the horror stories have come true!!! I bought a 17mm hex socket from kragen designed for porsches and vw... worked great on my drain plug, however stripped my fill plug like hell. I pounded on the fill plug with a hammer, and also pb blasted it over and over many times, and also used vice grips.. to no avail.

Anyone know a better way? Im dropping the tranny for a clutch job anyways... so yeah can i flip the tranny upsidedown and fill into the drain plug?

 

The 17mm hex I bought at autozone had kind of beveled edges on the top. The plug is pretty shallow, so the hex didn't have enough surface area contacting the plug and was stripping it. I had to grind the hex tool down to where it was level. It took an hour or two of trying to get the plug off. After using my feet to tighten the plug a bit, I was able to loosen it. Hope that helps.

 

Yes. Be certain you use exactly the right amount of fluid.

 

knock on wood, I've had no issues with 3 tranny's.... but I always start by loosening the fill plug first! I use a Craftsman 17mm hex 3" long with a 1/2" drive - but use a 20" breaker bar to get a really good first shot at loosening the fill plug. Nothing beats a good solid first shot IMHO

 

I agree - the first shot is the make-or-breaker.

And go get yourself a good tool; don't ever use the junk from Kragen because those junky tools will ruin whatever they touch.

 

Good to know as I have 3qts of redline in the garage.

 

3 quarts sitting next to my monitor =D mt-90. any idea how many quarts till the fluid gets right under the fill plug?

 

How do you get the fluid into the case if you do not have the unit removed from the car?

 

A fluid pump- I got mine from Autozone for $15-20. I thought about drilling a small hole in the trunk for gravity feed.

 

I hate that plug! The first time I had to use a bottle jack under the allen key since I couldn't get enough leverage with any of the breaker bars I had.
I think I nearly lifted the rear end of the car off the ground before it broke free.

I filled mine up with a pump from one of those really big hand soap dispensers. Kinda slow, but it worked.

 

I think you want to break the 'grip' that the plug has first with some impact and heat. I would heat the area surrounding the plug with a propane torch (assuming the fluid is out) and take a chisel and give the outer edge of the plug some hard whacks in the unscrew direction, making sure you get the chisel edge firmly embedded into the edge of the plug so it doesn't slip off and break something (like the case). Check to see if the plug moves at all after whacking it, and then try the vice grips if it has.

 

Lesson to all. NEVER remove the drain plug before you've removed the fill plug.

 

#1!
#2 - buy a decent 17mm allen key with a 1/2" socket drive (Craftsman 17mm <$10 at Sears) and use a long breaker bar (I use a 20" bar) - never had a problem removing the fill plug. I really don't endorse whacking the tranny plugs with a chisel and hammer - that transaxle case is alloy after all, and one slip may prove awfully expensive.

#3 - Check Clarks Garage for DYI articles including tranny oil change procedures http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/trans-06.htm

A mity-vac like the one below works really well to fill the tranny (must be really clean!) I also use the MV for engine oil changes etc - so easy.

 

Agreed, but the plug is already stripped and so he has few alternatives. I think as long as you hit the plug at a good enough angle to the case and not straight into the case, it should be OK. The purpose is to hit it just enough to free the plug, and not to turn it all the way out.

 

If you have access to a welder, you might be able to weld a bolt onto the plug, then double nut the bolt to loosen the fill plug.