RShepHorse

Well I though I was being smart when I got the fill plug out first on my 3.2- of course the Bentley manual did not shot the 4 cabs and 2 brackets that get in the way.

The drain plug however really let the 19mmhex rattle around. It looks like it was put in with an impact wrench held at an angle. I guess that's half the fun of working on old cars- all sorts of little discoveries. I made sure that a non-metric hex would not fit tighter, and then, I just couldn't help myself. Of course I put the 19mm hex back in there and slowly turned. It turned all right- turned that hexagonal hole into a nicely rounded one...

Now what- out of stubbornness I'd still like to solve this riddle myself rather than limp in and have a professional wrench do it, but, what are my options?

-Using a tube to drain the transmission out of the fill hole is maybe what previous owner did? but won't get all oil and none of the debris out.

-the nut is too big for any bolt extractor I have... would that make sense.

-go gonzo with a vice grips and get this one out and then replace with new?

-do I need to have someone weld something on the nut to remove it?

Help me dig a deeper hole! [or get thing out]!

Daniel Dudley

Gonzo with the vice grips may do it for you. You are going to probably have to beat them with a hammer. If you had to get a coupling nut, jamb it into the hole and weld it to the plug, the heat might be beneficial to removal.

In any case, do not drain the oil until you are sure you can get the fill plug out as well. Ask me how I know.

rusnak

I've been dealing with the same exact scenario for 10 years. I pretty much have no hex shape left, and I don't think the drain plug is ever going to come out. I'd probably call it a day and drain with a pump from the fill hole.

theiceman

what year are these cars ? if it is a 915 gear box just take the cover off the bottom that has the fork on it .. it will gush out and be quite the mess but it will definitely drain it all .. not sure if the G-50 has the same port..

rusnak

I did that at first too, Ice. After a few times the gasket starts to look beat up, and now I'm afraid to open up the cover one more time.

RShepHorse

Thanks for the replies.

It is a 915 and I did notice that plate down there... I guess if worse comes to worse that's one way to spill the oil... but it doesn't look like it's been cracked open since Stuttgart.

I've already gotten the fill plug off.

Sounds like I'll order two new plugs with magnets then see if I can gorilla the drain off with vice grips, if not - welding in a coupling nut sounds like a great idea- better than sacrificing the hex wrench.

theiceman

Russ you just know I have BTDT

rusnak

First of all: "wow!" That's awsome work.

Second of all: wow, that's awesome work.

theiceman

I saw David Caruso do it on CSI Miami and thought how hard could it be

KRA993tt

I'm no expert but I would think it would be best to get the plug out and replaced with a new one. I have had some luck by dremeling a notch in a nut and using a hammer/screw driver to bang on it and get it turning. I don't know if you have enough overhanging lip to do this. You would have to be very careful not to get into the case. The added difficulty is those plug threads seem gummed up or tacky when the come out normally. Good luck.

BillC3

Try one of those "universal" sockets. I know the ads sound goofy, a socket that fits all sizes, but they actually work. I have one called a "Gator Grip", that has a square body that's filled with spring-loaded pins. I have used mine on quite a few stripped bolts and nuts, and it works surprisingly well -- it has succeeded when nothing else I tried worked. I think Sears sells the same sort of thing, and I'm sure you can find it at Pep Boys or AutoZone or similar.

The other thing you can try is to dremel a slot into the plug head, and then use a large screwdriver with a wrench on the shaft to loosen the plug.

Either way, you'll need to get a new plug afterwards (yeah, I know, pretty obvious, but anyways....).

RShepHorse

Well for now I'm going to wait until I've got two new plugs to toss back in....
I understand that this is a special fitting where the plug is tapered and the threads in the transmission are not- so likely to jam.
Plan is to keep PB Blastering it until parts arrive.
Try some gentle tapping and heat and vice grips or pipe wrench to get it off.
I've heard of folks JB Welding a hex into a stripped hole - ??does that really work, I just can't imagine it would.
If that doesn't work - dremel a slot and bang on that with a chisel/drift.
If that doesn't work try getting oil out through the fork/plate then drill it out and extract it with an easy out or gripit. Or- could I just drill up through the drain plug with the fill plug in place and avoid an oily mess??
And if that doesn't work, hopefully the snapped off easy-out will hold enough oil in for me to drive it to someone who knows what they're doing! At least then I'll have a good story to tell.

In the meantime I can replace the rotting shifter/coupler bushings, work on the main heater blower that is not getting power, then the footwell blowers that don't work, the rear window defrosters that were unhooked, remove my empty and nonfunctional AC, see if the cruise control is functional, sort out a huge tangle of nonfunctional audio wiring, and trace the other 4 clipped off wires hanging in the engine bay and figure out why my speedometer turns off when I put the headlights on... I'm starting to think this car saw some rough service in the past!

But before anything, I might just have to go for a drive!

theiceman

looks like you will be tack welding on a nut or bolt of some kind as mentioned earlier the heat won't hurt either ..

RShepHorse

Follow Up-

Getting the fill plug involved jamming allen wrench in there and grabbing it closely with a crescent wrench and torquing it out while pressing the allen in.

Drain plug didn't budge with heat, didn't loose with a bit of chiseling, Vice Grips just gnarled to top of it- But I was then able to hammer on a bolt extractor. It wasn't pretty, but threads are intact.

Ed Hughes

Although one can make gaskets like ice, how much can a new gasket possibly cost?

Unless they make a "negative version" of this, you'd have a tough time making that work in an Allen recess as we have.