Transmission Drain Plug Keeps Spinning

So I know there are a few articles on here about this but I'm making a new post. You guys need something new to read anyways. Some dumbass over tightened the transmission drain plug a while back. It was me. I'm the dumbass. Anyhow, when I try to take off the plug, the plug just spins and doesn't come out. So from what I can tell. The female threads are not part of the actual pan. It's a sleeve connected to the pan and the sleeve is known to strip easily. Hence why I can't get it out. The sleeve is just spinning. SO... how do I get this Bad Larry out and how do I resolve the issue going forward. Do I need to buy a new pan? Anyone with any experience with this? Thanks.

 

Looks like I'm going to have to buy a new pan.

 

pull pan press it out. heli-coil the threads. but time and labor might equal the price of a new or salvage yard pan.

 

Get a new pan or weld a large nut and bolt onto it

 

Over the years I fixed a few from different vehicles .

weld nut welded inside the pan.

I forget who Mr. Gasket maybe made a kit because this was a common problem.

Then long ago they never had drain plugs you just dropped the pan and spilled the fluid

 

try and stick a small screwdriver or pick in between the head and the pan while you turn it

 

Grab it with a pair of vise grips and pull as you loosen

 

Use a big pan. I was in a bind at someone's house once so we took off his garbage can (toter type) lid it barely worked on a import car but you get the idea. Bigggg and wide, deep as you got and can fit under.

 

Hate that they made the transmission pan out of aluminum instead of steel like the oil pan. Every taco/4runner I've had eventually had issues with the trans bolt from someone overtighting.

Theres multiple ways to fix this but all will be a pain in the rear, since in your case the bolt is stuck. (unless its out just enough to slip a thin screwdriver behind the bolt that you can gently pry while you spin the bolt out.) *** Essentially doing what jake72's tip suggests which may do just the job to - give his advice a shot for sure


One option is you can weld the bolt thats loose, and drill you a new hole for a another drain bolt on the pan.

Another option is to take off the pan, and drill out the old bolt from the inside out then tap you a new bolt at a larger size.

Last option is go to a junk yard and grab a pan from a scrap vehicle (since a new pan online is far more expensive, and often times stripped used ones anyways). Be sure to test fit your bolt to the new pan before installing just in case the one you got is stripped (in which case you can tap it to a larger size or heli-coil, or if your lazy tap the same size thread and just put in a new bolt as it gets worn/loose overtime).

All these options its best that you remove the pan, since you gotta get rid of the metal shavings. Be sure to get you a transmission pan gasket unless you go the rtv route. Also be gentle torquing down the trans bolts back in as they're extraordinary easy to snap off a bolt - use a inch lb torque wrench if possible.

 

I'm certain it's steel like the oil pan unless it's not a 1st gen were talking about

 

Can you drive it for awhile with this stripped? Asking for a friend.

 

If you don’t want to change the pan or deal with it now, you can suck the oil out from the dip stick tube using a small hose and a shop vac. That should buy you some time as long as the drain plug isn’t leaking.

 

Did you wind up driving with a pan drain bolt spinning for a while?
I just stripped mine while taking the pan off and doing a dump/fill :'(... I'd RTV'd around the new crush washer and just filled the transmission up as I needed to get to work the next day.

I'm worried that the stripped trans drain bolt has the potential to fall out in it's stripped/spinning state. Does anyone know if this is/isn't possible with this threaded sleeved design?

Thanks!!