I was trying to do my ATF change and found that I have a stripped transmission drain bolt. Not sure how to remove it now. I believed that it was stripped from the last service done at the dealer. Don't know how I would prove that. Anyway, need help and advice on how to remove the bolt.
TIA

do you mean the outer edges of the bolt are rounded and cant get the wrench to take a bite and hold?
Or the threads are stripped in the body of the trans?

if the first: use giant vise grip pliers, or take to a shop who can use an air chisel to get it started loose, then remove with whatever tool

go buy a new drain plug and washer before you go any farther

note- correct torque on the drain bolt is same as engine oil drain - 29 foot pounds.
thats a healthy tug on the big wrench and a tap of the hammer~

Thanks 01tl4tl. You have been very helpful to alot of people on this site and particularly to me.

The square hole where you would insert a 3/8" ratchet is a little rounded off at the top. I think there may be a little damage near the bottom of the square as well since I cannot fully insert the ratchet. I was hoping that I can insert it all the way in and have sufficient bite to open it. However, it only goes in about half way so I do not have leverage. I will call some local shop to see if they can open it. If not I have to take it to them for service and they want like $92 just to drain and refill! will likely charge me for the new bolt as well.

Yes, I have ordered new bolt. Will be here tomorrow. It is such a rip off... it will cost me more than $11 + Tax. It does not include new washer, I am not sure if I need new washer.
They always tell you to change it as in the case of oil change but I never did and do not have any leaks... What's your thought.

what I meant- if the drain bolt is the same type as oil drain- then get a washer

If its the special trans plug- with the ratchet head and no shoulder like the oil drain has,that doesnt get a washer iirc, you will know when it comes out~

Go to a normal shop for work- dealer tech cant drain and refill any better than you or the next guy--just bring your fluid and watch them put it in

vice grip pliers ftw!! i'm a huge clutz and when i was 16 i was changing my oil on my galant and used standard sockets on my (jap car) rounded that thing out. vice grip pliers fixed my mistake

How did you get vice grips to work on a bolt without a head?


Can you pound a 3" extension or a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter into it so it seats itself deeper to get the leverage?

bolt without a head?? didn't say that, it was just rounded out i think i was using 9/16's instead of 17mm? i can't remember not too familiar with standard tools anymore. took some vice grip pliers, made them bite down hard on that bolt and came right off. replaced it with a new bolt.

What he meant was that the trans drain bolt is round on the outside. Vise grips won't bite

trooper, take a look in the hole. There's got to be something blocking the bottom, maybe corrosion or something.

I would try spraying WD40 or PB blaster and let it sit for a bit. Then try loosening whatever is at the bottom. Then try fsttyms' idea, see if you can pound an extension in there.

ah ok, no i was changing the engine oil on my old mitsubishi galant. not tranny fluid.

Thats what i meant. The drain plug you stick a 3/8 socket wrench "IN". there is no bolt head to grab hold of. A vice grips wont work on the trans drain plug

and I had forgotten it had that special plug- dededee 2 mistakes already this year

Make sure you spray some penetrating lube of whatever type, even lemon juice will work~
on the threads or as close as you can get to them- help break the corrossion bond holding the thing so tight

A trick if you do get something in there- try turning slightly right- tighten, then back left to loosen. Its wierd but it works- all about breaking that bond, assuming its not in there with a 130 psi air wrench

The locking button on the ratchet may be interferring- find a 3 inch extension with no lock button or grind it off, then it should fit!

if all that fails; a tech can get an air tool with a sharp edge to cut into and turn the drain plug. done that many times...

as said before, tapping in an extension or something in there helps too (to get past the rounded off part, but if the roundness is too deep then it won't help, but would try that first)

also visegrips can work too on the outside, just make sure the pliers have good teeth on them, and it is clamped on there quite tight (the teeth will digg into it some, and hopefully grip it enough

as long as the plug is not cross threaded or any thing, it is a quite easy thing to get out with the right tools

ask your neighborhood hardware store like lowe's or home depot. i remember seeing a tool you can buy for stripped screws

Thanks to everyone for the discussions. it is quite interesting.

Anyway, here is what happened. I do have a set of stripped bolt remover however, the largest size is for 16mm. I was hoping that it would grip the round bolt enough for me to remove it. However, it is not large enough. Home depot do not have any size that is bigger. I went to auto parts store and they have one for 19mm. However, it is not big enough either.... I finally use patient and used my 1/2" ratchet and a 1/2" to 3/8" ratchet head adapter. I first put in the adapter and patiently tapping it with a small hammer until it goes into the square hole. I think that since the hole was stripped, the hole is deformed such that it takes some force to insert the 3/8' head in all the way. BTW, there is still a little gap left even when it goes in all the way. Then I insert the 1/2" ratchet into the adapter. It is really tight and not much room to work with so it actually only go in half way into the adapter... not sure why but I could not get it in any deeper. There was no room for me to tap it like the adapter.
luckily, it was sufficent to loosen the bolt!

Changed my ATF. It was very dark!!! wow... I learned something interesting. When I check the fluid level at the dip stick, the fluid is clear (not red like original but clear and perhaps a little pink). However, the ATF at the drain is very very dark. So the lesson is that you cannot go by the color at the dip stick (unlike Oil where it is also dark at the dip stick).

Anyway, I did it and save a good chunk of money. Thanks to all on this forum.

BTW, since it is so dark, I was thinking I will do this again soon. Maybe after a couple of thousand miles...any thoughts?

you should do the drain fill procedure a few times right away.

Noted. I will try to do it again this weekend.

why?

Why what?

cause our trannies are maintence WHORES, so you gotta stay on top of them, for them to even think about lasting

and about the only regular maintence that we can do on them is changing the fluid, and replacing/cleaning the filters on it

In the future, you can also try purchasing a very short 3/8" extension and JB Weld-ing it into the hole. After the JB Weld hardens, use a 3/8" drive breaker bar to remove the plug.

I was wondering WHY it should be done more than once... right away?

to try and exchange all the fluid out, and not just a 1/3 or so of the fluid

and right away??? cause our trannies are picky about the dirty fluid, and really like having clean fluid

There's a transmission filter that can be changed as well?

Also I went to Harbor Freights recently looking for a breaker bar to help remove the drain bolt. What's the diff in the length of the bar? More torque? Should I also be getting a 3/8" or 1/2" breaker bar and what length?

Search transmission filter, and you'll find it.

Breaker bar are for more leverage (and torque, same thing). Get the size of your ratchet set. Its the size of the square hole that the ratchet goes into.

The transmission bolt it's a 19MM, can you confirm?

One more question, I bought a bag of oil drain bolt crush washers, can I use the same type for the transmission bolt?

The drain bolt, you just stick the ratchet (or extension) into. It's a square hole.

I'm not sure about the fill bolt though.

If torqued correctly, the crush washers can be used multiple times. Not sure about the size difference.