Transmissions and Bad Karma

[Randy G.]

Karma comes is a yin and a yang.. or something like that. At least so
seems to be the case with me at the present time. I tried to open the
M47 tranny's fill plug a while back and all I could manage was to turn
the 12mm hex boss into a 10mm round stud. Damn...

So I ordered a pair of new plugs and sealing washers from Volvo (the
drain seemed almost as tight so I quit before damaging it). They
arrived early in the week, so yesterday I jacked up the car and went
to work, and all i could manage was to make a bigger mess of it with
no progress. Since the drain and fill plugs are semi-hollow on the
inside end where the magnet is mounted (at least the replacement parts
are) I have not wanted to try any drilling tricks because if that
magnet drops into the case I have a tranny rebuild on my hands and I
don't want that. So later this week I will probably buy (or rent?) an
Oxy Acetylene torch outfit and try welding on a nut or a lever arm
sort-of-thing to get the plug(s) out. There is a good welding shop in
town that does small jobs as well as production work. They welded up
the steering column for the Ford when i converted to disc front diff.
Maybe I will just let them do it if they have a lift.

Ahh, but the Subject states "Transmission_S_" you say? Indeed it does.
The washing machine quit this week and what I was hoping was just a
failed motor rubber coupling was a dead transmission to the tune of
about $150. At least it's a Whirlpool and amazingly easy to work on...
As i remember it took three tools to get the tranny completely removed
from the machine. Maybe Whirlpool instead of Ford should have bought
Volvo. ;-)




__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvos
'90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate
"Shelby" & "Kate"

 

[James Sweet]

Karma comes is a yin and a yang.. or something like that. At least so
seems to be the case with me at the present time. I tried to open the
M47 tranny's fill plug a while back and all I could manage was to turn
the 12mm hex boss into a 10mm round stud. Damn...

So I ordered a pair of new plugs and sealing washers from Volvo (the
drain seemed almost as tight so I quit before damaging it). They
arrived early in the week, so yesterday I jacked up the car and went
to work, and all i could manage was to make a bigger mess of it with
no progress. Since the drain and fill plugs are semi-hollow on the
inside end where the magnet is mounted (at least the replacement parts
are) I have not wanted to try any drilling tricks because if that
magnet drops into the case I have a tranny rebuild on my hands and I
don't want that. So later this week I will probably buy (or rent?) an
Oxy Acetylene torch outfit and try welding on a nut or a lever arm
sort-of-thing to get the plug(s) out. There is a good welding shop in
town that does small jobs as well as production work. They welded up
the steering column for the Ford when i converted to disc front diff.
Maybe I will just let them do it if they have a lift.

When I had this exact same experience, I ended up removing the tranny
(bellhousing gasket was leaking anyway) and heating up the transmission case
with a mapp gas torch. The aluminum expands more than the steel plug so it
came right out with some vice grips at that point. If there's any bit of
stub left, you could try simply driving the car to warm up the transmission
then jack it up and remove the plug.

 

[Randy G.]

When I had this exact same experience, I ended up removing the tranny
(bellhousing gasket was leaking anyway) and heating up the transmission case
with a mapp gas torch. The aluminum expands more than the steel plug so it
came right out with some vice grips at that point. If there's any bit of
stub left, you could try simply driving the car to warm up the transmission
then jack it up and remove the plug.

I did try once with a torch, but it wasn't with all that much
conviction. I will attemptt that one more time before proceeding.

I was thinking I could heat the plug up good and hot for a while then
spray it with an inverted can of canned air (real cold stuff used that
way) to cool the plug.. A tthis point anything sounds good... :-(

__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvos
'90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate
"Shelby" & "Kate"

 

[James Sweet]

I did try once with a torch, but it wasn't with all that much
conviction. I will attemptt that one more time before proceeding.

I was thinking I could heat the plug up good and hot for a while then
spray it with an inverted can of canned air (real cold stuff used that
way) to cool the plug.. A tthis point anything sounds good... :-(

Don't heat the plug, heat the aluminum right around it. Of course when I did
it the transmission was on it's side, so there wasn't fluid cooling the back
of where I was heating. It was a very hot torch too, hotter than propane.

 

[Clay]

Randy G. wrote:
....So later this week I will probably buy (or rent?) an

Oxy Acetylene torch outfit and try welding on a nut or a lever arm
sort-of-thing to get the plug(s) out. There is a good welding shop in
town that does small jobs as well as production work...

Don't think gas welding (oxy acetylene) is a good idea. The time you get
the steel hot enough to flow, you'll likely have melted the aluminum
threads around the plug (assuming the hole is aluminum, I've never
worked on the M47)
Better, have your welding guy MIG (or TIG)weld a bar or nut or something
on it.

Heating around the plug with a torch, does the hole get bigger or
smaller as the aluminum expands? Smaller, I would think.
Heating the whole tranny would make the hole expand though.

 

[John Robertson]

I dont know what type of plug it is ,but can you square of the rounded
sides so again you can use a spanner on it will give you more of a face to
work on too .The other trick is to use a slightly smaller ring spanner and
whack it on filing it down if need be to give better purchase .I had this
problem after my differential was over tightened both in and out bolts
..Remember to use a six faced socket rather than a twelve face as the later
tends to turn the head of the bolt off.As a friend said to me after cutting
a circuit board with a power saw blade "my dad was a butcher "my reply was
"He taught you well"