Split the diff-erence

Tonight I began disassembly of the differential on the 280z.  I began by draining the fluid.  Usually you don't remove the drain plug without first removing the fill plug, but the fill plug here is seized.  If you look closely you can see that I've rounded the plug in my attempts to remove it (even an impact wrench failed).

With the drain plug removed, I drained what I imagine was 40 year old differential fluid.

The magnet on the drain plug didn't have a lot of shavings on it... a good sign.

The process to remove the output shaft is simple, but it sure didn't feel right: stick a crow-bar between the flange and housing and give it a whack. 

It was effective though, and the shafts popped out.

Removing the cover was a bit more challenging.  The gasket acted as a cement holding the cover in place.  After a few whacks with a rubber mallet (good whacks), I used a screwdriver to pry the cover off.  There is a hole in the upper left side of the housing that made this easy.

I have a plan of attack to remove the stuck fill plug.  The first step is to soak the back side of the plug with PB Blaster for a few days...

Stay tuned for more!