I woke up this morning pretty excited to see if after I do the transmission fluid change the gearbox will feel any different.

So I took my time and very carefully jacked up the car on 4 jack stands that gave me just enough room to slide under the car with tools. I also took the front cover off because I figured I will do the front diff while I was at it. Also took many pictures because I was planning on making a DIY thread.

Came back from buying the 10mm allen head, slid under, and after about 5min of me and my friend trying to loosen the tranny fill-up plug which seemed to have been tightened way too strong, finally the wrench turned. I was extremely happy, until I realized it turned because it completely stripped the fill plug.

Help, anyone?

 

Is it possible you did not insert the allen wrench all the way into the plug's head and if you insert it all the way in you can get enough bite to remove the plug?

This is a rather common event with the Boxster engine oil drain plug -- I know we're talking about the Turbo and its transmission but they are similar in this regard, both using drain plugs (and the Turbo using a filler plug) with a allen head) as the allen wrench fit is quite good to the point one can encounter resistance which can fool one into thinking the bit is all the way in when it is not.

The drain plug might withstand this once or twice, but at some point the partially engaged wrench will 'strip' the flats and that's that.

I had a Boxster drain plug goofed up by a quickie lube place. The next time I took the car to the dealer the tech found this and managed to get the drain plug out out by tapping in the wrench bit to force it past the stripped out burr to the point the wrench bottomed in the hole.

Thankfully the bit held as the tech removed the drain plug but the tech had a heck of a time separating the wrench bit from the drain plug's hole. I was so happy he managed to get the thing out I would have bought him a new wrench bit. I did buy 2 new drain plugs (he loaned me an old one from his tool box) and gave him a new one to replace the one he loaned me. The old one went into the console as a spare and the new one went into the drain plug hole.

Anyhow, or is the thing truly stripped?

If it is stripped, you are looking at -- or having it done -- drilling the fill plug out enough you can remove the cored out plug with an easy out.

With the right drill and drill motor and slow speed and heavy grease this will entrap any drill chips and keep most if not all of it out of the tranny.

If you want to be real safe, enlist a helper with a shop vac to vacuum any drill chips away as you drill.

Of course you'll have to buy a new fill plug.

BTW, are you sure the drain and refill plugs use an allen wrench or do they require some other form factor wrench, like a torx?

I might have pics of my Turbo's tranny and the drain plug form factor might be visible. I'll check...

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Allen, not torx. I have a pic of the drain plug of my Turbo's (old) transmission (just before it was replaced under warranty) and the drain plug is an Allen type. Almost certainly the filler plug is too.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

It is 10 mm allen and the torque is 22 ft/lb for the fill and drain plugs. Be careful if you try to drill this plug. Did you used a very good quality allen wrench? Stay away from cheap ones.... Sorry but I don't see how you can completely damage this plug...

 

It's very common for any type of plug, nut, bolt, etc to get corroded in place in the amount of time since the car was manufactured. It's always a smart bet to spray anything you're trying to remove on a car this old with penetrating oil, tapping it, and letting it sit overnight.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Time to tap it and get it out. I'd try the trick of hammering it in there very well to see if you can get enough bite to remove it. You can also go up one size with the allen wrench with this technique, though you need to be very careful not to put too much force on it because you can spread it and either jam it in there worse, stretch the hole, or get the hole out of round.

 

hammer and a not so sharp chisel.

 

OH boy... there are many different things you can do before you start drilling the thing out.


First things first, penetrating lubes rarely ever work until you get some movement. Hot and cold are your friends; plus shocking it with a good wack. The best thing to heat a metal part is boiling water, it drives in heat faster and better then a torch ever will --> unless you need the kind of temp a torch generates, with an aluminum you likely do not. The next part of that formula is the cold.

Seeing how the space is confined a torch will work, you heat the area around the stuck fastener and the fastener till it is quite hot; then a quick ice cube only on the plug. Quickly break fastener free. Do not go crazy, if it does not want to come you do not want to tear something up.

On to your bolt...

