I have installed hundreds of MH Tranny pans and diff covers without ever seeing any bolts fall out.On high mileage trucks we actually see some worn out threads in tranny cases.A helicoil will fix them just fine.Even Napa has their own heli coil kits that come with the drill,tap,install tool and inserts.
I have had a few dyi guys call up and tell me how they pulled threads out of the pan using a torque wrench..................remember not all torque wrenches are accurate.

Bob

 

I'm going to try running a tap in there first, and yes, after looking at the MH directions online they are 5/16" bolts, cant trust an old thread guage at a hardware store.

I wonder if someone was trying to steal my pan and just didnt finish...

 

Funny you should mention that, on one of the other diesel sites there is a story of a guy that had his transmission pan (stock one) stolen from his Ford. He linked his alarm to a set of air horns, and it went off, but by the time he got to the truck, they had made off with his pan. The kicker is when the Cop made it to take his report, he gave him a ticket for the air horns. However, they caught the guys that stole his pan (he was found underneath a truck in the breakdown lane of a highway installing the stolen one), and the Judge threw out his ticket for the air horns.

Additionally, I've found some torque wrenches are just not calibrated right. I actually had to file a claim against a torque wrench company after installing my first Mag-hytec, since it wasn't calibrated right and snapped the bolts off when I was installing the diff covers. I had to send the torque wrench (which I had bought specifically for this job) back to the company,and they tested it and found it to be outside of tolerances. Took many months to get my money for everything, but they did eventually pay up....

 

Medium strength threadlocker from Loctite might be a good choice. To my knowledge the pan bolts are 5/16th standard thread bolts.
Recomend use the MOPAR reusable gasket. It has inserts that make it difficult to overtighten. JMHO of course.

 

a buddy of mine had the same issue...ie lost 4 pan bolts and the others had loosened, loctite d them and haven't had a problem since, except for having the tranny lines rub together and create a nasty pinhole leak...