so I was under my 96 OB and was draining the fluid...saw some wetness on one corner of the pan. Got my sockets out and then saw that not 1...not 2 but 3 bolt heads were gone. All are adjacent to one another in a corner. Cannot believe someone could do that to 3!

I assume that whoever it was in the past was tightening them.

 

So 2 questions...

Is my best/only hope trying an easy-out? Never had success with those!

I will try with the pan in place and see if I can do it without dropping it

 

The pan has sealant and a gasket. Is this the norm? What does suby recommend (gasket or not?)

There should be no gasket, sealer only.

 

As far as removal.......hmmm.......perhaps drill them out carefully, then tap to 1/4" standard thread.

Center punch then Left Hand drill bits to walk them out. Pretty common as these are rated at around 6 ft lbs and people use air tools on them.

if you drop the pan you may be able to just turn the shanks of the bolts out with pliers, if they are not bottomed out in their threads, there is no torque on them

Most of the time those bolts will back out by hand once they're loose.

 

If you need to change the fluid, pull the pan and try to work them out with pliers.

 

I've never understood why people put sealer on rubber gaskets. It's rubber, it seals itself.

and when you do a filter job, the filter comes with a gasket.sooooo, i would say either or.but it depends on if you are getting into it next time or a tech....

 

personally, i do not put sealant on the pan.it may last longer,but it is a ************in pain to get off.so i use gaskets if i have to r and r the pan.whatevers.cheers, brian

so what sealer does eveyone use on this? the ultra grey stuff?

 

On the permatex website the ultra grey does not specifically say used for trans pans

This stuff does list tranny pans..."Permatex® Anaerobic Flange Sealant"...they also have a high temp version of same that lists trans pans

 

any experience here?

as far as an oil pan i use permatex ultra copper on cork gasket, both sides. mainly to keep it from carbonizing to the pan

Before you try drillin the bolts out get yourself a small punch with a sharp edge.Then try to tap the remaining threads out by tappin on the outer edge of the threads and hopefully catching some little lip or edge. This has almost always worked for me

Anaerobic sealant is ideal for this situation but RTV will work fine as well. Anaerobic sealant doesn't cure inside the fluid if too much gets squished inside. The RTV will cure inside leaving you a chunk of cured sealant in the works.

 

That's why you'll find the differences in recommendations on labels and from people, folks view that differently. There's nothing quantitative about it, personal preference and doing the job right.

 

Either will work if the job is done properly.

As for the bolts, if there isn't enough thread to get it out with tools, then drill it out with left handed drill bits. That's the best option.

 

EZ outs absolutely suck - but fortunately they will work here only because these are really easy. But it's kind of a dumb option - if EZ outs work then I can tell you with absolutely certainty they'd come out with all sorts of other options. EZ only work if it's easy, so why not put your money in a real tool that can do some hard work.