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Bought my first 2005 C6 Base couple of months back. In the process of trying to change diff oil and need some help with the process.
1) I am unable to remove the drain plug. It's directly above the leaf spring and i can't put a regular wrench in. I only can put a L shaped Alan key and that also i don't have any room to loosen the drain plug. Is there a way to do this without removing the leaf spring?
2) To access the drain plug i was thinking of removing the rear leaf spring. Then i noticed the leaf spring did not have any bolts in place. I have seen youtube videos where the leaf spring has a bolt on the top. Is this normal or someone forgot to put the bolt in?
Left
Right
Thanks!!!!!
Last edited by corvette_manX; Dec 10, 2015 at 07:29 PM.
I had the same issue and ended up fabricating my allen key with a hacksaw, torch, vice, and a little muscle. A lot easier than removing the leaf spring. I am hopefully upgrading to the bigger 06+ in the spring. If you haven't read how weak the 05 differentials are(Usually just the M6's), may want to do some research before beating on it to much.
Last edited by MachineSilver05C6; Dec 10, 2015 at 07:48 PM.
I had the same issue and ended up fabricating my allen key with a hacksaw, torch, vice, and a little muscle. A lot easier than removing the leaf spring. I am hopefully upgrading to the bigger 06+ in the spring. If you haven't read how weak the 05 differentials are(Usually just the M6's), may want to do some research before beating on it to much.
Nice modification. I think I will give it a try too. Removing the leaf spring seems to be too much work......
I saw the post. He mentions for the 2005 to use a Allen Key. I have zero maneuverability with the Allen key. 2006 onward it seems there is space between the drain plug and leaf spring
Yea, I have a Grand Sport so its like the Z06 just a plug with a retaining clip and you pull it straight out. Maybe a smaller Allen Wrench with a longer handle or something...sorry bro...good luck.
I saw the post. He mentions for the 2005 to use a Allen Key. I have zero maneuverability with the Allen key. 2006 onward it seems there is space between the drain plug and leaf spring
I had the same issue with my '05...no way to get enough leverage to get the plug out...I ended up taking it to a local Corvette shop.
Good luck.
I saw the post. He mentions for the 2005 to use a Allen Key. I have zero maneuverability with the Allen key. 2006 onward it seems there is space between the drain plug and leaf spring
I've got an '05/MN6 & have successfully replaced the diff fluid myself. Trick I used to remove the drain plug is to cut a short section off the end of a 10mm hex wrench (approx. 1/2") & then use it with a 10mm open end wrench to remove the plug. Since then, I also found a 10mm "ball end" hex wrench that allows the wrench to be used at a bit of an angle which also works. Remember though to loosen the fill plug first to make sure it can be removed before you pull the drain plug.
Another trick that has been reported in past forum threads is this for the 2005 model which should help by gaining more clearance: put blocks under the rear wheels and lower the car back on the rear wheels which should take some of the arch out of the rear spring in the middle under the diff housing when the rear half weight of the car is back on the wheels.
I've got an '05/MN6 & have successfully replaced the diff fluid myself. Trick I used to remove the drain plug is to cut a short section off the end of a 10mm hex wrench (approx. 1/2") & then use it with a 10mm open end wrench to remove the plug. Since then, I also found a 10mm "ball end" hex wrench that allows the wrench to be used at a bit of an angle which also works. Remember though to loosen the fill plug first to make sure it can be removed before you pull the drain plug.
This is what I did. My 10 mm wrench was short so I used a pipe over it for leverage. Once loosened it was easy to turn. One member welded the piece of the allen onto the wrench.
I just paid the $90.00 dollars and let the dealer do it.
Last time I put the car in for a brake flush and a radiator flush, i didn't feel the dealer did it properly. I had to do it myself again. Thats why I try to avoid the dealer as much as possible and do it myself. So I know it's done properly.
But worst case, different dealer it is!
Last edited by corvette_manX; Dec 12, 2015 at 09:59 AM.
Followed machinesilver05c6 advice and "fabricated" my diff drain plug tool... I didn't have to cut the Allen wrench and was able to open the nut. then used my hand to take it off...
Did my test drive and very happy with the outcome. Thanks everyone for the advice
Diff oil change - Help
