After another 1/2 hour of persistent tapping with a chisel, I finally
managed to remove my stubborn trans filler plug. By the time it came
out, about half of the outer "ring" was completely chiselled off!

Fortunately, the rest of the job was fairly uneventful: this time I filled the
trans through the passenger side wheel well, using a long funnel and
1/2" hose, which worked fine with Amsoil synthetic, preheated in hot
water for better flow.

I can't yet drive it, since the interior of our poor Westy has become a
storage closet for everything that won't fit in the house... :-(

I did start 'er up, though and am glad to report the fresh Amsoil
synthetic 15w40 cured lifter noise within about 1 second of starting, this
after sitting for 6 months!

Once again, thanks to all who helped me out on this one. Glad to see
the list is still a great place - just wish I had more time to be part of it...

ps: Looking forward to our first trip of the year this weekend. For our
10th anniversary we're taking the Westy to Bamfield, a place very
special to us both.

Shawn Wright, I.T. Manager
Shawnigan Lake School
swright@SLS.bc.ca
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
http://www.sls.bc.ca