler nut

[muddbogg89]

My rear diff filler nut is pretty stripped.It won't budge.
The diff is leaking fluid.Can I add and oil through the vent if I take the tube off?
This is on a 10 bolt.I plan to upgrade soon,but I'm taking a 1200 mile trip next week and I dont want it to burn up.
I had that happen on my first car while on the highway.
Any other ideas are welcome.
Thanks in advance /forums/images/graemlins/burb.gif

 

[pauly383]

Fix the leak first, does it look like cover or end of tubes ? Simple fix on a rear . You don't want to keep adding fluid , and drips aren't good in nature or your driveway. ( I should talk , I still have slight P/S leak LOL )

If the case mounted filler plug won't come off ( mine required only tapping on it with hammer to free it ) , and you tried everything ( heat , ez outs , welding tool to plug, etc ), you may need to drill it out and re tap it a size larger. It would require very careful cleanup to keep chips etc. out of your diff parts, as well as a stop of some kind of stop to keep you from drilling into something important .

Another soulution is to get a new cover , or fab/mod your own to incorporate a plug on the cover much like the front. If you plated your ring gear area of the cover a flush mount plug would not stick out farther than that ( of course make sure it doesn't extend in to the diff area far enough to hit moving parts ).

I haven't tried it, but I would assume you could fill it through the vent, you would not be able to tell when it was full, so you would have to fill it to specifications for your year axle. /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif

 

[HarryH3]

Filling through the vent would be a real pain in the a$$. As the diff fills with fluid, you need somewhere for the displaced air to escape. The only place that it can get out is through the vent. /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif So the air would be trying to push the lube out of the same vent that you're trying to push it in through...

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

Weld a bolt into the fill plug.