My husband has an automatic 2016 Ram 1500 with about 95K miles. Like the title says, the tranmission drain plug is stripped and all three places that he has taken his truck to are unwilling to mess with it. He would like to get the transmission fluid checked and/or replaced. What should he do?
If that is the case, the logical solution is to replace the pan. Check the pricing for OEM and generic replacement pans and OEM gaskets... If you have been happy with it. Some shops will offer to rethread the hole, be careful on their "cheap solution" unless it is a recommended action by the manufacturer.
If regular drain and fills of the transmission fluid have been performed, you should be safe. If extended distances have taken place, a good shop will save your fluid and refill it with the old, gritty fluid to prevent slipping.
Cool, thanks for the help!
Please update once it is resolved.
I am a bit myopic because my family is 100% Toyota, but Toyota has a parts website and the dealers set their own discount rates. Many times, buying from those competitive dealerships will sell you OEM for less than the AutoZones, O'Reillys, Rockports sell cheap Chinese junk... If your part of the country has a lot of junk yards, that might be a big help. BUY OEM GASKETS AND FLUID (if you're replacing fluid)
Good luck on a good solution.
On my 98 4Runner, the first time I was changing transmission fluid, I stripped the drain plug bolt when doing a drain and fill.
Instead of replacing the pan, I dropped the pan, tapped new threads, and put in a new drain bolt, which I never took out again.
I kept it for 10 years and 130k miles after that with no issues. The next time I wanted to change the transmission fluid, I did it from the transmission lines in the radiator.
