Adding drain plug to trans pan?

[wagsg]

I now have 3 vehicles with sealed transmissions. I've had flush/fills done on them, but would like to drain/fill from now on at a more frequent intervals. Dropping the pan seems like a PITA rather than unscrewing a plug (especially for a novice like me).

Is it possible to add a drain plug to the ATF pan? All 3 seem to be pretty slim profile pans, so maybe there is not enough internal clearance. What a wonderful engineering decision to eliminate the drain plug!

The 3 vehicles in question are in my sig... Thanks!

 

[NYSteve]

Not sure with the clearance on your pans but this is what I used on my old Caprice. Worked perfect.

B&M Drain Pan Kit

 

[JTK]

Napa also sells a kit just like the B&M. I've never used either, but lots of owners have had good luck with those. An aftermarket pan with a drain already added or a welded in drain would be your most leak-proof setup.

 

[frank2009]

Installed the B&M kit on an old LTD. Worked well. Got to say, after a few drain and fills, that thing shifted like new. Installation was really easy and i'm no mechanic.

 

[pickled]

I typically drill my pans and tig weld the nut part of the B&M style to the pan. I then put some teflon paste on the bolt that threads through (only 1/2 way up the threads from the part that is outside of the pan) to ensure there aren't any surprises. I did one conversion before I had my welder and it started leaking after a year. That teflon washer is pretty good, but a few drips here and there still came out and it [censored] me off. Drain PLUGS ARE AWESOME in automatic transmissions. I about cried when I got under my new F150 to change the oil and saw the factory pan already had a drain plug!

I also usually replace the stocker magnet with a small rare earth magnet while I'm inside to make sure to catch and retain as much of the wonderful ferrous shavings and paramagnetic silt that is possible. I've done 4 pan drop/plug conversions for various people over the last month as we have changed their fluid and filters, and they are all happy campers now because partial ATF swaps will be easier than oil changes.

 

[JHZR2]

Id be scared of using a kit... pickled's notion of welding it seems far more secure to me.

I bought a deep drain pan for my chevy, it came with a drain plug, which to me was the preferred means of making this happen.

Then again, perhaps you could just invest in a dipstick tube suction device, and stick it in the fill hole and remove the fluid. On my saab's MT, the drain hole is nearly impossible to access... So I suck the MT fluid from the fill hole, and it works like a charm.

JMH

 

[alreadygone]

Remove pan and have COMPETENT welding shop weld threaded 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick steel plate to outside of pan (weld where you, or they have drilled hole in pan). With plate outside of pan, no worries of internal pan profile. Do every veicle I buy for personal use.

Bob

 

[pickled]

I usually drill on the back of the pan so it looks like a typical crank case drain plug when I'm done. Alreadygone does make a good point about potentially putting a plug in where it might interfere with rather snug clearances between accumulators, solenoids or the filter and the pan itself as installed.

I'll share a relevant, but self-degrading, story about this process. The first time I went to install a drain plug in a transmission (about 10 years ago now) was on a 4L60E transmission in a Chevy truck. After a few beers I thought it would be a good idea to just drill the hole in the pan before dropping it to avoid the messy part of draining the fluid- STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!!

I ended up drilling into the 1,2 shift accumulator housing by accident because there was very little clearance between the pan and it. I kept thinking to myself that these stamped pans sure are tough as I bore down on the drill (duh) it must be for the off road package. Luckily I was going to install a shift kit too and had planned on taking the valve body down and swapping out the separator plate anyway. I had to call the bone yards near by and get another pan and the 1,2 accumulator housing (about $48 more in parts) to rectify my stupidity. IMPORTANT LESSON DO NOT DRILL THE PAN WHILE IT IS ON THE VEHICLE NO MATTER HOW MUCH BEER YOU HAVE IN YOUR BRAIN TELLING YOU IT'S A GOOD CALL!!!

 

[mechtech2]

Great idea.

But do a real nice and secure job.

 

[dnewton3]

I have the B&M drain plug kit installed on my '97 Taurus. I put it on at 90k miles.

Never had a leak or any issues whatsoever. I do have it installed on the side wall of the pan, and not the bottom; relieves any concern about lower clearance. While the pan will not be completely empty when I drain, it is well low enough in level that I don't spill anything when I remove the pan. Then I just dump out the last few ounces after pan removal.

My only reservation? I WISH I WOULD HAVE DONE IT AT DAY ONE!

 

[paulo57509]

I installed a plug kit on on my '92 Lumina (4T60) a few years ago. I used a NAPA kit, but I substituted the nylon seal washer with Parker Stat-O-Seals on both the inside and outside of the pan.

I prefer the NAPA kit over the B&M because the NAPA kit plug is a bolt instead of a pipe plug. I Stat-O-Sealed the plug as well.

When it comes time for a filter change, I replace the seals too.

Before anyone asks:

http://www.gen-aircraft-hardware.com/stat-o-seal.asp

 

[Kestas]

I don't like the kits. For the one I bought they use pipe thread and o-ring for sealing. The o-ring gets horribly mushed.

Lucky for me I have a box full of drain plugs with the rubber seal integrated into it. (They were test parts tossed after evaluation.) I also have a bunch of matching nuts. After drilling the hole in the pan I braze a nut on the hole for my drain setup.

If the DIYer has access to brazing, all they have to do is buy one of these drain plugs and braze the proper nut onto the hole for a robust drain plug - better than the kit.

 

[gomes512]

They sell those kits at Advanced Auto in my area. All three of our vehicles have 'em. Best addition especially to our tow vehicle. I have to agree, that tranny pan plugs are great.

There is a small o-ring on the small drain bolt. I like to replace it every time I unscrew it to make sure it doesn't cause a leak later down the road.

 

[wagsg]

Good info everyone. I will have a plug put in on each vehicle (by my mechanic) at their next change intervals. Assuming there is enough room for one.

 

[PT1]

Skip the o-rings and use some white loctite on the bolt threads. It is a hydraulic locker/sealer and I use it on my Harley drain plugs all the time. Never leaks and never allows the bolt to vibrate out. Autozone has it for $3-4.

 

[Jim Spahr]

I have installed the B & M plug on two cars. One thing you have to watch when you unscrew the brass drain plug is: be sure you don't unintensionally unscrew the bigger bolt it is mounted in. You need to use two wrenches: one the hole the big bolt and one to unscrew the small brass bolt. Some may be concerned about ground clearance if off roading. You may want to place the drain on the side, rather thant the bottom of the pan.

 

[Shaman]

I always thought about welding a nut onto the back part of the pan, so that when I jacked up the car, all of the fluid would rush to it. Thankfully my last 4 cars already had drain plugs in them.

 

[onion]

I've cobbled up drain plugs in several of my own automatic transmissions. Sometimes I'll buy a steel pipe bushing, maybe 1/8" F X 1/4" male, and braze it into the pan. But on the past few vehicles, I've drilled a 3/8" hole in the pan (where there's clearance), and tack welded a nut on the inside. Then for a plug, I use a short 3/8" bolt with a copper washer.

Never tried the kits, but I'd definitely look into them if I didn't have access to a welder or torch.

 

[firemachine69]

Shouldn't the nut be on the outside?

 

[onion]

No- I tack weld it on the inside. That way only the head of the bolt is sticking down below the pan.

It's a simple procedure. Drill the hole. Install a bolt and nut in the hole, with the nut inside the pan. Tack weld the nut. Remove the bolt, and reinstall with a copper washer. Done.