My tranny oil pan will not stay torqued. I just replace the gasket when I replace the filter. I torqued it made sure all bolts were the same, a week later noticed some fluid leaking and sure enough the bolts were loose.

Any thoughts?????

What about lock tight?

Thanks in advance.

Possibly the threads were stripped from a previous owner, or, there was fluid on the threads and/or bolts that went unnoticed when retightening and caused the bolts to loosen. Just a thought.....

All the threads looked fine. The bolts tighten down just fine. I'm going to check them again (or look for leaks) this weekend.

I experienced the same problem when I changed my tranny fluid and filter for the first time in high school (about 9 years ago). Now, I put a dab of either Blue or Black RTV sealant on the threads of each of the bolts before I reinstall them. After torquing to spec, they stay tight until the next fluid and filter change.

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 240 Wagon, 248k miles.

What is the torque specs for those bolts? I'm about to do my tranny fluid, change the filter and gasket. Just want to make sure I tighten it down right.

My Bently Manual says 30-39 inch lbs.

you don't really need to torque them to spec if you can guess fairly close to them being all similarily tight. I, of hand do not know the spec, and when I did mine I did not use a T-wrench or specs, I tightened them all equally and usually go snug on all, then another 1/4-1/2 turn on each, always double check to make sure they are all tight.

RTV or a good Dealer gasket bonder works well. RTV is much cheaper and putting them on the holes for the screws will more than likely solve your problem, trouble is that if you have to pull the whol pan back off, you need a good gasket sealer to go all the way around, in a sense compensating for a new gasket since the one you have on there has already been crushed. Allow RTV about 15 min to set before you bolt the pan back on, this will give you a better seal.

good luck
chuck!
--
'88 244 174K, '87 BMW 325e 180K (used to feed a '84 245, '84 244, '85 744)

I've been buying the Tranny kits they sell at Napa, and they're providing a rubber pan gasket in the kit (along with a replacement strainer and strainer gaskets). The rubber gaskets are impervious to tranny fluid saturation and I can feel free to remove the pan again. -however, I do replace the gasket during the next fluid change since the heat and fluids start to break down the rubber over time.

Regarding the torque specs for a transmission pan, I know it's only a few foot pounds (like 5), but I typically go with 10 to 15 or so for safety with a progressive tightening sequence. -and then another quick pass across them to make sure that they're even.

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 240 Wagon, 248k miles.