Prado Gearbox

Firstly, how often are gear oil changes specified? In mine (Patrol) the 1st change is at 100,000km
Secondly, if the previous mechanic had overtightened it to the point of splitting the casing, you should have some tell tale oil leaks on the housing and possibly your garage floor.

Cheers

Sounds like he's first admitted liabilty then the boss has come along and said "no way am I paying for that", so he's now trying to backpedal....

IMO, screwing the plug in too tight would simply strip the thread, not crack the case. He's already stated he used a chisel trying to undo the plug so my guess is that's what cracked the case. He just doesn't want to pay for it.

Id be wanting to know why they needed a chissel. Im not sure but arnt they a 15ml bolt which you would use a socket or ring spanner on. As mentioned above if it was cracked previous it would have left tell tale signs on the garage floor or would at least have a build up of crap/dirt/dust etc on the side of the casing. I bet you its as clean as a whistle. I'd be taking a look at it yourself. As mentioned above if it was overtightened it would have stripped the thread first Id be looking to see where the chissels hit when its let go on them. I'd also be ringing around a few gearbox places and see if its a possible cause by overtightening and if it has occured on any other gearbox's. Id say as has been said above "oops we cracked" it, second call after the boss has decided its going to cost him a sh#tload to repair "tell the customer was from prior mechanic". Is it a Toyota dealership or a local garage/workshop ?? I will ring my mate now who works for Toyota and see if what they have said is possible. Will get back to you. Regards Steve M

Just something yu could clarify for me.
Was it the same workshop that did the last gearbox oil change?
Got the reciept?
If it was the same one, do they have a leg to stand on?
If it was a different toyota dealer for the previous change, will this dealer back you for a claim from the previous one? (I have my doubts there.)
As mentioned above, if it was done by the previous mechanic, you should have oil drips on garage floor at home. Or at least seen oil dripping when under the car last time.

Go and have a look while it is up on their hoist.
Don't accept the car until you have had a look.
Take a photo while you can, tell them it is for your records.

I'd say its pretty obvious they did it.

If they had problems with initially removing the plug and it was already cracked wouldn't you think the guy would have seen it, ie oil leak as already mentioned, and thought noway, " if I put tension on it or [b]wack it with a chisel[/b] it might completely break"

"better ring the owner and tell him his gearbox has a crack in it and we don't want to chance putting tension on the nut, without his say so etc etc.

There is noway an overtightened plug will expand to cause a crack, that is plain bs.

On another note a good alloy welder good repair that in seconds and probably in situ.

as mentioned the tech doing the job SHOULD have noticed something wrong before it got out of control, however you can guarantee this SIMPLE job was given to a 1st apprentice with no brains and no supervision.
you know how it is.... dosn't move, get a hammer. still doesn't move, get a bigger hammer, ( or as the case may be , a chisel )
keep on them, get a look for yourself and good luck

donks

1st of all if you even slightly overtighten a toyota box-transfer case you can crack it.
seen id done not that long ago and also seen several that have been repaired.
they just aluminium weld the crack.
if it was cracked the last time there would without a doubt be a leak.unless theres a lot of silicone around.
ive come across some pretty bad rounded of plugs and have seen some belted with chisels ect(why not put a new one in)but no cracks
when i started at my new job i was servicing a cruiser gearbox oils ect and the boss said you know not to overtighten them plugs dont you they will crack.
but i knew that.
it is an easy fix just a matter of whos going to pay
cheers

Funny how every one wan'ts to stick daggers in here!!, It just might have been no ones actual fault here!!, bar toyos!! design fault, A cast or steel plug or bolt in a alluminium housing is always hard to remove. The alloy threads distort, causing allsorts of grief at times. Removal of spark plugs from a alloy head, a delicate thing!, Re old xf falcons, Subaru you have to be very careful, Landrover used plastic plugs in some alloy housings, to try and rectify the problem it did not work, the alloy took hold and the top sheared of the plug every time. They then went to brass, which works a treat,. not a problem at any stage to undo. Before all the mechanics get a kick up the ar...s.. hear i think its only fair for all things to be considered.

Cheers Axle.

Hi there GraemeSch, spoke to my mate from Toyota last night, he said that they often use a chissel to remove fill/drain plugs as they bind up some times from new from the factory. He has never had a casing brake/crack due to removing a plug. He said it is possible that the casing can be cracked by overtightening the bolt but highly unlikely. Being aluminium it would be more likely for the thread to be stripped but once again it could be from being over tight. He said if it had a crack in it prior to them trying to remove it you definately 100% have a leak from the gearbox. He said there is no way it would have had a crack in it prior with out you knowing or seeing the oil on the ground. He said they have definately cracked it trying to remove it. He said if this was the first oil change then argue that its Toyota's problem as it was done by them from the factory when it was built. If however it has had previous changes then it would prove that the plug has been removed before successfully and was not binded up over time which leads back to the mechanic who serviced it before, if it was Toyota then theres your answer has been overtightened, if however from another mechanic/workshop you would have to take it up with them long process. Aluminium welding would be the easiet and less stressfull result. Hope this helps you out. Regards Steve M

Seen a few crack straight down the centre from the hole. Mainly Taragos.
They definitely leak oil. Usually from overtightening them.
The toyota original plugs have very shallow heads on them and it is easy for the socket to round over them but if you use a single hex socket, no probs and then put a new one in. We always have at least 2 toyota filler plugs in stock at any one time and the new plugs have a much deeper head on them. Seven bucks for plug and seal.
They are all the same, corolla, camry, cressida, hilux, prado and Landcruiser.
You must never overtighten them, after all they only have to hold oil in and not wheels on.
One tip for all, when changing your own oil in your diffs or gearbox, always remove the filler plug before the drain plug. We teach our apprentices this as well. Just in case you can't get the filler plug out for some reason you won't end up with an empty gearbox and no way of refilling it. The filler gets removed (or should be removed) every service to check the levels and are more prone to wear on the heads where the drain only gets done every 40 000 km.

120scruiser

Hey Guy's

I have never used a chisel to undo a diff or gearbox plug.

I simply can't understand why people do these plugs up so tight, Mechanics that do this should be flogged.

I have a 15/16 socket, I have ground the leading edge of so as the face of the socket is flat, this has the thicker part of the socket on the plug, the socket fits flush up against the case or housing as well.

Cheers Steve.