Corroded Transmission Drain Bolt Problem

The little air-hammer-bopped thing from Lisle has been one of those "where were you all my life?" tools for me.

The magic is the air hammer, not that it bops hard (in fact, you go really lightly on the trigger), but that it bops quick.

It'll do 2,000 bops a minute. 33 a second. My arm just can't do that.

Removing stuck fasteners with the thing just always feels so ... civilized. I just steadily lean counterclockwise on the tool and the fastener just buzzes right out.

 

What sort of air compressor do you need? Maybe I should take the plunge. I'm leary though, made it this far.

 

Yep, keeping the tool aligned, as well as fully inserted, is critical. When the force one is applying to the handle to create torque is unavoidably offset from the fastener, it helps to apply equal force in the opposite direction to the tool near the fastener with one's other hand.

 

@ChapmanF @Mendel Leisk

Amazon would appear to have an action video

lisle website says the kit is obsolete/out of stock though individual parts are in stock, and lots of online stores list available inventory.

I sure could have used something like that 30 years ago when I was disassembling old cars to resell parts.

I gather that the kit includes a universal shank that fits ordinary air hammers? Looks like it from the pictures.

 

Hardly an 'action' video ... shows the setup, stops just before you'd see the action.

Yes, shank just goes in an ordinary air hammer.

The air hammer I'm using is officially spec'd to need 24.1 CFM "at load" (so, if you're just sitting there holding the trigger fully in for a minute whaling away at something, which isn't really something I've done). 24 CFM would be a large compressor. I've been using a small pancake one rated at 5, and in my typical "burst the hammer a little bit, think, burst some more, think" and usually with a light touch on the trigger and maybe even the pressure dialed down, it isn't an issue. I could do useful stuff with it using the 2 CFM compressor in the car.

 

If you do not want the plug ever again to corrode in place, you can replace the aluminum washer with an M18 I.D. teflon (PTFE) washer. The steel plug corrodes because it is a dissimilar metal from the transmission's aluminum case. It's the flat mating surfaces that corrode together, not the treads of either the plug or transmission case. Teflon washers even seal better than aluminum ones.
The threads will not corrode, since they are bathe in transmission oil.

These teflon washers are even less expensive than the Toyota aluminum ones.

MECCANIXITY PTFE Flat Washers 24mm OD 18mm ID 2mm Thick Flange Gasket, White Pack of 5