Replacing transmission oil

Inferring from you last two posts, are looking you for a power tool that's the size of a socket wrench?

Just get a breaker bar and the job will be done. Or a length of pipe over your ratchet if you don't like the ratchet that much.

 

http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/maint50k/nakedunder.jpg
As stated earlier, There are transaxle coolant and transmission fluid fill and drain bolts in same area. Look at the picture in this link. Make sure that you are trying to remove the plugs marked by the green arrows. PLEASE listen to everyone else that has told you NOT to use a torque wrench to remove any stuck bolt. They are not made for removal but for precise tightening of fasteners. If you do not have a breaker bar, a rachet wrench may work in a pinch. The best thing to do if you do not have a breaker bar is to rent one from your nearest national autoparts store. Autozone, O'reilly's, and Advanced Auto all have tool rental available for next to nothing. Please be kind to your expensive tools and they will last for a long time. Abuse them and they will break the bank in replacement costs.

 

For loosening stubborn bolts, I'd get the longer handled wrench (aka breaker bar), avoid using a pipe extension on a regular ratchet. The latter is similar to using a torque wrench, likely to stress/overload.

Something like this is the bees knees, kinda pricey, will last though:

Jet Ratchet Wrenches | 1/2" DR Flex Head Ratchet Wrench Heavy Duty :: SureWerx

 

If you don't use it often, I'd go cheap and get one at Harbor Freight if there's one nearby. I recommend 1/2" drive for maximum strength without getting too big to handle common socket sizes.

Or, as some said, you can rent one really cheap.

 

I went with the above Jet wrench (post #24), 1/2" drive, ratcheting, swivel head, eventually. It was indespensible for removing an engine block coolant drain bolt on a Honda. Probably about $60, but well worth it. For a number of years I made do with a cheapie 3/8" made-in-China one from Princess Auto, around $20. I also found a long handled ratcheting crescent wrench (19 and 17 mm) indespensible, for a PCV valve removal recently. Bottom line, you can never have enough wrenches.

Looks good, good reviews. I tried to compare to Jet, didn't see it on Amazon. Check local stores too, smaller automotive stores in particular, they tend to have more hands-on expertise, knowledge.

A 1/2" to 3/8" adapter is good to have too: often your sockets are 3/8", and the breaker bar 1/2". There's one on the 1/2" torque wrench, top of my pic. And an assortment of extensions, and, and...

Full disclosure: I'm guilty of using a torque wrench once or twice to loosen nuts/bolts, years back.

 

I went with a cheap one, no Harbor Freight in my area:

 

My 1/2" breaker bar is a Craftsman that I've used for almost 40 years. The 1/2" drive ratchet is from the same kit.

 

I remember years ago hearing that people would use Craftsman screwdrivers as pry bars, because if they bent it they just took it back to Sears and got a free replacement no questions asked. Guess in those days you could have also used a Craftsman torque wrench as a breaker bar!

 

True story. Years ago in Ohio, a guy I worked with was trying to reach something up high in the barrel room and was too lazy to get a ladder. He climbed up on a 55 gallon barrel of Petrolatum (think industrial Vaseline) that had a removable lid. The lid scooted sideways and he came down with one leg on the outside of the barrel, but the other one went into the full barrel (which had to hurt), coating his boot, sock, and pant leg with the stuff. He had a big Craftsman screwdriver in his hand and that took the plunge, too.

He poured himself a big bucket of methyl-ethyl-ketone (MEK) and left his boot and screwdriver in it to soak while he went to change in the locker room. When he came back, he looked in the bucket of MEK and the boot was gone except for the metal shoelace eyelets and the screwdriver handle was gone, too.

When he took the screwdriver back to sears, the clerk told him the warranty didn't cover chemical abuse and then gave him a new screwdriver anyway.

 

I also have one of these, which will fit on standard 1/2 inch sockets, and is an excellent breaker bar because it comes with a telescoping handle to gain extra leverage. Works well on overtightened lugnuts.



It needs more room to work in though because it doesn't have a pivoting head like a standard breaker bar.

Also found this one with good reviews, at a lower price:

 

That's fine, but you're spending about twice as much as you need to. You can get a better one at Home Depot:

Husky 1/2 in. Drive 15 in. Breaker Bar-H12BB15 - The Home Depot

I've worked on LOTS of vehicles. I have a proper set of 1/2" drive tools with ratchets, breaker bars, impact drivers, etc.. But I've used a copper pipe over my Craftsman 3/8" ratchet so many times I can't even keep track. You're not going to break your ratchet loosening this fastener.