Transmission pan drain bolt stripped! :(

[quicksilvr]

When I was taking the drain bolt out of the trans pan on the '97, it felt tight. I got a bad feeling in my stomach. Once it was out, I could see that one of the threads was tweaked pretty good. I bought a new drain plug bolt....hoping that a non-boogered bolt would go in pretty smooth and seal it up.


But alas! The new bolt stripped out the pan. I can't even get it tight enough for it to not leak! It's a slow leak, but still. I also can't get the it to bite enough to come OUT!


What are my options fella's? New trans pan? New oversize bolt if I can figure out how to get it out?

 

[Presta24]

Get a thread gauge, avail at any parts store. Figure out the thread and bolt size, buy a tap and re-tap the pan. I would do this with the pan OFF! That way you can make sure you get any metal out of the pan from re-tapping the hole. Then I would buy a new plug. An over sized bolt wont thread in the existing threads/hole.

 

[02SE]

Heli-coil, or even better, Time-Sert.

That's if tapping the existing threads doesn't work.

 

[Presta24]

Heli-coil, or even better, Time-Sert.

That's if tapping the existing threads doesn't work.

Is there enough room in the thick area where the plug is to drill out for heli-coil? I honestly dont know. I have a 4th gen.

 

[Gumballf355]

If it were me I'd call local wrecking yards and get a new pan. Most fixes for that are never perfect really... I'm sure you could probably find someone parting out a car and pick up the pan for cheap.

 

[Qyota]

Agree on a new/used pan. You'd have to remove it to fix it anyway. $87 from toyotapartseast.com . Might as well change the filter while you're in there (if you haven't done it lately).

 

[IanB]

X3 on a new/used pan, I wouldn't risk a "repair" when a replacement is just as easy.

 

[quicksilvr]

I'm going to get a new pan. It's easy enough to take off, and I hate doing things half-ass. Even though I'm just selling the rig, I want it 100%.

 

[simmonsauto]

Weld it shut. Call it a day. Ive seen too many really, really bad filters from people just doing a drain and fill over and over. Very few autos even have drain plugs. I hear ya on wantin everything 100% though... Just had a long day with a bunch of crazy customers and their crazy cars.