2011 Camry Drain Plug too tight! Dang you Toyota.

[JeffKeryk]

So I'm doing the last service to the Camry in prep to give it to the needy family...Simple trans spill-and-fill.
The 24mm fill plug was pretty tight, but no biggie.
The 6mm drain plug was another story. The undercarriage is spotless, but I cleaned out the hex plug for good measure.
Using a 6mm Snap On key, the (soft?) plug metal fatigued; I pressed up even harder but still stripped it.

Guess it goes into a shop unless you have any guidance... And no, I don't know the business end of a welder. Ha!

Thanks in advance.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I’ve been in this situation before as have many techs at my shop. What we do is find a bolt extractor to fit over the circumference of it and hammer it on there and take it off like that. I’m assuming it’s too far gone to hammer the bit in and get it to turn? Just be careful not to damage the pan hammering of course. And make sure you’re able to get a new plug in a timely manner. We don’t stock them at my dealership and can never find one locally so I’d get one coming just in case.

 

[millerbl00]

14 Years old it seized. not manufactures fault...

 

[AKhan87]

So I'm doing the last service to the Camry in prep to give it to the needy family...Simple trans spill-and-fill.
The 24mm fill plug was pretty tight, but no biggie.
The 6mm drain plug was another story. The undercarriage is spotless, but I cleaned out the hex plug for good measure.
Using a 6mm Snap On key, the (soft?) plug metal fatigued; I pressed up even harder but still stripped it.

Guess it goes into a shop unless you have any guidance... And no, I don't know the business end of a welder. Ha!

Thanks in advance.

I just experienced this on my 2018 Lexus ES350 (16/17 were good) and I found the perfect solution, it worked like a CHARM.

buy and use this set, it will work as it did for me.

https://a.co/d/3WNrqk6

 

[AKhan87]

14 Years old it seized. not manufactures fault...

terrible design to use a hex bolt here...

 

[HyundaiAbuser]

14 Years old it seized. not manufactures fault...

It's substantially undersized for the state that we find them in on the used market. I have had success taking a punch and giving it a vigorous tap. I also had success using a large screw extractor and if all else fails i have taken a cutoff wheel (or recip saw) and making a notch in the plug to allow a chisel to grab better.

an afterthought but if you have some high quality channel locks and an additional pair of pliers i've had success tightening the adjustment screw on the plug and getting it to turn. They sit pretty flush with the pan but with a bit of heat this worked on a friends 2010 with 215k on it.

 

[The Critic]

That plug is very soft. Try using a RBRT 6mm or hammering in a Torx.

And please don't use hex keys to break tight fasteners loose -- that's how this happens.

 

[AKhan87]

And please don't use hex keys to break tight fasteners loose -- that's how this happens.

100%

 

[LazyDog]

I would take car to the dealer and ask them to loosen the plug

 

[Trav]

That plug is very soft. Try using a RBRT 6mm or hammering in a Torx.

And please don't use hex keys to break tight fasteners loose -- that's how this happens.

Yep, bang a Torx socket in there and use a ratchet.

 

[Dino01]

This style as mentioned above has always been my go to for this kind of problem

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The filter was so tight on my Focus for the first oil change that I was thinking I was going to have to unbolt the oil filter housing from the block and buy a new one.

 

[Danno]

This style as mentioned above has always been my go to for this kind of problem

Its a hex plug, how would these work with a hex plug?

 

[researcher]

I just experienced this on my 2018 Lexus ES350 (16/17 were good) and I found the perfect solution, it worked like a CHARM.

buy and use this set, it will work as it did for me.

https://a.co/d/3WNrqk6

just had to say THANK YOU for this link!! have the same dumb 10mm hex drain bolt on the trans for my Scion tC. I have a regular hex head bolt ready to go (from a Lexus) but I was worried if a regular hex head socket would not strip it but now I don't have to worry about that.

You saved me a lot of time, already bought it!

 

[JeffKeryk]

Is there a round Torx 6mm that works on soft metal fastener with a shallow hole?

I think I read somewhere the hex size should be slightly larger than the bolt's shank diameter or something like that. Regardless, if a Snap On hex socket is not sufficient, it is a bad design.

 

[Nukeman7]

This style as mentioned above has always been my go to for this kind of problem

It won't work on the Camry's transmission drain plug which has a round circumference, not a hex shape.

 

[HyundaiAbuser]

Its a hex plug, how would these work with a hex plug?

get one large enough to go around the outside of the plug

 

[AutoMechanic]

Its a hex plug, how would these work with a hex plug?

It’s a circular plug with the hex in the middle. These work fantastic in those applications. They will dig into the sides and twist it off. Same as a regular bolt basically. I’ve used these several times in this situation.

 

[D60]

Astro also makes a hex with an eccentric at the end, effectively making for two hex pieces that rotate non-concentric to one another. Theoretically this allows it to bind in the hole.

TBH the very few times I've used them they don't work great, but I still like having them in my arsenal. Here I agree that Torx is probably the best option.

Nearly guaranteed to be successful is LH drill bits. If you can figure the thread pitch you can know minor diameter and if you step up without exceeding that, 99% chance the plug spins off with one of the drill bits. As you drill it relieves pressure on the threads.

 

[Dino01]

It’s a circular plug with the hex in the middle. These work fantastic in those applications. They will dig into the sides and twist it off. Same as a regular bolt basically. I’ve used these several times in this situation.

Yep same, they will likely bite in and totally chew it up and it’ll need replacing, but it should have enough grip to get it off