John,
There is always the alternative to spanners, if you are having trouble getting
your diff oil plug out (or indeed any nut/bolt) - a good old pair of Mole
grips, done up VERY tightly. Given that you have rounded off the plug a bit
already, I reckon this is your best bet. If you are not going to replace the
diff right away, get a new plug, so you don't have to go through this again
next time!
I have experience that whiny diffs can keep going (and keep whining) for a long
time - I had one in for about 17,000 miles, and it was probably already
whining for a while before I bought it - so it isn't an urgent job, once you
have topped up the oil. But the noise is annoying! If it is getting
noticeably worse, however, the end may be more imminent.
Someone quoted $700 for a re-built diff in the States - I don't think they are
so much in the UK, TRGB sells them for 180 quid (exchange), so I'd imagine
other places would be similar. One from the Graveyard has an unknown
provenance, and while you can check for free play before you buy, you can't be
sure it won't whine until it is fitted and running. I understand the whine is
quite common, so you would have a good chance of collecting a diff that's as
noisy as the one already on there.
I was lucky - my car came with a spare when I bought it (left over from the O/D
conversion carried out shortly before she became mine), so I swapped them to
see if the other one was OK, and it was, so it cost me no more than a little
time to sort out my whine!
Have a good holiday, and I hope Saskia feels a little better for a weeks R&R...
Richard & Daffy
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