I am trying to remove the transmission drain bolt and it will not budge. I figured I better stop pulling when I broke my ratchet. Any suggestions on how to free it up? Thanks

 

Try using a breaker bar on it. It should give you the leverage you need. Don't try it if you fear that you will break it. Take it to a mechanic and let them deal with it.

 

A breaker bar should do the job, but if you haven't got a torque wrench yet, I suggest you get one instead of a breaker bar. It will pretty much act in the same way (it's a solid metal piece so it is very unlikely that you will ever break it, plus it's longer than most 1/2 rachet so gives you more leverage) but it has a gauge that shows how much torque you are applying to the bolt that you are trying to tighten or loosen. You can get an inexpensive beam one for around 20 dollar. hope this helps.

 

Whoa - torque wrenches arent for loosening bolts last time I checked. Can you say "Precision instrument?" The handles are long so you can apply a lot of torque without a lot of effort (check out howstuffworks.com for info on tht kind of stuff).

In my 95 Civic (RIP) the bolt to drain my transmission was also "securly fastened." When I called Honda, the Tech told me it was common for the bolts to sieze. I had the bumper off of my car so I was able to put my foot on the wheel, lean back and pull pull pull.

Basically you've gotta roll up your sleeves, brace yourself and pull. Maybe your socket was old/poor quality? The socket my friend has spins when you pull it too hard so that might be your problem.

If all else fails I guess you could pay the $40 to get it drained/refilled.

 

If it is used to tighten bolts, shouldn't it also be able to loosen bolts? Also beam type torque wrenches are pretty simple, rugged and reliable. Maybe you shouldn't use one that has a dial on it or one that *clicks* at a certain torque setting as they are more delicate but I don't see any reason why a beam-type torque wrench cannot be as a substitute for a breaker bar?

I could be wrong but that's what I think.

 

I agree with FantaEin, torque wrenches are made to torque, not loosen things. I would think that using a torque wrench this way could also whack the calibration on it. I have a craftsman digitorque and I wouldn't use it to loosen even though it can. Use a breaker bar or an impact gun. :yes:

 

Ok, I did some research and came up with two conflicting answers. Some torque wrench manufactures claim that their products can be used to loosen bolts while others warn customers not to using their products to loosen bolts that have been tightened. What I noticed though, is that many (if not all) of the beam-type wrench manufactures claim it can be used to loosen. One of the pros of beam-type torque wrench is its ruggedness and it remains accurate due to its simple construction. But I guess the safest bet would be a breaker bar.