4l60e Drain Plug Rounded! Help!

[Got V8?]

OK I rounded off the drain plug on my pan, I do have a new bolt but cant get this one off with heat or bolt outs, it is that rounded, so I tried to grab the piece of the bolt inside the pan and gouged it up. What I am wondering is should I grind down this gouged section of bolt or cut it off so that nothing gets in the trans? Also the base that the bolt screws into in the pan looks like a big nut can I break that loose from the bolt? am assuming that this is welded or pressed into the pan and would only lead me to screwing up the pan. This thing isnt coming loose so it really isnt going to hurt to leave it in, I am just worried about the Vise Grip teeth marks on the inside.

[GARB55]

A couple of Suggestions just depends on your Situation.

 

Welded a nut on top of a rounded off bolt if you have the resources to do so.

 

Craftsman has a set of removal tools called "Bolt-Outs".

 

Hammering metric size sockets onto the bolt head.

 

Try a pipe Wrench.

 

This is Time Consuming, If you have a Dremel tool and a Disk for cutting metal make astraight cutt across the head of the bolt so you can you a Regular Screwdriver tip! Deeding on the Tip you can use a socket to put the tip in and then remove the bolt if it is not torqued to tight. Or you can always try a set of Vise Grips! It Sucks rounding out a Head of a bolt good luck.

 

Good Luck.

[Alljackedup408]

yeah id do the welding the nut on trick.. if you got a welder..

 

had you tried a pair of strong vice grips???

[tobias]

yeah id do the welding the nut on trick.. if you got a welder..

 

had you tried a pair of strong vice grips???

 

+1

[pennzoil29]

I think those drain plugs were put there for decoration, and to give you a false since of an easy, mess free drain. I went through this BS a couple of weeks ago, on my 4L80e. Needless to say, the bolt is perfectly round, and it was a messy job. After I changed the filter and put in the recommended amount of fluid, I started it up, let her warm up, and went through all the gears, and then checked the fluid level. S.O.B, it was over full. I mean a good 2" over the full line. I thought to myself, this sucks, how the hell am I going to get the access fluid out of there without dropping the pan again. I tried a syphon pump down the filler tube , but that proved unsuccessful. So, now I'm wondering WTF am I going to do, because I really didn't want to drop the pan again. I had a light bulb go off in my head, and decided to disconnect the top tranny line that goes into the radiator, start the truck up, and pump it out that way. I like light bulbs.

I talked to a friend of mine, who is a tech for GM, and he said he has never been able to get the drain plug out. Sorry this is so long, I got on a roll.

[Got V8?]

Thanks Pennzoil29, I got the same round plug now. I just put the pan back on and added 4 quarts and now it is a little high on the stick, past the cold mark. I am about to go out and remove the top radiator line right now and flush the trans of the rest of the dirty fluid and try to get out the extra.

Did you have any prob removing the trans line? Looks like it only needs a flare wrench right?

Thanks.

[pennzoil29]

Thanks Pennzoil29, I got the same round plug now. I just put the pan back on and added 4 quarts and now it is a little high on the stick, past the cold mark. I am about to go out and remove the top radiator line right now and flush the trans of the rest of the dirty fluid and try to get out the extra.

Did you have any prob removing the trans line? Looks like it only needs a flare wrench right?

Thanks.

I sprayed it with some lubricant, and used a 5/8 wrench I believe it was. I also put a piece of hose over the end of the line, so as not to have fluid getting all over the engine bay. It pumps out pretty fast, so you might want to have some one start it up and then shut it off while your attending to the line. Good luck.

[zaac]

OK I rounded off the drain plug on my pan, I do have a new bolt but cant get this one off with heat or bolt outs, it is that rounded, so I tried to grab the piece of the bolt inside the pan and gouged it up. What I am wondering is should I grind down this gouged section of bolt or cut it off so that nothing gets in the trans? Also the base that the bolt screws into in the pan looks like a big nut can I break that loose from the bolt? am assuming that this is welded or pressed into the pan and would only lead me to screwing up the pan. This thing isnt coming loose so it really isnt going to hurt to leave it in, I am just worried about the Vise Grip teeth marks on the inside.

Let us know if you get it out. I did the same to mine and would like to get it out also. I'd hate to weld a nut on and ruin the o-ring with the heat and make it leak and still not get it out.

[Got V8?]

zaac I couldnt get that bolt out. I figure the next time I will also be dropping the pan again anyway and just put the pan back on. It really didnt seem worth the trouble at 10:30 PM on a 30 degree saturday night with the garage door partially open. I dont have a welder or a drill press so I said screw it.

[gosha]

This is so darn easy! I used the Dremel tool with a grinding wheel to cut a new bolt head from this big plate underneath the rounded head. Something like size 1''. The thing unscrewed like a piece of cake.

One can only wonder why GM did not make the head of the plug larger and taller.

 

Can someone tell me how important it is to change the filter seal. I have no tool to get it from the valve body and I fear to scratch the aluminum surface.

 

Also, how far should the filter go into this hole? And how hard do you have to push it in? I mean it needs to stick in there, what if it falls from there into the pan?

