can't find the oil plug

I've had the truck o1 tacoma 4x4 for 10 yrs. never tried to do the oil change myself, until today. open the tranny fluid by mistake, never saw red oil. closed it up fast. still cant find the oil plug.
ps. why did toyota label the tranny plug with the letters "oil"?
some pic. would really help

 

the oil plug is a foot in front of the tranny plug... many ppl have done the same. there is a hole in the skidplate

 

there is a peek through near the steering rack that you can see the oil pan and the drain plug, if you need a pic let me know


Ryan

 

because oil goes in the tranny...different kind of oil though.

.

 

thanks, i did see a hole in the skid plate with another bolt, but that one had some red paint on it , like it was a placement mark.

 

ya, a pic would be great

 

I think they should have put a "t" or something else.......

 

ask and ye shall recieve, pay no attention to my cracked washer




the arrow notes which way is forward

 

omg...guess it's not just a 2nd gen thing. i swear, i've been on various car forums for many years, and i've never seen a "i was changing my oil, but opened the tranny drain instead" thread before i joined a tacoma forum.

i thought truck guys were better than this.

no offense to the OP

 

first time oil change, i can see it happening, if we never made mistakes we'd never learn on our own the hard way, off topic but i knew a guy removing his steering wheel but instead of loosening the nut in a downward motion he did it upward , long story short cracks the nut loose, too much leverage and his breaker bar smashes the windshield.


sh*t happens

 

Ok, thanks . doesn't look like any drain plug I've seen before. like I said , I haven't change my own oil in a long time. I'll look for it tomarrow.
ps. I've found the oil filter , looking thru the drivers side wheel space. any easy way to get to it? afterall this maybe the $40 bucks was worth it........(to let them do it)

 

Ummmm, on the 1st gen Taco v6 it's pretty obvious where the tranny and oil drain bolts are. I've never ever heard of anyone mistaking a 1st gen v6 oil drain bolt for a tranny drain bolt, this would be a first for me.

 

Here's a DIY for a 4Runner, but they use the same engine and tranny.

http://www.4runners.org/writeups/oil/index.html

 

thanks, everyone this information was great..........

 

bimmer = BMW car.
beemer = BMW bike.


some people really didnt know this?

 

an oil change is about the most basic car maintience item that can be done. it doesn't get any easier than a single bolt out, an oil filter off, an oil filter on, a drain bolt in, a few quarts of oil.

if you can't do that without messing up, you shouldn't be turning a wrench. period. how hard is it to use some common sense and think....geeze, this bolt ISN'T under the engine block.

perhaps you are defending the OP because you have drained your transmission before.

so here is salute right back at ya

 

Common sense isn't always common.

 

Lets keep on track here, this is a forum to ask questions and discuss topics. vent elsewhere. If you feel the need to have a vent thread go for it so that can get locked, keep informative threads clean.

 

x2, at least shockboy wants to put a little pride into his truck. doing your own oil change defiantly takes longer than jiffy lube or some speedy lube. But you are doing the work and you are taking pride in your truck. Follow the DIY and love your truck. Keep on doing it yourself Also remember to check your transmission oil if some fluid came out you should replace what came out.

Watch this (kinda old) The only thing I would add is after you add the recommended amount of oil start the engine and let idol for a min then turn off and check the oil on the dip stick. The oil filter will take up some oil. Remember to use good oil. I recommend mobil1 and a mobil1 oil filter. Aslo search youtube.com and this site for more diy instructions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL8VnP8mWZY

 

Ive said it before and will say it again. Some people just need a little guidance on how TW works. It doesn't matter if someone here needs advice on how to change a fuse, that's what we are here for. We don't criticize anyone for anything. We are all at different levels of mechanical inclination. So what, he didn't know where the oil plug was, but hey he new when he pulled the tranny plug that something wasn't right. Give him some credit, there was a point in your life that you didn't know where there oil plug was, regardless of how old you were.