I had to use a 1/2" drive 24 inches long pull handle in the plug then pushed it up with a floor jack. My cheap impact wouldn't budge it.

Edited December 17, 20195 yr by siteunseen

4 minutes ago, dmuzial said:

Dumb question: is there a risk of stripping or snapping the plug with an impact gun? 

Snapped a cross member bolt last night which is why I ask lol. 

I'd say Grannies Map gas would be best, imho.

Map can melt aluminum.. propane not

The plug, if it has the inverted square drive is a solid piece. So you can't snap it like a bolt. Now if the square drive doesn't fit close enough then you might could strip it but I doubt it. The cover I was working on was loose and I couldn't hold it still enough for a breaker bar. I resorted to the impact and it came right out. No problem

Use heat.  Makes a huge difference.

When you heat it, try to heat the aluminium and don't point the flame at the plug. You want the aluminium to warm up and expand and reduce the contact stress.

Thanks guys! Ended up settling on the propane rather than Mapp because the wife can also use it for some kind of cooking activity she wants to try (Yay sweets + brownie points) and I am terrified of warping the aluminum lol. 

Going to be a little quiet on this thread for the next week as I am visiting the in-laws for the holidays. But I will post pictures of the transmission and differential clean up when I am back. Have 3 days slotted out to get dirty before the new year. 

In the meantime, I leave you guys with my next challenge. Need to start paint touch up and light rust removal. I have two spots under the door trim (pictured below) and a little rust inside the fuel door. I have never done any body work before, are there any good tutorials on this site that walk through best practices of body rust removal and paint matching? The paint was updated 10 years ago and while it's similar to the original silver paint, its slightly warmer (less blue). Trying to reach out to the original owner (Jason from Delaware, OH if he is on the forum) to see if he knows what paint they used. Touch up does not need to be perfect, but would love it not to be immediately noticeable. The car will eventually get a full repaint, but probably not next year so I want to get ahead of any rust spreading in the meantime. 

Happy Holidays Everyone! 

1 hour ago, dmuzial said:

Thanks guys! Ended up settling on the propane rather than Mapp because the wife can also use it for some kind of cooking activity she wants to try (Yay sweets + brownie points) and I am terrified of warping the aluminum lol. 

So it's not out yet?  One way to make sure you use minimum heat is to put force on it while you do the heating.  It will let go when you just hit the right amount of heat.

The rust below the window trim actually starts up under the window trim. It then travels down lifting the paint as it goes. You really need to remove the window trim and sand down the rusty area as far as you can. Neutralize the rust then use a little primer, then touch up paint

16 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

So it's not out yet?  One way to make sure you use minimum heat is to put force on it while you do the heating.  It will let go when you just hit the right amount of heat.

@Zed Head Not out yet. Wife is a nervous traveler so I was getting ready for the flight and closing up the house. Thanks for the suggestion. Will give it a spin when I get home

50 minutes ago, Patcon said:

The rust below the window trim actually starts up under the window trim. It then travels down lifting the paint as it goes. You really need to remove the window trim and sand down the rusty area as far as you can. Neutralize the rust then use a little primer, then touch up paint

Yikes. Was worried that was the case. How hard is the trim to take out? 

42 minutes ago, dmuzial said:

Yikes. Was worried that was the case. How hard is the trim to take out? 

In theory, not very hard. They snap off the metal seam at the top edge of the door. some plastic pry bars can help. Just be careful not to warp it when you pull it off.