mn2trance

I finally made the change to the GM Synchromesh Friction Modified today and everything went well . . . except for when I went to tighten the overflow drain plug. I had some help from my friends with this change and we thought the torque specs was around 8 ft lb. Well, I kept tightening it and was wondering why I couldn't hear the click. I had one of my friends check the bolt and that's when it had broken the head. He was able to put some sealant on it so that it wouldn't leak. I drove around a little after it was done and we didn't see any leak. I drove home and I haven't seen any leaks either.

I've already made an appointment with Acura for Monday to see if they can remove the broken plug. He had an EZ Out, but it was too cramp down there to do anything. My question is this. If they're able to remove the broken bolt, would that mean that they'll have to drain my MTF out again or is it possible to do that without having to drain it again? The reason I ask is because I had only bought 3 quarts of it and it's all gone now.

I tried searching for a similar problem to my situation and I wasn't successful. Maybe I had put in the wrong search criteria. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

mmade22

I would worry more if it was the drain plug. Being it is the top plug, I would have the dealer get it out for you. Don't make it harder for them then it already is. I also change my 6mt fluid but I never touch the overflow plug. I open the fill plug and then the drain plug. Fill it up with 2.3 quarts and call it a day. If the plug is need of being drilled out or any kind of metal can get into the tranny fluid then they will change the fluid. Unless you bring the GM syncro to them, your getting the OEM stuff. Good luck and let us know what happens.

DMZ

When the dealer hands you the bill for labor to remove the broken bolt
+ the cost of the new replacement, ask yourself :

Was changing the fluid on my own worth it?

trancemission

dont ask yourself that. thats fuckings stupid DMZ

You made a mistake. Just take a small bit on a right angle drill and get it out.

or if its not leaking then leave it. next time you do the fill just put 2.3 in and call it a day

KJSmitty

That's how many of us have learned.. :-)


I remember back (barely ) when I was a young tech at the dealership. The "masters" tended to tease me about a few of my issues like mn2trance.

They would joke by saying: "Smitty tends to torque em down until they crack then backs em off a half turn."


I too think I would just leave it be unless leaking. Not sure if divulging this info to your dealer would have any repercussions on possible warranty/trans work down the road etc..

Get it out yourself or have someone/a shop with a lift do it for you.

Best of luck

mn2trance

Thanks for the replies everyone! I really appreciate it. If it's on there good, then nothing should be leaking. I was just concerned because my friends thought that it might fall inside the transmission and cause more harm than good.

I hope they have an easy fix to get it out. I'm sure I'm not the first nor will I be the last that has done this sort of thing. And since my car is close to the end of its warranty life (at 47,064 miles now), I'm sure if my transmission were to fail down the road, I'm sure I'll be eating the cost any way.

mmade22

It's not a big deal. Get it removed and then you will have piece of mind it's done. At least next time you will know not to mess with it. Everyone on this site gets great info and working on your car is what it's all about. The information s right here. There is no reason not to change the fluid yourself. Of course, the mods are much more fun than the maintance.

mn2trance

Yeah, it was all a learning experience for me. I took my laptop with me to my friend's house so that I can reference the DIY steps from this site on how to change the fluids and it was really helpful. And when the bolt had broken off, I wasn't pissed. The only way to learn is to make mistakes; and that's how we had looked at that situation yesterday.

The only reason we took the overflow drain plug off was because we had taken off the wrong plug thinking it was the overflow drain plug and I had already emptied 3 quarts into the fill drain already and nothing came out.

Now I know what to do the next time and it'll be a cake walk.

Adobeman

That sucks. I always use that overflow when changing MTF but have always been careful (don't mean to rub in) with it since it's only about a 10mm head and going into aluminum. Having changed MTF once with the original stuff, then the so-called improved stuff and then finally with the GM stuff I guess I've had lots of practice. That or all the bicycle maintenance I do has given me more of a feel for small bolts into aluminum.

My guess is that it is a straight shot into the pan and could vibrate into the box so I would definitely get it removed and repaired. Certainly don't stress yourself over it. We've all made mistakes, some much worse.

