Does the ford 8" rear have a drain and fill plug to make draining and replacing the oil easy? Or do I need to unbolt the cover plate and drain it that way?

 

No drain on the 8", no cover plate either. I have heard of people drilling and tapping a drain hole. You have to either pump it out through the fill hole or unbolt the third member and let it drain that way.

 

There is a fill plug on the front to the left of the of the center (drivers side). Near the yoke. There are devices you can buy to suck out the old gear oil. I used a large medical irrigation syringe and a piece of tubing. It took a while but it worked great. Harder part for me was getting the new oil in.