Hello all,
Do any of you know a good method for removing those little soft plugs that are driven over the bearing locating dowells on the 5U finals and in the bottom of the transmission case? You can't flip them with a drift like on larger soft plugs.

I had to drill the plugs on my D2. I have a slide hammer style seal puller with a screw on the end that I tried first, but the plugs were too close to the locating dowels for the screw to go all the way through and get a good bite. The plugs on mine were 1/2" and 3/8" diameters, I used the same size bits and carefully drilled the shoulders until they loosened up and came right out. New ones are easy to get at the parts stores, just make sure you don't enlarge the bores when drilling.

Sometimes works to drill for a self tapping bolt that will jack the plugs out.

Hi Team,
I was taught to screw an appropriate size UNF plug tap into the plug using a tee handle and keep turning in the same direction whilst applying an out ward pull on the tap and tee handle until it came out, the plugs easily turn and loosen in the bore---rarely failed me in 43 years--usually only failed if the plug sides were rusted out, or plug was tack welded in.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

If it's what I'm thinking of, I have heated them red hot with a torch. This relaxes their grip on the sides, then drive a very small screw-type easy out in the middle and start turning it. Buggers up the thread on the dowel but it's out, usually with the dowel too. Phil

Most of the dowels are blank on one end, and have threads in the other end. IF they are installed correctly, the threads should be under the plug, so you can thread a small screw in them to pull them. If they are installed this way, I just use a slide hammer with a sheet metal screw, poke it in the plug and pull it out, along with the dowel.