drain plug in trans pan

[flair1111]

im thinking of putting in a drain plug in the back of my transmission pan. i figure if i do that ill have it welded rather than just wrench tightened with silicone tap. any drawbacks from doing this? if i wasnt laid off ild just get an after market pan.

the reason i want one is because just dropping the pan only gets out 5-6 quarts and since our transmissions hold way more than that, i plan on every oil change (5k miles), ill just go ahead and change what ever amount drains out of the ****** at the same time. this way you dont have the same old fluid in there for another 30k miles.

any advice other than "watch out for leaks"?

 

[offrovering]

i would be nervous about tapping a hole in the pan. you would need some beef back behind the tapped hole to make it secure, is that what you were referencing to when you said have it welded?

its a good idea, but this pan is thin on its own. even if you welded something thicker on the back then it isnt the lowest point, so draining wont drain everything in the pan, which is also a negative.

 

[yellocoyote]

I put a drain in the trans pan about a month ago - I used the wrenched on version that you can get at the auto parts place. No leaks so far. I had to drain the pan again a couple of weeks ago. Even after re-assembly, there's no sign of any leaks.

 

[ChiefRudy]

On Xtreme 4x4 on spike. They had a Tech tip about drain plugs. They drilled a whole and then welded a nut that matches there drain plug onto the inside of Diff Cover (Or maybe it was a ****** pan). It worked out pretty well.

 

[flair1111]

i would be nervous about tapping a hole in the pan. you would need some beef back behind the tapped hole to make it secure, is that what you were referencing to when you said have it welded?

its a good idea, but this pan is thin on its own. even if you welded something thicker on the back then it isnt the lowest point, so draining wont drain everything in the pan, which is also a negative.

yes. use a tap type plug and have the inside of the pan welded around the tap.

 

[flair1111]

I put a drain in the trans pan about a month ago - I used the wrenched on version that you can get at the auto parts place. No leaks so far. I had to drain the pan again a couple of weeks ago. Even after re-assembly, there's no sign of any leaks.

just curious, why did you drain the fluid again?

 

[flair1111]

On Xtreme 4x4 on spike. They had a Tech tip about drain plugs. They drilled a whole and then welded a nut that matches there drain plug onto the inside of Diff Cover (Or maybe it was a ****** pan). It worked out pretty well.

that was what i was going to do also along with the tap.

 

[offrovering]

i still dont see where you would do this and make it worthwhile. the nut on the back will be your low point for fluid, so you will have say a quarter inch of fluid in the pan when you drain, across the whole area, plus any flecks, etc.

 

[ChiefRudy]

that was what i was going to do also along with the tap.

I thought you where juss gonna tap the pan and thats it lol. I guess i didn't read your post carefully.

i still dont see where you would do this and make it worthwhile. the nut on the back will be your low point for fluid, so you will have say a quarter inch of fluid in the pan when you drain, across the whole area, plus any flecks, etc.

Then weld it on the outside of the pan. Or bore the who big enough to where the nut will slide in a bit. So that way the nut is flush with the inside and this would also allow for a deeper weld. At least I think. I'm no expert at welding

 

[o8k]

how would u perform the required maintenence? u still need to drop the pan in order to change the filter(s) and check the magnet for shavings, sine u have to do all that to properly service it, why bother with the drain plug, thats why there isnt one on there in the first place. im not following how this speeds up or improves your ****** maintenence.

edit; didnt read the post right, oh i c u wanna get the fluid out of the torque converter by doing bunches of drail and fill cycles. i would suggest getting an oil extractor and suck the fluid through the dip stick, may b cheaper than all the many u spend on extra auto tx fluid, just a thought, have fun with it...

 

[sleeve]

The real benefit to having the drain on the transmission pan is for those days when you need to change the transmission filters. Draining the fluid from the pan first allows you to remove the [empty] pan from the transmission case without spilling it all over your driveway.

It is this small little step that really cuts down on the mess.

