Think I may have stripped pan bolts on transmission...

[AndyMan]

I was doing a trans fluid/filter service yesterday, and when re-attaching the pan, I noticed that a LOT of the bolts never tightened back up. I had my torque wrench set to 13ft/lbs. Some torqued up, and some didn't. I would say about half and half. They seem to thread right out. Question is, are they stripped out? What do I do now? Go find heli-coil stuff? Or just fill it with fluid and hope it doesn't leak?

 

[jwilliams3]

Buy a new transmission. :-laf :-laf

Sorry couldn't resist!



Really, I would check and make sure that they are stripped before assuming.

Then we can go from there.

 

[tgbol]

You might try slightly longer bolts in the holes that don't tighten up. Then I would look at Heli-coiling. If you do the Heli-coil thing I would do all of the holes at the same time.

 

[rbattelle]

You might try just running a tap in the holes. If they're not badly stripped that might clean them up enough. A long shot, but a shot nonetheless. Good luck!



-Ryan

 

[AndyMan]

Yepper, the bolts are stripped... . Not sure if the housing is stripped as well or not... I'll check into that tomorrow.



I decided to go thrash it around a little bit, and see if I could get it to leak. Suprisingly, it didn't.



Because I'm LUCKY and SMART, I put a B&M plug in the pan... SADLY, I tightened the the bolt in the plug to tightly, and have stripped it trying to get it out... . why praytel would I want to remove the bolt you ask?!?! That would be because I've overfilled the trans with fluid, and it's foaming.



SOOOOOO... . what I WANT to do is leave it alone, and suck the excess fluid out through the fill tube. What I probably SHOULD do is drop the pan, waste the fluid I just put in, get fresh bolts, put in a new drain plug, and then reassemble.



Thoughts, comments, flames?

 

[jwilliams3]

Find a good mechanic!

 

[AndyMan]

Yeah, that's a given. Shamefully, I must admit that I sometimes laugh at other peoples misfortune (only when they post it in a humerous light), therefore, I posted all of this so that others might have the chance to laugh back.



I like to get out in the garage and pretend to be a "mechanic"... . I think I should just stick to my guitar...

 

[rbattelle]

I don't think you need to find a "good mechanic"... I think you can do it yourself. The key is to take your time, remain calm, and go slowly and step-by-step. Buy new fluid, drop the pan, and give it a complete job: fix the threads, fix the plug, bolt it all back together and refill with the proper fluid level. I'm sure the whole ordeal has you too anxious to sleep tonight, but like I said calm down, make a plan (write it down if you need to) and stick to it.



Look at the positive side! If it were me, I'd drill and tap all the pan holes for a larger bolt and replace all the factory bolts with stainless steel ones. Then it'll never rust and you can keep them looking nice. Sure, no one will ever see them except you, but every time you're under there you can bask in the glory that was a job well done.



-Ryan

 

[AndyMan]

My best friend is an ASE, and every time my truck rolls in his garage, I hear the same thing: "You know, this would have been a lot cheaper if you had just let me do it to begin with. "



Ryan, I agree. The right thing is what needs to be done. I'll do it, I'm just not looking forward to it. Stainless doesn't play well with aluminum does it? I think I'm stuck with alum bolts. Hopefully, the bolts are softer than the housing, and I'll only need to replace them.

 

[rbattelle]

Well, certainly every time you've got different metals in contact there's liable to be some corrosion. I've heard SS adn aluminum are a rough match. However, I've been using SS fasteners in aluminum for a couple years and I've yet to have any corrosion problems. Of course, I always use lots of anti seize.



Are the stock bolts aluminum? I figured they'd be ordinary steel.



-Ryan

 

[mfrost]

So I don't end up like Andyman :{ is the torque on the trany pan bolts really 13 ftlbs. Don't have those fancy $200 + manuals. (That would be a good x-mas present though. )



I agree with Ryan, take your time and do it right.

 

[Buzzer]

So I don't end up like Andyman :{ is the torque on the trany pan bolts really 13 ftlbs. Don't have those fancy $200 + manuals. (That would be a good x-mas present though. )



I agree with Ryan, take your time and do it right.

13. 6 Nm or 120 inch pounds for the pan bolts. NOT 13 ft pds.

 

[dan.poitras]

My transmission doesn't have a pan

 

[AndyMan]

13. 6 Nm or 120 inch pounds for the pan bolts. NOT 13 ft pds.

Damn! You're right! Ughhh... (I did go back and check the manual)... Well kids, learn from Uncle Andy... . Read twice, torque once. There was plenty of extra thread higher up in the trans housing, which the factory bolts did not reach. On the advice of my ASE buddy, I got longer bolts at NAPA. They worked PERFECTLY. I guess the disigners of the trans housing factored some extra thread for just such a wanna-be as me. In addition, I relaced the drain bolt, and it functions properly as well.



Chalk one up to learning, and yet another reason for me to stay out from under the hood. .



Later,

Andy

 

[EEdmondson]

Andyman,



Throw away any tool you have larger than a 1/4" drive socket set. Also quit lifting weights.

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

120 inch pounds would be 10 lb ft. Could 3 more be the straw that broke the camels back? I too have stripped the threads one time. It was like 40 in lbs though. Darn subaru.