Stripped trans drain plug question

Good morning members. It's a beautiful predawn day here in S.E. Pennsylvania. As some of you may know, my trans pan drain plug bolt is stripped and leaking fluid. Not radically but noticeably.

My question is:

If I am going to perform another trans flush say today, is it ok to rethread the trans pan drain plug hole after removing the stripped bolt and draining the trans fluid obviously and after rethreading, refill trans and flush the fluid out and the rethread shavings would mostly be removed an the shavings that don't get purged would be ok because of the new filter? or something? Thanks in adv

cross posted

 

If it can be saved by running a tap through it you should be fine. After you tap it use a small magnet(unless it's aluminum?) to help pick up any shavings before you flush it. Just make sure the threads have not been compromised to the point of being unusable. If that happens you should install a red head or similar device. thinking out loud here.

Edit: If it is aluminum? it isn't as easy to repair. In which case you might look at oversized oil drain plugs…they are designed to cut their way in and oversize the hole for you and are designed for a tighter tolerance.

 

sir, what is a "redhead"? and how does one go about using it?

 

If you have a NAPA auto parts in your area I would strongly suggest you visit them.

In the meantime Google this > transmission drain plug repair

 

Why not just drop the pan since you're doing a flush anyway. Tap it while it's off the truck, clean it with some rags and brake parts cleaner, dry and reinstall?

 

Laziness. And because I had already removed it, prior to being stripped, replaced filter and gasket.

 

lol understood. but don't let laziness and a gasket prevent you from doing a through job. say you mess up and some shavings stay in and mess up your tranny... you're going to wish you took the extra hour to take off the pan to clean it and tap it correctly..

 

Sorry for the tardy response but with everyone's help, I have saved my girl from the problem of the milkshake and other things...so far, knock on wood. The only thing that i have a small issue with is my local NAPA not having the correct size of transmission drain plug.
This is embarrassing to admit let alone even write but money is so tight that I couldn't even order a OEM transmission drain plug with the crush washer from anywhere because bills & mortgage had to come first. I just have to wait till not this Wednesday but the next one, to order it and the plastic air intake hose that connects to the aluminum intake at the top of the motor. It has a big crack that goes 1/2 way around it. As for the plug, I used the one that was originally in it along with a rubber grommet and washer. No leak so far but I don't want to push my luck. What is the exact dimensions of it again if anyone knows please.
Well that is all for now. I am just wire brushing the surface rust off some of the undercarriage and using rustoleum spray paint to give her some protection.
Again, members, thank you for all your help. Much appreciated
cross posted

 

I had this problem today. The bolt was stripped but I figured the female threads on the pan were okay. The hard part was getting all the metal from the bolt out of the female threads. I tried a few things, including. a dental pick but the metal was too tough. I started thinking I needed to replace the whole pan. But I went to my auto parts store and bought an M10x1.5 tap (not the full helical set, but just the tap) and ran it slowly and carefully through the female threads. I could see the tap cleaning out the female threads, which were still in good condition. After that, the new bolt threaded on very easily. Then I ran a few quarts of transmission fluid through the system to flush out any metal shavings. And actually, while I was running the tap through the hole, some fluid started running down the tap, which prevented any of the shavings from getting pushed into the pan. With new crush washer installed, I was able to torque it to 15ft/lbs (actually used an inch pound torque wrench at 175in/lbs, which is just a tad under 15ft/lbs; a full 15ft/lbs is 180in/lbs. Anyway, the solution works perfectly and only cost $10.

 

Pan is pretty cheap.

 

Okay.