First thing is see if there was some dirt in the allen hole that did not allow the 10mm allen key go in all the way, if yes then you might have a chance for original allen hole working, you clean the hole then tap the allen key in as deep as it will go to set the key properly...
A quality allen key is your friend; there is a reason why good tools cost more. A cheap allen key or any cheap tool can wreck your day if a good one is needed at the time. You tube is great... Here is a FWI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqcIKRO3sjM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqcIKRO3sjM

there are some good tips here.

Also if you feel that is not working you can stop before you completely destroy the hole and glue the allen key into the hole with some real good quality liquid metal that quick sets. Because you ripped up the hole it has lots of places to take a set and it conforms to the allen key.

If the allen key does not have hope then a chisel is your next friend. The tranny bolts have a very large face to bite on with a chisel.... Think rotation not perpendicular force. Near the outside of the fastener shoulder you use a chisel at about a 30 degree angle to bite into the face just enough to dig yet not destroy the fastener. Think of the rotational direction you need to do this in to loosen the fastener. NOTE!!!! If you cannot wrap you mind around this concept leave it alone.

There are also numerous other less chip making techniques you can use before U drill a hole right through for an easy out.

If you want some other info please feel free to PM me and I can elaborate. Typing is too time consuming to go on. Google is also your friend but you might have to be able to see through the bunk you would get on here.

Likely you have some galvanic metal corrosion that has bound the plug into the pan. It could be light of more major, either way some percussion is good.

 

Don't worry, these kinds of things happen.

First off, since you are new to this....STOP. Take it to a shop and have it removed properly. All of the suggestions in this thread are good, but not for first timers.

FYI, make sure to buy high quality tools, for this I use :


Good Luck,

Tom

 

Fully agree to this advice! Take it somewhere now and be done with it. As an aspiring DIY'er - you are now in too deep - know when to 'fold 'em'. Move onto the next project...don't be discouraged - part of the learning process.
Do enough DIY's and the once in awhile costly shop visits will not be a big impact.

 

I love that idea of using something like JB Weld and welding the allen key in there!! Genius!! I'll have to remember that if i ever run across this problem.

 

I did same thing with my Turbo drain plug - stripped - took it to a local shop. They charged me like $50 to get it out - I supplied the new drain plug.

 

I can't count the number of stripped drain plugs I've encountered.

I use a hammer and one of these:



Just hammer it in - it helps relieve your frustration. Craftsman makes them, but so do several other companies - they come in various sizes depending on the bolt. It's designed to penetrate and cut the bolt, grab the corners, allowing you to grip and twist the bolt out. You obviously will have to replace the bolt. And unlike a chisel, it grips all four corners for something that was over torqued. Just use an open wrench or a vise grip and twist the bolt out. Since encountering my first stripped bolt, it has saved me countless frustrating hours over the years.

Often times, a recessed Allen insert is actually a Torx insert, or vise versa. I know other members have already stated it's an Allen. Just saying...using a Torx when you should have used an Allen is a sure fire way to strip the bolt, especially a soft aluminum one. When the bolt is out, replace it with a stainless steel one or a quick drain (depending on how often you change the fluid.) I have changed my engine oil plug on my Cayenne to one of these:

 

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

I think it's best I will take my car to my mechanic, so I'm going there on Saturday. When I talked to him he said he encountered many stripped plugs before, but never a stripped plug on the tranny.
He said he usually "taps into it" and gets it out.

I used a stand alone allen socket that I purchased specifically directly on my wrench, so I don't think it was the tools.

Macster and for other who wonder if the plug is completely stripped, I think it is because the allen was pretty deep inside, but I won't be sure until Saturday when I have it on the mechanic's lift. I don't want to spend all this time putting the car on jacks again just for that, plus it's pretty stressing lifting the car up this way.
The plug might have some dirt in it, to be honest looking back I should have used some of Engine Guy's and teflon's tips before doing it.

bbywu, I will buy one and bring it to my mechanic if he wants to use it. It's MUCH more comfortable to work using a hydraulic lift. Plus I rather not screw up again because if I do it means very big trouble...

 

Like I always say, I was good at breaking things before I became good at fixing things.

 

That's weird. I was good at breaking things. And now I am really good at breaking things.