is the factory 10 bolt an 8.5 inch??? im trying to find an aftermarket cover that has a fill plug. the fill plug on the axle housing threads are stripped (not the plug threads but the threads on the axle...a new plug wont help). i have to RTV the fill plug so it doesnt leak. this makes it very difficult to remove the plug and check the fluild level.

thanks!

No, thirdgen 10 bolts are 7.5"/7.625"

Take your cover and weld a bung to the outside ( at the correct level) and just put a pipe plug in it if you cant buy a cover.

awww MAN are u serious.... i cant find a cover with a fill plug in that size. game kill....

yeah i saw those but who wants to pay 150 bucks for a damn diff cover! lol i'll probably end up getting one knowing how i spoil this car

You want one, or not? Didn't see anything in there about how much you thought one would cost.... I thought you were looking for a cover with a fill plug? Well there's 2 of them, competitors, pretty close in price; so you can pretty much assume that you're not going to find another one for much less. They just kind of cost what they cost.

you can buy a fill plug kit for $20ish at summit, it welds in the stock cover.

You can also buy a transmission drain plug at the auto parts store for about $8 or $10.

Or, you could just repair your housing by enlarging the fill hole and tapping it for the next larger size pipe plug.

There are several strategies that don't require the aftermarket cover that you asked about. On the other hand, those aluminum covers are a significant upgrade to the durability of the rear end, so you get quite a bit more benefit than just the ease of adding fluid.

explain how a transmission drain plug would help

You'd put it in your diff cover and it would magically turn into a differential fill plug instead of a transmission drain plug.

lol

i dont have a welder geez

thanks for the "help" everyone!

please no more replies

Imagins, if you will, that you put this magical plug in the cover at just the level that the fluid is supposed to be at; just barely not so high that the axle tubes would start filling up before the fluid started running out of that hole while putting it in.

Hmmmmm........

Or, like I said, you could just fix the existing hole. That'd probably be the cheapest thing to do.

They don't need to be welded in.

i'm so glad i read this thread. it just reaffirms why i've decreased my involvment here.

you have superior axle shafts right? That's a strength upgrade for the rear, I think the girdle is the most obvious strength upgrade as well.

A cheesy chrome cover would probably work, maybe one for an S10, that's a truck with a 7.5" 10 bolt (trucks usually have the selection for chrome covered diff covers).

I have the summit girdle, $140, and it's got little preload studs to add strenth to the main caps. Plus machined aluminum that's 1/2" thick is pretty cool looking.

I'd lose the attitude if you want to get help on here.

i didnt have an attitude until some of you guys started replying like im stupid (and maybe i am). i admitted i didnt understand the transmission drain plug thing, and i asked if someone could explain it, then i get a smartass reply. i dont see what the big deal is anyway, why does everyone get so uptight? im not complaining about the cost, i even said i will probably end up getting one anyway

and give me a break ede, i was thinking a transmission draing plug as the same thing as any other drain plug. i was being straight forward when i said "explain how a transmission drain plug would help"...i wasnt trying to sound like a jackass

seems like there are some people that are on here just to prove how much smarter they are than others

sorry for saying "suck my b****"

This to some extent falls into the cateogry of "things you might notice if you just wandered into an auto parts store off the street and looked around".

Think for a minute about the idea of a transmission drain plug. Keep in mind that the goal is, you're going to put this in a featureless piece of flat sheet metal with no provision for anything of the kind, such that you can remove it and let the fluid fall out, and put it back in and hold the fluid in. So, it's gotta be a multiple piece deal. It has a sort of a bung with threads on the outside, and you drill/punch/grind/mutilate a hole in the sheet metal that it fits through, and there's a nut that goes on the back side, and a gasket/washer/O-ring that seals it to the pan. Then it has a threaded hole in the middle, that the actual removeable plug goes into. Very simple, very effective. You can put it into ANYTHING that's relatively flat and thin.

Or, you could file/drill/grind/mutilate your damaged hole in the housing,up to the next pipe thread size; and tap it for the next larger size plug. Then either use the larger plug, or put a bushing in it and use the OE size plug.

I think where this took a left turn was asking if there was a cover with a fill hole; then when 2 people (and later a 3rd) told you where to find them, the immediate reaction was that it cost too much, and in a highly unpleasant way. Well, when you ask for something, and someone produces it, and it's more than you want to pay, you don't say if for no other reason than because there are those of use here WHO DO!! AND IN FACT ALREADY HAVE!!!!!! and take that as an insult. A more appropriate response might be something like "that's more than I care to spend fixing this one little problem, are there any other ways I could deal with it?" and at least then you don't call us all a bunch of damn fools. Not having, or not choosing to spend, alot of money, is OK; the other, insulting those who do have it and/or choose to spend it, is not.

It can be real hard to tell when somebody is being "funny" and when they really mean something, just reading what they write; might be good to proofread what you write using a temporary raw bleeding hemorrhoidal anus attitude, and modify your post if it comes across as rude to somebody that doesn't "get" the humor.

yeah i thought the "lol" i put in there would be enough to show i wasnt that serious. i dont think anyone is a fool for buying one, i said who "wants" to pay, not "who would pay"...the second way comming across as an insult. sorry you didnt pick up on that

but thanks for the explaination, i guess its hard for me to understand writing instead of just a picture. it was a stupid question but im glad i asked it anyway, im not going to get uptight about it.

Rwdtech your not stupid for asking questions about something you didnt understand.Dont buy a transmission drain plug kit it WILL work but it only has an 1/8" pipe plug hole it will take you 3 hours to fill the rear through that size hole. Figure out where the hole has to be ... drill one....take it to a welding shop and have them weld a 1/2' NPT bung on it ..... get a pipe plug....... done.

a half foot NPT would be pretty big

1/8" NPT is like a 7/16" hole, or .4375" hole, that's big. It's tricky filling it in place though, get some clear tubing and a helper, that makes it faster...

anyway...

Most of the drain plug kits aren't pipe thread at all, they're 1/2"-20 and sealed by gaskets. Still not huge, but not so bad to fill with a hose and a pump.

Ever think of using a heli coil (if they have them that big)? If they seal well enough for use on spark plugs maybe a little locktight and it could work here?

never seen an insert for NPT, but like some others with the drain plug thing thry might make it just because i never seen it. if you wanted something a little better, and more costly, moroso makes a real nice bung for a a rear in fill port.

I'm pretty sure I've seen pipe thread helicoils in the catalog, just not in person.

This post is crazy And its all over a simple problem, very very good reading

i don't care who you are this post is some funny s**t

well yeah i've read about them on the internet but does that make them real?