TCM bolt turned but did not come out

jrsavoie · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:34 pm

TCM bolt turned but did not come out.

I was going to change the TCM out for the TCM I sent to Green Diesel for the transmission tune.

Went to loosen the bolt and all it did was turn. It never backed out.

WIll the whole thing come out with the plug?

What are my options?

dh100m · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:53 pm

as you undo bolt pull on the plug as well then undo bolt more it will come out with the plug

jrsavoie · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2017 4:16 pm

dh100m wrote:

as you undo bolt pull on the plug as well then undo bolt more it will come out with the plug

I am assuming the nutsert is broke lose from the TCM. The bolt turns but does not back out at all.

If the bolt is not supposed to back out at all then I am assuming it has pushed the nutsert in.

I was warned about stripping the nutsert when installing - nothing about having this issue when removing

Ceearedeedriver · **Joined:** Fri May 06, 2016 8:44 pm **Posts:** 177

As dh100m says you need to ease out the connector as you back off the screw.

Tip, don't force the screws if you try to remove the TCM from it's mounting bracket as they shear off real easy and are a PITA to drill out.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2017 5:38 pm

Just to try to clarify. The electrical connection to the TCM is held in place by a bolt that presumably goes thru the assembly (connection and some portion of the TCM body) to a threaded something. To remove the electrical connection one must unscrew the bolt and pull the connection off the TCM; when I did mine the bolt came out easily but the connection was extremely tight and required careful wiggling and prying. To reinstall is the reverse of the process BUT if you use the bolt to pull the connection on tight it appears you run the risk of "stripping" the threaded something so the bolt just spins. NOTE I have no clue if the "nut" is simple threads in plastic or a metal nut "captured" in plastic but I do know that the bolt starts spinning before the connection is fully engaged which is why I speculate that something is "stripped".

This problem can be avoided by applying some appropriate lube to the connection and using a combination of pushing the connection on while lightly tightening the bolt.

Bottom line is the problem occurs when the connection is replaced on the TCM. If you later try to remove the connection the bolt just spins but whatever is holding it in place appears to also prevent pulling it out to let you remove the connection. I have speculated that if one can unbolt the TCM base plate from the sidewall and get to the back of things perhaps then the problem can be fixed. However, I have a nasty memory of an ancient LOST post where the owner had to basically destroy the housing of the connection to get it off.

jrsavoie · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2017 7:20 pm

papaindigo wrote:

Just to try to clarify. The electrical connection to the TCM is held in place by a bolt that presumably goes thru the assembly (connection and some portion of the TCM body) to a threaded something. To remove the electrical connection one must unscrew the bolt and pull the connection off the TCM; when I did mine the bolt came out easily but the connection was extremely tight and required careful wiggling and prying. To reinstall is the reverse of the process BUT if you use the bolt to pull the connection on tight it appears you run the risk of "stripping" the threaded something so the bolt just spins. NOTE I have no clue if the "nut" is simple threads in plastic or a metal nut "captured" in plastic but I do know that the bolt starts spinning before the connection is fully engaged which is why I speculate that something is "stripped".

This problem can be avoided by applying some appropriate lube to the connection and using a combination of pushing the connection on while lightly tightening the bolt.

Bottom line is the problem occurs when the connection is replaced on the TCM. If you later try to remove the connection the bolt just spins but whatever is holding it in place appears to also prevent pulling it out to let you remove the connection. I have speculated that if one can unbolt the TCM base plate from the sidewall and get to the back of things perhaps then the problem can be fixed. However, I have a nasty memory of an ancient LOST post where the owner had to basically destroy the housing of the connection to get it off.

That last little bit is the part I did not want to hear. Does anybody have any good links to the issue? I never found anything searching

joe_ · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:08 pm

Worst case scenario, can you drill the head of the bolt?

papaindigo · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2017 11:01 am

I doubt the bolt can be drilled; it will probably just spin unless one can grab the edges with needle nose vice grips to hold it in place. If so you might be able to drill the head off by gradually increasing bit size. AFTERTHOUGHT - I wonder if you could center mark the bolt head; then use a combination of a socket and vice grips to hold the bolt; insert bit thru socket and carefully find the center mark then drill - not sure how well that would work but it might be better that cutting off.

After a bit of poking around I found that the retaining nut is in a silly plastic thing on the front of the TCM plug in so my notion of access from the back is a no go. Geordi suggests (I cannot find that old LOST post I mentioned above) carefully cutting the head off the bolt with a dremel cutoff wheel. There is not much clearance from the TCM pins (see viewtopic.php?f=5&t=28916&start=20) so you might want to gently cut into the plastic around the bolt so you can see what you are doing before trying to cut off the bolt head.

NOTE the bolt really is not needed to retain the electrical plug as it's a really tight fit.

jrsavoie · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2017 1:28 pm

Does anybody know of a spare TCM plug or harness from a part out? Or of a current part out?

Just in case I cause more damage? How hard would it be to switch the pins from one plug to another?

What tool would you need for these pins?

How hard is the whole harness to switch out?

I drill crooked as @$%# anymore. I used to drill really straight. I don't know if it's the trifocals, aRM WEAKNESS OR What, but I have a heck of a time drilling straight anymore

TCM bolt turned but did not come out

Who is online