My truck is a 2002 Nissan Frontier 2WD 4 cylinder engine automatic transmission. I live in Central Virginia, not in the mountains.

The question is really a general question, probably not specific to my vehicle. I was draining and replacing my transmission fluid. I was putting the pan back on, and was tightening the bolts. I was in a hurry, not thinking about what I was doing. I tightened the bolts to much. I broke two bolts, sheared the heads off. All the bolts are in, and tight. (Possibly too tight) I know I need to get the broken ones out. The bolts are so small I wonder if an extractor would work, or if I should just try to drill them out. Obviously I am hoping I will not need to re-thread the holes.

Tomorrow is Easter sunday, I am wondering if I will be able to find replacement bolts. I am out of town, visiting my parents this weekend. It is a 3 hour drive back to my place, there are some hills but not mountains. I know Advanced store will be open, but not sure yet if they will have what I need.

Can I fill the transmission with fluid and drive back home and work on getting the bolts fixed on Monday? Would I be taking a huge risk with my transmission? Certainly don't want to risk my transmission over a couple missing bolts, but would like to not miss too much work on Monday.

Suggestions on how important it is to fix the bolts before I drive it and how to fix the bolts would be great. Do I need to loosen the other bolts, or as long as they are not leaking leave it alone?

Thanks

I'd probably leave it alone if it didn't leak. Are the 2 broken bolts adjacent to each other? That would make that area more prone to leaks. What did you use as a gasket/sealant for the trans pan when you bolted it all back together?

Also, you shouldn't need an extractor... just pull the pan again and you should be able to unthread the broken bolt shanks by hand.

Thanks for the reply. I was able to pull one of the two with an extractor, they were both broken off so low I could not get a tool on them to turn them out by hand. They were not right next to each other, but there was only one good bolt between the broken ones.

I used a rubber gasket and silicone sealant.

It has not been leaking, so I think I am good for now. Maybe the next time I work on the transmission I will try to get the other bolt out. The other bolt started to turn out, but I was sloppy and broke the extractor off in the bolt. I tried to drill another hole for another extractor but could not get the new extractor to grab the bolt. But like I said, no leaks so I will let it go for now.

Thanks again for the help.