Another nice feature is to find a drain plug with a magnetic tip. The magnetized tip functions like the magnet on the bottom of the pan (for holding shavings) but you can pull out the plug and the shavings out on a more frequent basis (every 15K miles) and keep the system cleaner.

 

[o8k]

i can tell there are some good ideas floating around in here, the more i wake up and think about my posts the more i think i better wailt till im more awake to contribute =o

 

[yellocoyote]

just curious, why did you drain the fluid again?

I've been having an issue with a leaking trans pan - I think the pan was bent. Dropped the pan again a couple of weeks ago due to another leak. Tried to straighten things out a bit, and then used a lot of RTV when I reinstalled it, so hopefully it'll hold. If not, I'll be buying another trans pan.

But, the drain plug made the whole process A LOT less messy.

 

[flair1111]

yep, just to clear things up this is why...

"the reason i want one is because just dropping the pan only gets out 5-6 quarts and since our transmissions hold way more than that, i plan on every oil change (5k miles), ill just go ahead and change what ever amount drains out of the ****** at the same time. this way you dont have the same old fluid in there for another 30k miles."


i figure since your really only getting out AND putting back 5-6 quarts every 30k miles, it would seem to me that you still have a lot of old and or dirty used fluid in there until the next 30k mile filter change. so by draining the pan each time you do an oil change, you will continually be putting in fresh fluid that will be mixed with the old at a much faster rate and this will over time keep your fluids newer and fresher. i dont think it can hurt or be worse than just 5 quarts at each 30k interval. and plus as one other said, when changing the filters, it would help to get out as much fluid as possible out of the pan to avoid taking a ATF bath.


just do the math.

5-6 fresh quarts at each oil change (each 5k for me)
or
5-6 fresh quarts at every 30kmiles when changing the filters.

with the 5k mile change your getting a total of at least 30 fresh quarts mixed/ran through the entire ****** when you hit your 30k filter change vs just the 5-6 quarts every 30k at filter change.

you could stretch it out to 10k mile drains if you want but i think you see my point of the drain plug.


cheers

 

[o8k]

/nod I'm fully coffee'ed and eye boogers are removed, I get it. Im more of a fluid extractor kinda guy personally, but the goal is the same, get "ALL" the fluid out! not the dregs at the bottom.

 

[flair1111]

/nod I'm fully coffee'ed and eye boogers are removed, I get it. Im more of a fluid extractor kinda guy personally, but the goal is the same, get "ALL" the fluid out! not the dregs at the bottom.

well, doing it the way you say, does it work? going down the dipstick with a tube and pump, it gets out everything? I was under the assumption that the tube was just an extension of the pan area open to the same space.

Your way may be better.

 

[flair1111]

/nod I'm fully coffee'ed and eye boogers are removed, I get it. Im more of a fluid extractor kinda guy personally, but the goal is the same, get "ALL" the fluid out! not the dregs at the bottom.

just wanted to tell you i tried your extraction thing with a made up vacuum using a mason jar,pump, and some fittings and tube.

i decided to not go with the drain plug for now. i plan on using your method at each oil change and pulling out 2 quarts of old fluid and replacing that. ill put up a new post and vid explaining it all for everyone soon. you get the credit of course

 

[LibertyTC]

I was also thinking of installing a drain plug in the ******, would it be a bad idea to have one that is magnetic, to attract metal shavings?
Wonder if I could polarize the dip stick and turn it into a magnet?

 

[JeepJeepster]

Theres a magnet in the bottom of the ****** pan that takes care of that for you. Wouldnt hurt to have a drain plug thats magnetic though.

 

[ShafferNY]

I just installed a drain plug in my new transmission pan a few weeks ago. I did it simply because it would make fluild changes easier.

For consistancy, I used a nut that was M14-1.50, the same as the factory engine oil pan drain plug.

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BTW, I originally bought one of the Spectra bolt in jobs, but I didn't like how big it was.