And DMZ... trance is right...what got into you man ? That's not like you.

jproy

I'm sorry to hear about your debacle! 8lbs of torque and you broke it off? I can fart that much torque. What were you thinking? I'm just picking on you. I have a CLS6MT. My trany and yours are almost identical in their design and share many of the parts. There is a TSB about the fill bolt and you need to be using it if you are changing the fluid. You can’t just throw in the 2.3q of fluid. That bolt is there for a damn good reason. Its been a $3500 reason for me! My trany has come out twice to have seals replaced and to be rebuilt, once under warranty. Basically, the fill quantity is different for each trany slightly and what you have to do when you refill the fluid is pour it in until and only until it starts to come out of the small fill bolt hole. You will find it actually only needs about 2q if thoroughly drained probably because of residual that just doesn’t come out. If you just throw in the 2.3q as stated in even the shop manual you will have an overfilled transmission. What an overfilled trany may do is force overfill out through the tiny vent hole in the bell housing of the clutch. It can get all over the clutch and ruin the whole assembly. In addition to that, being even slightly over filled can cause your main input shaft and differential shaft seals to fail. If the main input shaft seal fails which mine did then you get the same thing as the vent hole in the bell housing spilling everywhere, a fried clutch assembly. I had put in 2.2q every time and when we finally got the TSB about this from Acura and we pulled the fill bolt, fluid came out quickly for about two minutes. The dealer had been over filling it. And the TSB came about because some dealers were pulling tranys only to find out the leaking fluid was coming from the vent hole in the bell housing. They had all thought the main input shaft or rear main seals had failed. So guys please don't “just dump in the 2.3q and be done with it” if you want to hang on to your car for a while and protect the life of your seals. There is no reason not to work on your own car. The dealer is there to rape your ass after your warranty runs out and I have had nothing but trouble with my local dealer so much that I dont even go anymore. The techs there didnt even know what the IMRC was or that the car had one, or how it worked. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

DMZ

So can I !!!

mn2trance

w00t! My dealership was able to remove the bolt and fit it with a new one and washer. And the most important part was that it didn't require another drain and fill with the crappy MTF from Acura. It may have cost me $177 and change, but the wealth of the experience in changing your own MTF is priceless. Now I know what to do for next time so that this doesn't happen again.

On top of that, they finally fixed the O-ring problem I've been having whenever it's cold outside.

mmade22

Great that they fixed it and I am glad you are happy. I hope they did other work for the 177 dollars. If it was just removing the bolt, it took them two hours of labor to get it out? That would be nuts.

mn2trance

The majority of that was labor and the rest were the markup parts. Then you have to calculate taxes.

slimboogie

mn2trance
which dealership did you take it too. I did the same thing yesterday and now I'm debating whether to try and fix it myself or have the dealership take a look at. I know a guy who has a right angle drill and I have access to a lift but I'm worried I might back the rest of the screw into the transmission. As a quick fix I filled the top of the screw with hi temp RTV to hold it in place. I got my fingers crossed that the quote from the dealership won't be too much!

mn2trance

The dealership I always use is Ed Voyles Acura in Chamblee, GA. It doesn't hurt to get a quote from your dealership. I thought mine would be higher than what it really is.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

why are you guys putting soo much torque on that tiny bolt? 8ft-lb is like a half turn after mating contact, it's not much more than finger tight plus a little turn with a wrench.

jproy

exactly, what the hell are you guys doing? its not even that. its like a quarter turn more, if that. I dont mean to be hard on you but its kind of unblievable you guys broke it off.

mn2trance

This is why.

Taken from this thread https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=937076 that I had used as a reference when I had done my change.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

So because Ron A gave you the precise torque specifications you over torqued it?

mn2trance

Re-read my initial post.

slimboogie

Same here. The same thing happened to me. I double check the torque specs before I tighten down anything. Set the torque wrench to the right torque and turned it twice and then it went freely. The guys at the shop I was doing my work at said more than likely the last time the manual transmission fluid was replaced it was probably over torqued.

mm2trance, i took my car to an acura and honda dealership today and both of them said they wouldn't be able to get it out. Tomorrow I'm going to try and do the ez out method. If that doesn't work and then's time to pick up some jb weld.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

I still don't see the problem lol.

mn2trance

Sucks to hear that they can't do it for you. At least you have an EZ Out, a right angle drill bit, and a lift. Good luck on the removal process.

slimboogie

Sucess!!! I was able to work the bolt out without any drilling or use of an easy out. The bolt had a small lip on it and I was able to take a tiny screw driver and work it out. Took about 30 minutes but it worked. Towards the end when I had enough of the bolt pass the edge I used a pair of needle nose pliers to work the rest of it out. Total cost: 2.17 for a new check fill bolt. 4.00 for the hour on the lift and sigh of relief. Thanks for all the info. Now that I've gotten over the small scare of how can I screw up replacing the transmission fluid, I'm going to tackle upgrading the exhaust system to the Greddy.

mn2trance

Damn, that's awesome! I wish I knew someone with a lift so that it would make doing maintenance on my own car a lot easier than trying to jack them up using jack stands.