HELP!!! Tranny pan bolts shearing! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

HELP!!! Tranny pan bolts shearing!

eqppwqqep

Active Member
Joined
February 1, 2008
Messages
50
Reaction score
0
City, State
Jackson, TN
Year, Model & Trim Level
2002 4WD
I'm in the midst of a fluid change on my 02 explorer. I drained my tranny and went to take the pan off and the bolts are just shearing. I've tried two that both sheared in the tranny. What do I do and why are they shearing?

Please help!:mad:
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Perhaps you are over torquing them. The specification for the pan bolts is only 96 in-lbs (8 ft-lbs). Use a torque wrench, it's not very tight and easy to over tighten.

Rumple
 






Thanks for the reply...however, I was merely loosening the bolts...The two that broke are on the sides where there is a lip and the bolt ends stick up out of the holes. I am going to try and easy-out them. Why on earth were they shearing?
 


















I'm in the midst of a fluid change on my 02 explorer. I drained my tranny and went to take the pan off and the bolts are just shearing. I've tried two that both sheared in the tranny. What do I do and why are they shearing?

Please help!:mad:

you may want to take a better approach before you break them all and be screwed, so do it this way, take two out, and if one or both of them break, drill out and tap the broken pieces before taking any more out, then move onto another two and do the same, if you try to take them all out and end up breaking too many you may be drilling and tapping holes for days before you can put your truck back together
 






Righty Tighty?

Lefty loosey....I was turning them to loosen for sure. I'm taking it to a shop this AM to see if they will do this instead of me breaking each one off. I figure I'd have to PB Blaster the pan rail in order to keep any more from breaking....that sucks.
 






So shop took it this am, they are going to service ($79, they don't believe in flushing, only drain and refill). He said broken bolts are charged hourly. I just called and they said none of the others broke on them WTF!!!
Anyway, fluid was shot, but no parts or chunks in the pan/magnet. Said it was good and clean and I'll end up paying $200 or so for a few snapped bolts. That doesn't make any sense to me....

I think they mentioned PB Blaster when I was in there so I imagine they hit it with some pen oil. Damn
 






Most of the threads for the pan bolts are through holes. meaning exposed to the environment. puls, the bolts come in from the bottom. leaving ht eexposed threaads point up, to collect dirt and moisture and junk. So, PB blast probable soaked down and freed them up.
 






$200 later I have fresh fluid. Pulled away and immediately the 1st O2 sensor in bank 1 crapped the bed.

Life sucks today, not just the truck but today has been horrible
 






a day soaking may have helped
By chance, you didn't use an impact? Air impact imo does a better job at stuck bolts. Having used the wrecker bar and pip extension i've broken a few too in the years. I've found the bolts hot after that method, not so much with the impact. . .just a guess.
 






You were tightening :)
 






some bolts will break using hand tools impact tools just remove them that much better.
 






You were tightening :)

Laying underneath, the handle was going counterclockwise...I remember trying to avoid the exhaust pipe on the left side.

Is that right?
 






Laying underneath, the handle was going counterclockwise...I remember trying to avoid the exhaust pipe on the left side.

Is that right?

what side of the car were you laying under?

best way if you use a ratchet, make sure the ratchet turns the socket when you move it to the left and ratchets to the right thats to losen. reverse that for tighten.

or buy a ratchet that is labeled off / on.
 






what side of the car were you laying under?

best way if you use a ratchet, make sure the ratchet turns the socket when you move it to the left and ratchets to the right thats to losen. reverse that for tighten.

or buy a ratchet that is labeled off / on.

Does the side of the car matter? The bolt head was facing me and I was turning the bolt to the left (counter clockwise) under the left side of the car. If the bolt head is facing away from you, it would have to be loosened by going right instead of left.

Also, I was using a ratchet with an 8mm socket.
 






Back
Top