Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all, a slight problem with my gearbox plug, I have a 1956 splitscreen and I tried to take out the gearbox plug to change the oil. It is solid, I have tried a socket with extension and also a metal tube on the extension to give better leverage but it doesn't seem to want to budge even after soaking with penetrating oil, and has it ever been known for the plug to shear off if too much force is used, anyone any ideas to make it easier to get out.
cheers "mungo"

You could always do it the way I do the boat, and that is to pump it out through the filler hole with a 'jabsco' type rotary pump attached to a piece of copper pipe? Just power the pump with a cordless drill. You can get the pumps at most hardware places now. (May save you mullering the drain plug/casing )

I think it is the filler plug he's having trouble with...

I've had one of these that was stupidly tight too. I suspect the worst that might happen is you round off the head of the plug, in which case you could try welding a big nut to it and undoing it while it's still hot from the welder.

oops sorry didn't read properly the clue was in the heading

I don't do welding (never been taught) so what if I got my hot air gun and heated up the casing around the plug would that help.

cracked it, whilst looking through my list of nut and bolt and socket/spanners sizes, I noticed that the wheel nuts were of the same size as the gearbox filler plug. 3/8 I have one of those old criss cross wheel braces so on the offchance I tried it and behold it was easy. I then got a funnell and a piece of garden hose joined them and inserted it into the orifice and gently poured the oil in, after that to get the plug back in , I taped the plug and a socket together and fiddled to get it in, So my next job is to do the back axle.
"mungo" says cheers for the input.

sidsmith wrote:to get the plug back in , I taped the plug and a socket together and fiddled to get it in

I keep a little rare-earth magnet in my socket set for this purpose. Put it in the bottom of the socket and it will hold onto the steel plug well enough to fit it into the hole. The tricky part is not cross-threading it.