I have a 96 SE with manual transmission..
Today was my 2nd attempt to change the transmission oil...after I got 2 WRONG bolts to drain the oil...finally I got the right one...but the bolt looks pretty rusty and I have to use an open ended wrech to open it...but I was affraid that the bolt head will be broken and I won't be able to open it at all...

Have any body experience this?..
What did you guys do?...just try to open it?

Also...for the fill plug...do I have to use a sealant for it?...

Thanks...
Oh yah...BTW..I DID try to search about this problem..and couldn't find any thread about it...

What's the harm in trying? If you can't get it open, you can't get it open. You won't be stuck halfway through the job or anything. It really shouldn't be on there that tight and you can spray the whole area with something like WD-40. Maybe going out and buying a cheap closed end wrench that fits might work better if you're really worried.

You don't have to put any sealant on the fill plug, but you might want to loosen that one first before you try the drain plug to make sure that one comes out as well.

DO NOT use an open end wrench. The box side is perfered but your best off with a descent socket. Those bolts can be on there pretty tight.

My 95 had the female square end for a 1/2" ratchet. Didn't need any socket. It was a ***** to loosen. Took me AND my neighbor. And I have a bit of strength and weight to throw at it. Good luck.

The drain bolt is at the back end of the tranny. Definitely use a socket. You will know you have found the correct drain bolt because;

1. When you look from the perspective inside your car, the bolt is pretty much under the shifter.
2. When you are under the car, you will find that the drain bolt is blocked by a big black bar that acts as a support for the tranny when you row aggressively thru the gears.

When I opened my drain bolt, I actually loosened the bolt that holds that big bar, just enough so I could use very larger flat head screwdriver to bend the black bar out of the way so I could get a socket onto the drian bolt. EZ after that.

Now, the fill bolt. All you need is a 1/2" rachet. That's it. No sockets. The fill plug does not need any sealant at all because it is facing up, and it's a pretty thickly threaded screw once you get it open. If anything, I might concern myself with the drain plug, but I didn't.

Once I was finished with the tranny job I thought I would never need tha 1/2" ratchet again. It's big. But I've found it very handy for getting at small bolts in tight spaces that needed HUGE torque to get them open. The big ratchet has been very very useful for that

Hope this helps.

DW

Thank you...
It's really helpfull..
I'll try it this saturday...



Andy