Ooops, Wrong hole!!!

Get your mind out of the gutter, it's not that kind of post!!!!


It was around 4:00ish when we had a van pull into the shop. As it was a rear wheel drive I had to check the rear axle, to make sure the differential had fluid in it. Now keep in mind that it's out side of the bay, so I have to reach behind it to pull the plug. Meaning that I'm basically doing it all by feel.

Now, I put the ratchet onto it break the plug free and put the sample up. After that I grabbed the plug and put it back into what I thought was the right hole. Grabbed the ratchet and went to tighten it down. At which point I though I had managed to push it into the rear axle.

Now keep in mind that the differential is basically a big gear box, so a small shard of metal in it is bad. I quickly called Don over to tell him what happened, at which point he got out a bunch of magnets and started trying to fish it out. As we could not leave it in there.

After about 10 mins of trying to do it from the backside, he had the guy move forward so he could see what he was doing. After few mins I went over to the other bay to take care of the car that was there. That's when Don called me over, he was trying real hard not to laugh.

Evidently, the axle has two holes on either side of the differential. What the are for I couldn't tell you, but they are the exact size of the plug hole. The plug it's self is magnetic, so it stuck to the axle. So I could find it.

The moral?

When working blind, make sure you've hit the right whole before calling a buddy for help!