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Old 03-14-2020, 11:28 PM   #1
gathermewool
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Member#: 143624
Join Date: Mar 2007
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: New England
Vehicle:
14 FXTT (hers)
15 Legacy 2.5i Prem (his)

Default 15 Legacy Front Diff Plug STUCK!!!

Using a standard 8mm hex key that fits in the space without much extra room I'm UNABLE to get the fill plug to budge even a little. What did you guys who have replaced your front dif lube do to get it loose?

I'm going to by an 8mm hex 1/2" drive and hope it's just long enough to give my 1/2" drive breaker bar some room to break this thing loose.

Note: I'm not talking about the T70 drain nor 8mm overflow plugs. This is the plug on the side of the diff, above and to the left of the passenger front drive shaft.

//

Sidenote: the rear diff plugs came off, no problem. I'm letting the rear diff drain as I type this. Before this I finished replacing the front/rear diff oil in our '14 FXT, which was MUCH easier!!!! The FXT doesn't have an under tray with a dozen clips to remove and DOES have an easily-accessible breather tube to use for filling.
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Old 03-15-2020, 12:33 PM   #2
Mulder
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NYC
Vehicle:
02 RAV4 MT
15 WRX/11 CRZ

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Spray it with PB Blaster and let it sit, repeat a time or two. When you try the bar make sure the bit is tight and square/fully seated in the plug before applying force or you'll round it off.
If it still won't crack loose with a bar and PB I'd stop and get a replacement plug as it may be necessary to use destructive methods to get it out.
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Old 03-15-2020, 01:07 PM   #3
gathermewool
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Member#: 143624
Join Date: Mar 2007
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: New England
Vehicle:
14 FXTT (hers)
15 Legacy 2.5i Prem (his)

Default

Thanks, Mulder. I've sprayed it with Deep Creep already, but have and will spray it with some PB Blaster, as well. I gave the plug a dozen or so solid raps dead on, as well, with out any benefit. I'm going to see if I can find he appropriate hex socket and extension today, if possible.

I've read online that people have also used the check/overflow port as a fill port. I'm tempted to jack it up on the port side (the check/overflow plug is on the port side of the diff) and see if I can fill until it overflows. That might give me the confidence to drain the diff and try refilling by this method. Thoughts???

I really wish the Legacy had the same easily accessible breather tube for filling.
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Old 03-16-2020, 04:50 PM   #4
gathermewool
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Member#: 143624
Join Date: Mar 2007
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Location: New England
Vehicle:
14 FXTT (hers)
15 Legacy 2.5i Prem (his)

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The winning combination: 14" 1/2" drive breaker --> 1/2" to 3/8" drive adapter --> 8mm 3/8" drive hex key
-----I had the Craftsman breaker, purchased with points before all of the local branches when under
-----I picked up the adapter and hex socket from HF

I tried to open-palm the breaker bar as much as possible, but still managed to slightly bust my pinky knuckle as the plug let go with loud POP!!!, ripping way a 1/4" of skin in the process...

The next hardest part was getting the diff full and THEN lifting the car to re-install the overflow-check plug. I had to lift the rear up and shimmy under, since the overflow/check plug is on the rear driver-side of the front diff. I knew I was on the right track when I began to lift and the slight dribble through the port, indicating that the diff was full, completely stopped.

MAN DO I MISS HAVING ACCESS TO A LIFT!!! The Forester front diff was MUCH easier to do, because the fill port is the vent port, which requires pulling a vacuum-style hose which is connected via o-ring seal only. There's also so much clearance that I didn't have to lift to vehicle to shimmy under and re-install its overflow/check port.

Last edited by gathermewool; 03-16-2020 at 05:12 PM.
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Old 03-16-2020, 04:51 PM   #5
gathermewool
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Member#: 143624
Join Date: Mar 2007
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: New England
Vehicle:
14 FXTT (hers)
15 Legacy 2.5i Prem (his)

Default

I also want to note that the 15 Legacy FB25 front diff did not take as much fluid as the 14 FXT. The 14 FXT actually took slightly more than 1.5 qts. The Legacy took ~1.25 quarts, maybe a little less.

I was worried, because I only had 1.4L (1.48 quarts) of Motul Gear 300 and, like I said, the FXT took a little more than 1.5 quarts to fill. I had half a quart left of M1 w/ LS additive, but really didn't want to mix gear oils. I'm sure it would have been fine, but having a complete fill with just the Motul gear lube would be ideal, which is what ended up happening anyway!

Last edited by gathermewool; 03-16-2020 at 05:13 PM.
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