I began to service the front diff in my 2000 Diamond Edition today. after getting it in the air a bit and crawling under I found that it had a drain plug! After draining the fluid I inserted the plug, tightened it with fingers, then with the first turn of a wrench the threads in the housing stripped.

What are my options here? Is it time to tap and get a new plug?
Right now I am thinking of tapping maybe 2 sizes bigger, then thread locking and never using it again. Any other ideas?

 

I would drill and tap it to a larger size. That will require removal of the pan and some sealant though. Or if you can weld or know someone who can just have them weld it up good.

 

your best bet without removing the whole front diff would be to drill tap and install a heli coil. than to get the metal shavings out pump oil thru the oil fill to flush the metal out the drain plug. this is your cheapest soloution with out replacing the whole diff.

 

I would rather just remove it than risk getting metal shavings in the diff. It doesn't take much longer and you will have no worries that way. With diff oil being so heavy I wouldn't trust it to flush everything good enough. IMO.

 

The threads were pretty much dust anyway.
Does the Heli-coil method require any further sealant on the threads to prevent leakage?

 

with the helicoil you can reuse the factory drain plug, all you would need to do is put lock tite on the helicoil to keep it in place. no other sealant need.

 

no in theory u shouldnt need to seal the threads (other then lock tite the helicoil only like war00 said) cause there should be a sealing washer around the bolt if anything replace that to for good measures.

 

Most auto parts carry self tapping repair plugs that are a slightly larger diameter that are made just for this problem. I've used them a few times without any problems. They also have a built in magnet to catch any metal shavings from cutting the new threads. I think that would be your easiest option.

 

the front diff is aluminum, so the magnetic plug wont be of any
good use, I have used heavy bearing grease while tapping a hole to hold
the shaving, apply heavily to both the tap and the area being tapped,
then wipe clean when finished....

 

The control arm is in the way of any drilling option. The heli-coil kit calls for a 31/64" bit; I need about a foot more room than I have.
Looks like a welder is in my future.