This weekend I did a full ATF changeover. Everything was working fine, but tonight I got underneath to make sure everything looked okay. I found a wet area around the drain plug, indicating it was leaking a little.
I tried to tighten it, and ended up overtightening and stripping out the threads on the plug. Unfortunately, the plug is now "stuck" in the drain hole -- I cannot unscrew it because the threads are stripped. The bolt rotates freely, and a little fluid is leaking out from it, but it just isn't coming out. I also can't just grab on to the plug and yank it or pry it out. Again, it is not in tight enough to hold the fluid in...it is dripping out slowly...so I can't just leave it as is and keep driving it.
So, a couple of questions for the more experienced than I under their 4Runners:
- How bad do you guys think the damage here is? It seems like the bolt/plug itself is an alloy (and thus less strong than the steel threads of the pan), so my hunch is that the bolt threads are stripped and the threads on the pan itself are still okay. Obviously if the bolt is stripped and the pan is okay, this is an easy fix...if they're both buggered up, then it is a much more intensive fix involving a new pan, gasket, etc.
- Any suggestions on how to get this bolt out? I've done everything I can think of that won't damage the pan itself: Normal socket, crow-foot wrench, pulling with vice grips, gentle prying under the bolt. My next plan would be to drill-and tap into the bolt and try to pull it like I'd pull a stuck bullet case out of a resizing die.
- If I have jacked the threads on the pan, what's the best place to get a replacement? Buy new, or go to a wrecking yard and get one there?
Here's a shot of the damage. The bolt was not all buggered up when I initially overtightened it -- that's all stuff I've done to it with wrenches and pliers and vice grips trying to get it outta there ever since messing it up.