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Gearbox drain plug


Paul H

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Removing the gearbox in my Mk2 Vitesse . The drain plug had been tightened up by a gorilla . Eventually removed using 12mm long socket hammered on and an 18in bar . On investigation the plug had flats on the thread and a 5/8AF spanner fitted 😱

What’s the spec of the drain plug I need to replace with ?

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Paul

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They're all actually 11mm, no idea why, but an 11mm spanner fits perfectly whereas any of my Imperial spanners round the corners off. You can either just go for original - the threads in your gearbox will all be the same regardless of the square end, assuming that a PO hasn't retapped, so just looking for 'Triumph Vitesse gearbox drain plug' will have the correct threads - but you can get hexagon-headed versions that will take a standard socket.

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I am surprised that you could not find an imperial spanner to fit.   7/6" = 11.1 mm.  0.1 mm= 0.004".  Perhaps with all the usage your 7/16 spanner has opened up slightly. Or has it been stolen by the crows !

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Ive found even good condition spanners slip possibly because the square section of the plug seems to be slightly tapered as well! Ring spanners are better but my quality 12" adjustable does the job the best because its jaws are about 1/2" thick so theres good contact and of course plenty of leverage... 

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22 minutes ago, GrahamB said:

I am surprised that you could not find an imperial spanner to fit.   7/6" = 11.1 mm.  0.1 mm= 0.004".  Perhaps with all the usage your 7/16 spanner has opened up slightly. Or has it been stolen by the crows !

I'm tired of the 7/16 slipping off once any pressure is used, or rounding off the corners and this is nearly all of my 7/16 spanners and a variety of old and new plugs. 11 mm fits first time and grips much better. As y'all know I treat metric like I treat Covid - it's everywhere and while you try your best sometimes you can't avoid coming in contact with it, but in this case it seems to work much better.

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29 minutes ago, johny said:

its cos its a taper thread so to seal you have to mash them together. Havent you ever found yours with a drip hanging off it?

I am surprised it is a Taper thread?. The one shown in the picture, looks to me remarkaby like a Pipe Fitting?. Makes me wonder if the P/O has "lost" the original and made a substitution?.

Pete

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13 minutes ago, PeteH said:

I am surprised it is a Taper thread?. The one shown in the picture, looks to me remarkaby like a Pipe Fitting?. Makes me wonder if the P/O has "lost" the original and made a substitution?.

Pete

Mine was a taper thread and the same as the gearbox level plug 

Paul 

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27 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

where on earth is that specifies   i dont see it anywhere or i must try harder !!!

Pete

In the very useful VitesseGT6 manual from Vitesse Steves site: Tightening Torques, starting page 0.111. It calls them 'Dryseal plugs' and even the engine sump plug indicates the same value. As I say, not at all surprising when you think youve got to stop oil travelling along the thread...

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On undoing the square head plug i'm surprised no one has mentioned the 1/2 in S/S square holed special spanner sold on ebay frequently, there around 6 to 7in long with the same sq hole at each end but offset by 45 degrees to improve its use/flexability.

Around 15 years ago I brought 20 ex UK ebay for our local clubs Regalia Shop they sold like hot cakes, being square they don't round the end of the sq shafted plug even better they work on previously damaged plugs. Alternatively the 1/2in female socket end of a socketed extension bar is a good fit on the plug with a spanner or mole on the other to give good torque. Using this spanner if the plug is tight I use a short length of 1in sq tube on the end to increase the undoing torque.

Ref Sq vs Hex headed plugs, all my sq plugs are neat with only the 1/2in of the sq bit protruding from the sump, or gearbox box bottom, but by comparison the Sprint has hex plugs and they are unsightly sticking/protruding a long way I'd say 3/4in and obviously bulky, the tapered thread seems longer and is a pain to seal even gorilla style! I sometimes wonder if a PO has put the wrong threaded plug in?  

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8 hours ago, Peter Truman said:

On undoing the square head plug i'm surprised no one has mentioned the 1/2 in S/S square holed special spanner sold on ebay frequently, there around 6 to 7in long with the same sq hole at each end but offset by 45 degrees to improve its use/flexability.

Around 15 years ago I brought 20 ex UK ebay for our local clubs Regalia Shop they sold like hot cakes, being square they don't round the end of the sq shafted plug even better they work on previously damaged plugs. Alternatively the 1/2in female socket end of a socketed extension bar is a good fit on the plug with a spanner or mole on the other to give good torque. Using this spanner if the plug is tight I use a short length of 1in sq tube on the end to increase the undoing torque.

Ref Sq vs Hex headed plugs, all my sq plugs are neat with only the 1/2in of the sq bit protruding from the sump, or gearbox box bottom, but by comparison the Sprint has hex plugs and they are unsightly sticking/protruding a long way I'd say 3/4in and obviously bulky, the tapered thread seems longer and is a pain to seal even gorilla style! I sometimes wonder if a PO has put the wrong threaded plug in?  

A "Straight" plug would need a machined face and a (say) fibre or copper? washer to seal properly. Like many "modern" sump plugs. The taper plug relies on the taper to seal the threads, hence the frequent use of "sealants" (and my coment about PTFE tape).

Your comment vis the "old" forged steel square "specials" remind me I still have one (somewhere) in thre garage?, belonged to Father so would be circa 1930`s.

BTW, historically, we used "boss white" and hemp wound into the threads, to seal all sorts of Medium from water and steam to gas. Realy high pressure hydraulics often used "patent" sealing washers (Dowty being one),favoured in the aicraft industry, Dowty made Hydraulic Retracting undercarriages for aircraft. (May even have been the worlds first?)

Pete

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All drain and refill plugs are â…œx18 NP Dryseal according to WSM which is according to the internet an American taper thread NPTF designed to seal without a liquid sealer etc. NPT is compatible but will not seal without a sealer of some sort.

WSM shows torque as 20-22 lb.ft.

Some of the plugs in my car I have filed a large nut to fit over the square and welded it on.

Regards

Paul

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I always thought that the old thread sealant was putty. Some of the nuts that I have removed over the years certainly smell of it. I have use it along with boss white in the past. Seals well but don't go back to the job. Let someone else swear at it while trying to crack the seal. Took two of us to get an immersion heater coil out of an old hot water cylinder and that was with the assistance of a blowlamp. Modern none setting sealants for me now I am older, wiser and weaker.

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21 hours ago, johny said:

its cos its a taper thread so to seal you have to mash them together. Havent you ever found yours with a drip hanging off it?

Absolutely I have, and I'm just off to check the torque on mine! Like others, ive just nipped them up in the past. 

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