drip, drip, drip

replaced tranny fluid over the weekend and was hoping to fix the drip from the drain bolt at the same time.. read up on past posts and found that someone had used pipe dope similar to that used natural gas lines. so off to the hardware store i went and i coated the threads and put it back together, filled it up and went for a ride...... well the next morning when i checked the drip is still there... I'm open for suggestions as to what i can use to stop it from dripping.

Have you tried Teflon tape?

A soft copper washer might help too.

I've used Permatex thread sealant with good results.

<http://www.neverseezproducts.com/threadseal.htm>

I will suggest using teflon tape and pipe dope. With brass in stainless that was the only way we could get pipe threads to seal. Steel in aluminum shouldn't be that bad, so I imagine there is a damaged thread or crack in the housing that is forming a direct path from inside to outside. Check the plug to make sure it is in reasonable shape. You can't use a copper washer, since there is no head to seal against. The pipe threads are tapered and depend on metal to metal interference for sealing. Longitudinal stratches in either thread can be a problem.

I just bolted my transmission to my block. I am going to go use teflon tape right now to hopefully avoid this problem in my future.

Actually Dave you can use copper washers - I have them on mine to stop a leak it had you just make sure they fit the slight recess and all will be well.