Thanks for all the replies. I've got some good ideas to work with.
I'm going to reply to several messages in one here, so it'll be a bit
messy, but I'm hoping you're all smart (or awake, or sober) enough to
follow along :-).
Terrible Tom said:
>
> Hiya Jason! Believe it or not - the best results I have had with
> extracting rounded off bolts was to beat a slightly smaller sized socket
> onto whats left of the head of the bolt. Granted - this works best with
> grade 5 hardware or softer - dunno about grade 8 LOL.
It's definitely soft. I think it's made out of aluminum. Either that, or
old cheese. In either case, Jon's welding idea probably won't work too
well. I'll try the magnet test when I get a chance, just to be sure.
werlax@hotmail.com said:
>
> The best thing I've found for removing nuts and bolts like that is to get
> a set of sockets from Craftsman (Sears) that has reverse cutting "teeth"
> inside. It's basically reverse cut so when you run the socket
> counter-clockwise it digs into the head and gets a hold of it.
OK, now that you mention it, I remember seeing the commercial for those.
For archive reference, Sears calls them "Bolt-Out (tm)". Good to know
they work as advertised. Unfortunately, from what I see on their web
site, the largest size is 3/4". This plug is 15/16".
Michael Maskalans said:
>
> Is there enough of it sticking out to get a vice grips on there very
> well? How about a box-end wrench (since you only rounded off one flat
> I'm assuming you were using an open end)?
Actually, I was using a the box end of a 15/16" combination wrench. It's
the star pattern kind that only contacts the nut at the corners, I'm not
sure how many points but there are a lot more than 6. The problem is that
the hex head on this plug isn't very tall. I haven't measured, but I'd
guess it only sticks out about 2mm. And that's what's left of the lip on
the edge, it gets even thinner in the center. Unless you keep the wrench
perfectly flush against the face of the transmission case, it slips off.
That's what I did, one side slipped off and ate that point of the hex.
This thing gives me trouble every time. Over the years it's been slowly
eaten away to the point that I've finally decided it needs replacing.
I think what I'm going to do once the new plug comes in is re-measure it
and make absolutely certain that it's really 15/16" and not some metric
size that happened to be "close", then I'm going to get a six-point socket
and a breaker bar for it (been needing a breaker for a long time anyway;
my only ratchet wrenches are too puny for this kind of work). If that
doesn't work, I'll either go to a slightly smaller socket, or see what I
can do to make a Craftsman Bolt-Out (tm) fit on there. Hopefully one of
these plus WD-40 will do the trick. I'd definitely like to remove it with
a minimum of violence, being on the transmission and all.
Thanks again. I'll be sure to post any updates when I start messing
around with it some more (probably on the weekend).
-- Jason Bleazard http://www.bleazard.net Burlington, Ontario his: '95 Dakota Sport 4x4, 3.9 V6, 5spd, Reg. Cab, white hers: '01 Dakota Sport 4x4, 4.7 V8, Auto, Quad Cab, black
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