Trans pan 2000 Silverado..Help!

rjirvine · March 31, 2006

Hey all, I'm so agitated right now I had to quit what I was doing before I broke something. I got a new cast aluminum transmission pan to put in my 2000 Silverado 4x4 extended cab because it's coming up on 100k miles and to my knowledge it has never had the fluid or filter changed (got it at 93k miles). I tried to get the POS drain bolt out but knew I would have limited success after reading this board--it stripped out.

I have a 40 torx bit but can't get on the rear shift lever bracket bolt to turn it very well and when i do, its rock solid. I think taking off the front drive shaft may help to gain access, but there's a rubber boot on it where it goes into the transfer case with factory looking band clamps. I don't want to tear the boot, and am not sure how the rear of the front drive shaft comes out of the transfer case.

The POS haynes manual says to pull the heat shield on the right side, but looks like I have plenty of clearance there.

ANY ADVICE??? Man Am I pissed!

asilverblazer · April 1, 2006

The same reason I haven't dropped the pan on mine, I think when I'm in the mood to battle with my truck I'll pull the drive shaft.

the blur · April 1, 2006

the only way to do it is up on a lift. I could not do it on my back. once I rented a lift, it was done in 10 minutes.

hoorders · April 1, 2006

Definately removing the front drive shaft will give you more access. The boot you are sseing on the back of the front drive shaft where it meets the transfer case is just a dust boot. Just cut the clamp off closest to the transfer case. Then the drive shaft will slide off no problem with the boot still on it. You will see once its off that there are just splines in there much like the rear shaft. When you put it back on, just get yourself a worm gear clamp(hose clamp) to replace the clamp you took off........

firstruck · April 1, 2006

I removed a seal clamp a while back. I pryed it open to release it and then borowed a crimping tool from my mech. buddy to re-squeeze it back on. I wouldn't use a hose clamp, as the worm gear assm. has a fair bit of mass and could throw out the balance of the shaft. My second choice would be a heavy duty "tie-wrap" cinched up tight.

hoorders · April 1, 2006

I removed a seal clamp a while back. I pryed it open to release it and then borowed a crimping tool from my mech. buddy to re-squeeze it back on. I wouldn't use a hose clamp, as the worm gear assm. has a fair bit of mass and could throw out the balance of the shaft. My second choice would be a heavy duty "tie-wrap" cinched up tight.

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Thats actually a really intersting point...........The dealer (not a GM dealer) I bought my truck from had to replace a ujoint on the front shaft......they are the ones who put a hose clamp back on and I never gave it a second thought except for the fact I do get some vibration going on at speed when I am just feathering the throttly to maintain speed.......if I accelerate or take my foot off the throttle there is no vibration........maybe its that hose clamp??........Im going to replace it with a good plastic tie.........thanks for the insight..

rjirvine · April 1, 2006

UPDATE:

I wound up taking the heat shield off the right side of the tranny and the front driveshaft out. I think I started to strip the #40 rear torx bolt because the tranny boss kicks the ratchet off to the side a bit. I wound up taking the shift lever off of the stud and out of the bracket (easy) and had my wife use a big crescent wrench to bend the bracket outboard while I monkeyed with the pan. I got it off. I used masking tape on the wrence just to be sure I didn't scratch the bracket.

Since the pan bolt head was stripped, I tried to get it off while the pan was out with a set of those bolt removers from sears. Unfortunately, the one size is to big and the other too small. So, I used my trusty crescent wrench on the big nut on the inside of the pan and turned it about a 1/4 turn. That did the trick, and I could take the pan bolt out with my fingers after that. I'm not sure how that nut is held in, it's not simply threaded in, it looks like its pressed in or something, and the bottom side looks like a six pointed star. I'm going to try and get a pan bolt at the various auto stores (dealer closed on weekends, of course) and see if I can use it, even though I tweaked the nut. Hopefully I can get enough bite on it to tighten. I also bought a 1/2" transmission drain bolt setup from Advance Auto for $1.98, but it's fine thread and the stock bolt is coarse. I was thinking of tapping the threads, but that's kinda crappy maintenance. Di you guys think it would be a good idea to use "liquid metal" or something similar and make a bead around the base of the nut on the inside of the pan to make sure it doesn't turn? I'm not sure there would be enough adhesion...I'm gonna take pictures and find out how to post them to help the next poor soul that tries this.

rjirvine · April 2, 2006

Well, I'm done. I got a pan bolt from advance auto parts and put the pan back in and bent the bracekt back in place. All is good. Thanks again for the advice! If I had to do it again, I would just bend the bracket out of the way and drop the pan.