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So this weekend, I was replacing my leaky transmission pan gasket, the last time I removed the pan was to replace the shift solenoid. When I replaced the shift solenoid, I lost one of the 19 mounting bolts, and eventually there was a leak. So back to this weekend, I dropped the pan, replaced the gasket, and when I go to tighten the drain plug, it just spins. It doesn’t back out or get tighter, it just spins. I figured I could use vice grips and pull down while unscrewing it, but that didn’t work. All I could do was make sure it was the tightest it could get and goop it with RTV high temp silicone (band aid). It slowed the leak down to a few drops overnight. I am going to order a new pan, I figured its time. The original one has lasted for 252K miles. I searched and saw a few posts in the RX forum.
Has this happen to anyone here? Is my old pan trash? Any other ideas?
This happens because ppl tighten the bolt too much and don't use the gasket. I'm not saying that's what you did, but It's the most likely cause when this happens to ANY bolt. A tap and die set will most likely fix it.
You can asses the situation better once you remove the transmission pan. Very messy job if the plug doesn't come out.
A new/used pan might be the way to go though.
the pan does not strip, the pan bolts threads shear like butter to the pans threading thats a joke.... remove the pan and youll need a sharp pick with patience, pick out the threads that you stripped off the bolt as they have been left behind in your pan's threads.
Thanks for the information. I just picked up a new pan, t4 fluid, a new drain bolt and a gasket from Lexus of Austin. I am going to try and remove the bolt from the pan before I unwrap/unbox any of the new parts because I have a feeling that I can get it out without any damage (optimism is my attitude). However, if the pan and bolt are shot then I have new parts ready to go.
I did watch a few videos where some guys ended up using what's called oil tite which is a slightly oversized self tap bolt. I'm not sure how I feel about grinding a wider hole in the pan, but it worked for them.
Here is a picture of the gasket maker (band aid) I used to stop the bolt leak. It's not a pretty sight, but it's holding up until I can complete the job.
You may be able to get the bolt out by prying a screw driver between the bolt and the pan as you unbolt. The bolt threads have likely rounded, but the pan may still be good. If the bolt is visibly damaged, try a new bolt in the old pan. Had the same issue.
Same thing happened to me last month. I had to drop the pan, used a bolt extracting bit and put force with a flat head. It finally came out with some tries. After that, i had to use a tap&die and used a different size bolt with gasket. I didnt want to spend the money on a pan.
Thanks guys, I love hearing the success stories! I'll post back when I get under the vehicle and begin messing with it.
Update: finally got around to removing the rtv goo, haha! the drain bolt did come out, but the threads were stuck to the pan threads. I ended up just replacing the pan and the drain bolt/washer. No drips, no leaks, no drops. All is good in the hood.
did even try to see if the old pan was actually stripped or just the drain plug?
The pan was not stripped, but the remains of the bolt were melted/plastered into the threads of the pan. I tried to pick out the bolt threads from the pan threads,but I could not get it to come out. I tried this for hours before I finally decided to put the new pan on.
07-20-15, 07:28 AM
Transmission Drain Bolt just spins
