I just installed the engine/trans. In a drunken stupor brought on by working on this restoration too long, I loosened the intermediate plate plug (bolt) thinking I was draining the oil. In my defense, I remembered where the actual drain plug was before taking out the I.P. plug all the way. The problem is that the I.P. plug would not tighten, nor now I cannot get it out either. I guessing the threads stripped. Anyone experience this? Dr. Evil perhaps?

Thanks for any ideas.

Dennis

That plug is not of importance. If you get a leak from it, then you will need to address it. If you pull with vice grips while unscrewing you should be able to extract the bolt. Then you can re-tap, seal, it as necessary. That is just where the stud screws in for the throttle bell crank used on 914/6 and 911/12.

Thanks for your reply. I have already tried your suggestions and could not get it to come out. It's like trying to pull out a tooth. I did not get real aggressive thinking I was forgetting about some set screw or ? I will now get more "violent". When that plug comes out, there will be a spring and a ball correct? I believe the trans is in neutral.

If its not leaking just leave it alone! I stripped mine as well and found that the screw is something like M14x1.5? and a re-thread kit for that size around $125! So instead I tried (embarrassingly) jb weld and quik-steel which appeared to work until you engage first or reverse which applies pressure to the ball and spring shooting the retaining nut out. I bought a 901 for $150 and ended up rebuilding my trans using that plate. What a total mess.

Yikes! Did you have a hard time getting the plug out?

Oh, you messed up THAT plug. On some plates there is a plug on the side. If on the side, you are fine. If on the bottom then certain doom awaits. I have intermediate plates if you need. Much cheaper than $125, but you do need to do a hefty disassemble to change it.

Let me know how I can help.

Well, the head of the bolt (14mm) wasn't rounded so I gave it a hard turn with a socket and the bolt came out along with the threads of the intermediate plate. If that happens then atleast you have Dr. Evil who can supply a plate but as he said at that point its a whole tear down and dealing with the bearings in the plate alone is a PITA. Hopefully you don't have to go this route. Good luck!

S**t!

Yeah, the main problem is that the bolt only has 3 or 4 rows of threads

Click to view attachment

so if you look at the pic of the threads in the plate there are only 2 rows where the threads are missing, but this is more or less the "sweet spot" where the bolt holds in

Click to view attachment

If I had to do it over again I would just buy the damn tap and die kit for $125, then I wouldn't have to rebuilt the whole trans. You should just be able to re-thread it from under the car, push a rubber vacuum port plug into the hole, drill for the helicoil, pull the rubber plug out with tweezers, install helicoil (or ez-lok thread inserts which Ive used with good results), install ball, spring, bolt..then it should be as good as new.

Best of luck.

The main problem is over torquing Once it is seated, it is seated.

I think that you can use a spark plug thread-sert to repair that. Worth a try and you should be able to get one at AutoZone.

I bought a drill and helicoil kit for this exact scenario awhile back, but it is a bit of a pain to do. I tried it on a junk intermediate plate and wasn't happy with that one when done.

I think the problem is that the torque spec for this bolt is quite low. People do it by hand and really crank it down and strip the threads in the intermediate plate.

Richard

(Edit: Mike beat me to it!)

You might want to consider a time-sert. Much easier than heli-coils. I've used them from spark plug holes to main case suds, to stripped out drain plugs.

Click to view attachment

Do not use a helicoil.

Look for "thread repair" at AutoZone. They have the full insert for a 14mm sparkplug. I am not sure the thread pitch matches.

Thanks a lot for all of your suggestions. I cannot get the plug out pulling down on it with a vice grip while unscrewing it so I decided to remove the tranny (4 days in the car) and work on it then. You all have given me a lot to consider and HOPE. Thanks again.

Dennis