[Got V8?]

gosha, I will have to try that next time I change the fluid. From what I read that filter seal needs to com out. ended up having to use a small eyeglass screwdriver to push the seal inward, it wasnt fun it seemed to have rubbed against the mating surface a little. It didnt seem to harm anything since it is just the area where the new lip of the seal rests against. I would recomend just dont get up inside there and gouging anything. Screwing something threaded in there like that tool we were talking of earlier in the thread might be the way to go. Maybe take a caliper and measure the seal and find a brass fitting that will fit in there and use a slide hammer. I wanted to try this but didnt get around to it.

Maybe a tech here can tell you what they use in the shop.

Also as far as the filter goes, as far as I could see it has to be all the way up. that is how I did mine and have put 1,000 highway miles on trouble free.

[rwregener]

For the filter seal, GM has a removal procedure that shows a diagram with a tool that looks similar to a snap ring removal tool (spring loaded pliers type tool).

 

I'm going to try to drop my pan tomorrow and change the filter. To remove the seal, I'm going to try something "homemade." I took an old center cap removal tool (for removing the covers that hide the wheel bolts) from my old Jimmy. It's kind of like a bent screwdriver. I rounded the point to try and match the radius of the seal. I'll see how it goes.

 

I'm really more scared about getting the pan off. Dealing with the shifter bracket makes me nervous. So does the potential interference with the exhaust. The GM procedure referenced above says to remove the catalytic converter. I really don't want to have to deal with the exhaust or unbolting the transmission from the crossmember and jacking it.

 

If anyone has experience doing this with a 2003 Yukon XL 4wd with 4L60E and deep pan, I'd appreciate hearing any tips (or problems) specific to this model.

[zaac]

I'm really more scared about getting the pan off. Dealing with the shifter bracket makes me nervous. So does the potential interference with the exhaust. The GM procedure referenced above says to remove the catalytic converter. I really don't want to have to deal with the exhaust or unbolting the transmission from the crossmember and jacking it.

 

If anyone has experience doing this with a 2003 Yukon XL 4wd with 4L60E and deep pan, I'd appreciate hearing any tips (or problems) specific to this model.

I took the deep pan off my 2000 Silverado and didn't enjoy one bit of it. A real PITA and I thought I was fairly mechanically inclined. Jacked up the tranny and still couldn't get it out. Tried to unbolt the exhaust with a 1/2 air gun but they wouldn't come. Started to get desperate cause I needed the truck for work the next day so I ended up bending the shifter bracket out of the way and the pan practically fell out. When I was all done I bent the bracket back into place. Didn't feel like I weakened it at all. 15k later and all is good.

 

Edit: You have got to read klunkerbus' story about tranny pan. That is what you've got to look forward too. lol

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...;hl=shift+cable

[gosha]

I finished the tranny flush and can now share some experience.

 

Unscrewing those torx bolts holding the bracket was not fun but once you've done it you are amazed how simple it actually is. The tricky part is to find the position of your body so that the hand goes in and reaches them. I did not even jack up my truck (2003 Suburban 1500, 4x4, 4L60 deep pan) so I needed to position myself on the floor in such a way that the hand goes in at the correct angle. If you are lying along the truck head forward you can reach the bolts with your left hand over the catalytic converter and the shaft. Another position is lying across and reaching the bolts from behind - that one I cannot even explain clearly, there is just a place where your whole hand can go in. The second one is better because you can see if the socket goes into the bolt head at the right angle. (BTW I broke one torx socket because I did not deep it enough into the bolt. Also don't forget to replace the torx bolts with the regular hex bolts 8mm-1.25 x 20mm.) Once the bolts are out you can turn the bracket away from the tranny and the whole thing falls below the pan and completely out of the way.

 

How you get the plug out of the pan is described above. I also replaced the GM plug with the aftermarket one where the bolt's head is taller and diameter of the plate is smaller so that with the same friction at the edge of the plate there is less torque needed. The new plug is longer and goes further into the pan but it looks like it does not interfere with the valve body.

 

Removing the deep pan is also not straightforward. There is just not enough clearance above the cross-pipe. The rear passenger corner of the transmission won't let you move the pan forward. But that's with the gasket attached to the pan - without it there is just enough room to clear. So the tricky part is to install the pan with the new gasket. I simply attached the new gasket to the transmission first with 4 bolts at the corners, then moved the pan into position, then carefully removed 2 bolts on one side an screwed this side of the pan to the transmission, then did the same to the other side.

 

I left the old filter seal in - I feel like I did the wrong thing but really how bad is it? I pushed the new filter in real hard until it won't go any further but I then I could not attach the pan to the tranny - the filter was in the way. So I pushed it in even harder and it just snapped in all the way so at that point I knew it was finally in.

 

I flushed a couple more gallons by removing the upper radiator tube from the quick connector and inserting a clear plastic tube into it. If the plastic tube is of the right diameter and you hold it in place with your hand you won't spill any ATF while it is being pumped out by the tranny oil pump. I did that in a few steps by pumping about 2 quarts out and adding 2 new quarts to the tranny then repeating.

 

That's all folks - once it is done the mystery is out of it. I feel like I can now do the whole thing in under 2 hours.

[zaac]

Sounds like you did much better than me. I bent the bracket instead cause I couldn't get the torx screws out. The hard one to reach was full of dirt and I couldn't get it clean enough for the torx to fit in good. I've had a few fwd cars that were easy to do so that's why I tackled this truck. Should be good now til I sell it.