They didn't leave the factory with a drain plug.
Do you have a picture?
I fitted a drain plug to my old 50th anniversary 1.8 but never photographed before I sold it.
no problem undoing the two tie bars so the wheel & shaft can be pulled away from the diff.
Tried prying the shaft out - no joy.
I'm tempted to go for the piece of wood/hammer approach next but I'd appreciate a bit of advice first
So , could someone explain/describe how the shaft is being held into the diff? Also is the removal procedure one of those brute force situations or is there some finesse involved here?
Hi Simon, I not so long ago had the job of the n/s rear drive shaft oil seal. And as you've already mentioned I ended up using a block of wood and a hammer a good solid bump and out it came.