I need some help; suggestions, experiences, etc. I recently bought a 2000 Civic SE automatic with only 122,000 miles. Nice body, interior, runs and shfts good, but some negatives. Compared to my '96 civic there seems to be more rusty fasteners (engine compartment, suspension, etc). To my point; the transmission drain plug doesn't want to break loose. There looks to be rust and corrosion involved. I'm reluctant to apply too much force in fear of cracking the transmission housing. I soaked it with liquid wrench yesterday and thought I would wait until today and try again. Any ideas, thoughts, experiences? Thanks.

 

Give it a try after it soaked. Although I have seen people (for whatever unholy reason) loctite bolt like those. I would be more worried about it being crossthreaded than it cracking the housing for what it's worth.

 

I think you are right. I imagine it would take quite a lot to crack the housing. As far as being cross-threaded, I'll just have to cross my fingers and bust it loose with my 1/2 inch breaker bar (after several more applications of liquid wrench and letting it soak in between). Thanks for sharing.

 

Toss the liquid wrench and get some Moovit, far better the liquid wrench... Moovitâ„¢ Penetrating Lubricant - Lee Valley Tools 94

 

A propane torch can be your friend too. Heat up the bolt hole by torching immediately around the bolt head. This will expand the hole and help loosen the bolt.

Sucks to have to do this with anything with bushings as you end up destroying the rubber bushings and they are no fun to replace.

 

Those drain bolts are just tight. Don't be afraid to use some pretty serious force.

 

yep, if they haven't been off in awhile they can be tough to crack.

 

Thanks for the comments; very helpful. To me, the main reason for using a torque wrench is to avoid over-tightening things. Also, most non-Honda service facilities don't have a clue of the purpose of a crush washer and that it needs to be changed every time. I've seen crush washers mashed so flat (from repeated use) especially on the engine oil pan drain plug, that they were so thin and bonded to the plug, that they were impossible to get off. Had to replace with a new drain plug.

 

Most of the time with the Honda aluminum crush washers, even when mashed thin and flat like that, snippers and twisting breaks it free from the drain plug.

I used to work at a lube shop and know what you mean, never did have to replace a drain plug due to not being able to get off a Honda washer. Had a few battles but the washer snaps long before damaging the steel drain bolt.

 

Toss the Moovit and get some Kroil. Don't be afraid to use a breaker bar on the trans drain bolt. Although an impact will be much nicer. I've never had a bolt seized into an aluminium part and I've worked on some major rusty cars but YMMV.

 

Either use an impact gun or hit your wrench with your hand or even a rubber mallet. I find that using impact-type force/yanking/hitting rather than applying constant force usually works better and breaks less bolts.

 

Just to clarify rust and corrosion is not your issue. Simply use more force. It will break free quite suddenly and will spin out with your fingers after that. It usually takes a half inch breaker bar with a 3/8 adapter to break those drain plugs loose.

 

acetone + atf ftw, see the chart:

honda - How to Unscrew/loosen stuck O2 sensor - Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange

 

Thanks Everyone. I finally got the drain plug out; took a lot of force with my 18" breaker bar. Lucky; no damage to the aluminum theads. The crush washer was mashed as thin as a piece of paper. I wouldn't be surprised if the jack *** used a breaker bar to install the drain plug. Anyway, thanks for all the ideas and help.