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the tranny in my ram is pretty much toast. hell even three of the threads for the pan are stripped from me trying to work on it but what started as just a bad solenoid pretty much destroyed it. someone put the gasket on wrong before I bought the truck. idiot. it goes on the valve body.
so I lost my last job because I didn't have a vehicle because I was doing scaffolding and working 7 days a week about 70-80 hours. the company was also poorly run and I was walking a lot on top of that to get to work. job sucked anyway whatever.
they weren't gonna give me time to get my truck fixed anyway but it wouldn't have mattered because all three mechanics I got referenced too who were "honest " never showed up or ghosted me even though I was gonna pay them. so after having the truck sit for 4 months I decided to get someone to help me seal the pan up because it kept leaking overtime I did it. I figured may as well try the gasket because I bought a new solenoid and governor and filter for it.
so he comes over does his **** , a mobile mechanic from craigslist, actually lives close to me and tells me its gonna keep leaking because of the stripped threads. dude felt bad for me and knocked off some money off the price.
so I'm at loss what I should do. the truck is good for it age , not too many miles, good rear end and its got a 360 so the engine will last. I want to keep it but I don't know if I should rebuild what I have or just get a junk yard tranny or get a built tranny.
a used reliable Toyota off craigslist around here is gonna cost more than fixing the truck and it is 4x4 so I'm gonna keep it. not a rust bucket but rough around the edges because its a 17 year old dodge. didn't pay much for it anyway.
I have 490$ in my pocket and I'm trying to sell all my expensive ass guitars and gear while looking for another dead end job. I'm really at rock bottom and have been for awhile. my family definitely isn't helping by adding more stress.
oh and no I can't buy a vehicle from a friend or have a buddy look at it and help me for free. so once again even though I want too its a better option to fix the truck. buying another used vehicle even a 200k Toyota is a another big gamble.
cheapest tranny I've found is one about an hour away from me but the guy doesn't know how many miles is on it because it was rebuilt. atleast thats what he says. he's says it "looks" new with a lot of new parts so idk.
what would you guys do in my position ?
Your post is kind of hard to follow, but it sounds like you got the solenoid fixed and now the issue is just that the pan is leaking because it can't be tightened due to some stripped bolts. Am I reading that right?
If so, how bad is it leaking? A quart a week? Every couple of days? Or does the fluid pour out as fast as you pour it in? Regardless, if this is the only thing keeping you from driving this truck, you need to use a little ingenuity and get that leak stopped. Use silicone, duct tape, shrink wrap, JB Weld, Bondo, chewing gum, whatever it takes. No, it's not the right way to fix it; but when you need wheels and you've got no money you do what you've got to do. Once you're back to work you can worry about getting a different vehicle or getting this one fixed right.
You can get Heli-Coil or similar thread repair kits, come with their own drill and tap. If you are disinclined to do the deed, most any shop would be glad to get such a straight-forward job.
Make sure you are using the correct MoPar fluid, MoPar transolas don't like generic or the wrong type of fluid. They are funny that way.
You can use the next pan pull as an excuse do drain and fill again using the right fluid (You didn't mention what fluid you used).
Here is what might work. Take a pan bolt to the hardware store and match up the thread and buy bolts about an inch longer. Measure the hole depth first to see how it compares to the old bolts. The new bolts need thread all the way to the head of the bolt. Also buy nuts that fit the new bolts, washers and high temp, strong thread lock. Put a nut on each bolt and spin it down to the bolt head. Get your pan cleaned up and gasket ready. Put the thread lock on each bolt and run the bolts in and leave the pan hanging on the longer, new bolts. Don't forget a washer on each. Tighten just to where they are just barely biting. With the longer bolts, you will possibly reach more thread depth than the previous bolts where they stripped. Once all the bolts are in and just barely tight, let them sit over night for the threadlock to dry and solidify the bolts.
Just barely put any pressure on the bolts when they bite. Let the threadlock work and dry in place. The next day, very lightly and carefully tighten the nuts down on the bolts to the pan, snugging the washer up to the pan. Use a bit of loctite on each to hold them. Doesn't take hardly any pressure to seal the pan. Again let it dry for several hours. The extra bolt length sticking out is no problem. If it doesn't work, you can always remove the bolts and re thread the holes, but there is a good chance there is some thread depth in the holes passed where the thread stripped because the original bolts are usually pretty short. If you find that the hole depth is about a quarter inch more than the length of the old bolts, you got it made. I have used this method on various similar issues and it usually works.
Don't know if this is a realistic solution or not, but could you re-tap the holes and install bolts that are one size bigger?
They should sell the tap and new bolts at just about any hardware store. Easy peesy lemon squeezy?
Yep.
It's not really the *right* way to fix a stripped bolt... but it's definitely the easiest way and will work just fine if you do it right.
Usually I'll go up half a size when possible (because metric and standard sizes are kinda in between each other in most cases).
Let's say you've stripped out a 6mmX1.0 bolt. It just so happens that you can tap that stripped hole out to a 1/4-28 standard bolt with minimal drilling and material removal. Or let's say you strip out a 10mmX1.5 bolt. Just so happens that that hole will tap out nicely to a 7/16-14 or a 7/16-20 with minimal work.
Not that there's anything wrong with heli-coils. If installed properly they're really the right way to do the job... and sometimes just plain necessary. But MOST shade-tree mechanics will screw up a heli-coil installation. No offense intended... that's just been my experience. Tapping out the hole to the next larger (half) size is just quicker and easier when you're not dealing with some critical, highly stressed bolt.
Your truck should have a 46RE transmission. Most of the pan bolt holes don't bottom out in the casting, they go all the way through the mounting flange. If these are the ones that are stripped all you have to do is replace the bolts with longer ones that go all the way through the flange and put a nut on the back side.
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