Well, yesterday I got underneath my girlfriend's Durango to drain a bit of excess lube out of the front differential. I don't know if it was the cold, or just age, but rather than popping out, the rubber plug just fell apart when I pulled on it.

I've called every auto parts store in town, and none seem to have a listing for the part, or anything that they think might work. Has anyone run into this problem before? Is there a different way I should be asking for the part, or is there something I could use to temporarily get it back on the road? It's currently in a friend's heated garage, and I need to get it out of there so that he and his wife can park inside during the snowstorm that's on its way tonight.

I'm sure the dealership can help me out tomorrow morning, but in the meantime I have to be able to move the truck out of the garage and make about a 2 mile trip back to my driveway (snow ordinances are in effect, so I can't park it on the street in front of his house like I normally would in a situation like this).

Any and all suggestions very much appreciated.

 

clean the area around the rubber plug as best you can. try to avoid getting any dirt into diff.
find a piece of plastic or metal that you can trim to about 2-3" in diameter, so it will overlap the hole generously.
put a generous bead of rtv around the diff hole, and stick the patch onto it.
put a big piece of duct tape around the diff to hold it in place for 2-3-4 hrs.
it will likely last a long time. you can leave the duct tape on as extra insurance, and it will look good to boot.

 

Corey:

Sounds to me like this part will end up being a dealer or boneyard item.

In the meantime, get to your local hardware joint and ask for a type of very sticky putty that Idon't know the proper term for. It is very firm yet adhesive. I have seen it used by electricians when they need to seal up the remaining opening of a pipe after running the wires through it. I would think a nice hunk of that stuck over the inspection hole would get you a couple miles down the road. For extra measure, put a piece of duct tape over it.

Don

 

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Ended up at the parts store before I got back here to check responses. Ended up grabbing a small expansion plug that seems to be working perfectly. I'm a little uncomfortable with how far it extends inside the differential, but it made the two mile drive last night with no problems, so it should be fine until the dealership can get me the real thing.

 

Dealer item only. Boneyard too I guess.

 

Well, the dealer has it. 10 dollars! Sheesh, that little piece of rubber should be about 50 cents.... Oh well, I'll pick it up in the morning and finally have this truck back on the road.

Thanks to all who offered help and suggestions.