i just broke my 3/8 wratchet off inside my transmission drain plug bolt.

[cryptokid]

ok so what are my options here?
my honda crv has a transmission drain plug which is a SQUARE drive 3/8 size. meaning you do not use a socket or allen wrench to get it off, you insert a 3/8 square drive wratchet into the nut's head and turn.

well it wouldnt budge so i turned harder and harder untill the square portion of my wratchet twisted off and it stuck into the drain bolt.

i have a mig welder, i COULD weld a piece of thick angle iron onto the plug and hit it with a hammer, but i am a little scared of welding on the trans. the transmission case is aluminum, and barring a meltdown, what if i heat up and or burn somthing inside the transmission?

i dont care about burning the oil, as i am going to change that out.

so what other options do i have?

 

[labman]

This is a job for a small ball peen and a punch. Start say with the upper left corner, and start with the punch tilted slightly to the left. As the punch gains more purchase, keep leaning it further and further to the left. The drive square is turned slightly to the left and jammed. Pecking on it from the left will turn it back slightly to the right, freeing it. When one corner is chewed up, go to another. This works. You may even have to go out to the edge of the plug and hammer in the opposite direction to remove the plug. I feel a nice big hex is the best thing for a plug. Before you put it back in, give it a dab of anti seize. Also see http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=24;t=000035#000000

There was a thread here earlier this year on a Volvo with a stripped Allen Wrench plug. If a search turned it up, there might be some good ideas there too.

 

[Chris142]

Drill a hole in the broken off part. Don't drill all the way through the whole broken off rachet thing and the plug tho. Insert a small sheetmetal screw in the hole and tighten the screw.

When the screw goes through the broken rachet square it will bottom on the plug. Keep turning and the square should come out as you tighten the screw.

What kind of rachet was it that it broke off? Harbor freight junk?

 

[cryptokid]

ok, i cant use a punch because there is nothing to put the end on and have traction.
i went out and tried to find any sort of area where i could use the punch and nothing came up.
by the way the outside of the bolt is circular and smooth so that was out too.

i tried drilling through the socket square with a nice new bit but it is too hard of a metal and i was not even making an impression on it. the wratchet is a craftsman!

so, basically i got ****** off and welded a piece of angle iron onto the square drive inside the drainplug. when i kicked it the square drive popped out! gotta love that mig thats for sure.

i then used my other wratchet to get the plug out. man it feels good to fix somthing like this and make those butterflies go away.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

u can use a bolt remover or a bolt breaker, since the outside is round...grip it and turn....then replace.

or just drill it out.

 

[crashz]

When you bring your ratchet back to Sears for a replacement, pick up a medium sized 3/8" breaker bar for the next time. It will save your ratchets and not leave you in the same position again.

 

[BeltwayBandit]

While I like crashz's idea about the breaker bar, I wouldn't think that you should need that much force. The three Hondas that I could look up only required a 36 lb/ft torque for the drain bold. If you had the strength to break a ratchet, I would think that you probably have the strength to loosen 36 lb/ft with your teeth.

Now for two suggestions that might actually be helpful. First, get a short extension (one inch is fine) for you ratchet wrench. I find it makes it easier to work with the extension in the bolt than just the ratchet. Second, get a new crush washer along with the new drain bolt. It sounds like someone seriously over tightened the drain bolt, possibly to keep it from dripping because of a used, or non-existent, washer. But be prepared for the cost if you get the washer from the dealer. I've had Honda dealers ask $3.50 for the washer.

Good luck.

 

[ZR2RANDO]

It is a good idea also to get the trans hot first and then remove the fill and drain bolts/plugs. Don't know if that was done here in this case, it is just a good idea thought I would add...

 

[Jim Spahr]

I would remove the drain plug and take it to a good auto shop and get a replacement Drain Plug with a hex head on it. As someone has already said, use a new crush washer. And don't over torque it. It must have been a jiffy lube type that last changed you Honda's oil. They are so paranoid about an oil leak, they over torque everything and end up doing damage that way.

 

[Ray H]

When I did my '96 Accord's first ATF change, that drain plug was TIGHT! I used a 3/8" breaker bar with a 3' long section of 3/4" galvanized pipe over the handle for added leverage. Either Honda puts 'em on tight, or they use thread lock, but it definitely took more than 36 ft/lbs to break the plug free. I'm almost certain NO 3/8" ratchet drive, regardless of brand, would've been up to the task on my car. I had a replacement sealing washer (neither it nor the original were crush washers - merely soft flat washers, from apperance, probably aluminum) on hand, but I used the original for all eight drains and refills with 10 miles between each. (I figure at most, there was no more than 5% of the factory fluid left in the transmission after all those drain, driving, and refill cycles.) On the final refill I decided to just use the original, too. Never had so much as dampness, let alone a drip. Still got the new washer even though the car's history.

 

[crashz]

An aluminum case and steel/iron plug will corrode the threads and become near impossible to take off like that. My T-case in my truck was a bear. A low grade thread locking compound or anitseize will work well, but you may not want you new fluid exposed to the thread locking compound. I'm not sure if it would wash into the trnsmisssion and create more problems.

 

[Ray H]

That makes sense, crashz. My current car, a 2003 Hyundai Sonata V6 with AT, has a nice 24mm (15/16") six point steel hex plug threaded into the aluminum case. In another 3,000 miles, I and my trusty 1/2" breaker bar with a six point 24mm socket'll be sneering, "Break free or die!" to that plug at my car's first ATF change.

 

[cryptokid]

ok, by the time you guys suggested a new bolt and crush washer, i was already done with the job.
it doesnt leak so that is good. the drainplug has never been removed. the car has 66K on it and this is its first drain and refill. the fluid inside was from the factory and that drainplug was put on by the factory. honda suggests a drain and refill every 90K miles, but i figured i should do one at 60K (actually by the time i got around to it it had 66K on it) just as preventitive maintence (sic).

i have a breaker bar, but it is half inch size. i have never needed a 3/8 size bar yet because i do not normally encounter this problem.

thanks for everyones help.
the transmission shifts exasctly like it did before i did this drain and refill, which i think is a good thing.

 

[dickwells]

Should this need arise again, the ticket would be to get a good quality 1/2" to 3/8" adapter and put that on the 1/2" breaker bar.