How to: drop, clean, and reinstall the 2nd Gen transmission pan and filter

I don’t really give two shits if they’re made of aluminum, copper, steel, or pixie dust, and neither does anyone else on this thread. I answered your question about why I think crush washers might be made of different materials regardless of what those materials are, no doubt there are plenty of other reasons. It’s all speculation anyway, if you really wanna know, ask Toyota engineering.

Now we’re gonna drop it and move on so this thread remains useful to people who are doing the fluid and filter replacements.

 

This was the only reason the thread continued....

 

After having it all apart to do the pan drop the suggestion to drop the drain plug torque from 21 ft-lbs to 15 ft-lbs (which is the same as the Overflow plug) makes a lot of sense
Both are M10 X 1.5. The thread length is the same. The Diameter of the surface that touches the pan is the same and they even use the same gasket.. For all intents they are identical.

You can actually interchange their places. While I had the pan off I checked the internal part that the drain plug threads into and at least on my pan its steel .

So I will be sticking to the 15lbs setting. Seems to work just fine.

Looking up the chart the tightening torque for electrically zinc plated M10 is exactly 15 ft/lbs (for class 5.6 bolt)

If you are looking for something different I saw these on Amazon. Stainless M10 X 1.5 and 5mm hex head and come with and use copper washer. And since its a 5 pack you can share with a fellow Taco owner...
If i had seen then before I would have replaced both on my drain pan. The original overflow plug is rusting quite badly.
And they would go along nicely with the stainless bolts holding the pan in now...

And if you are the only one working on your Tacoma you wont have any trouble knowing which is drain and which is overflow .....

$12 5PCS Standard M10x1.5 Thread 304 Stainless Steel Inner Hex Round Head Oil Drain Plug/Pipe Fitting with Copper Washer - Universal Fit For Automotive,Car,Bike,Motocycle,ATV,UTV,Industrial-SHINTONES

https://www.amazon.com/Standard-M10x1-5-Thread-Stainless-Fitting/dp/B0CD65YY3N?crid=3UD3HB7PWVYHQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DbU6cr86ecCNzgoaUnLD49Ulfo4NfVTdbdoWb_UGMnzGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.F9pZHGLs5aJbcr5mY3iQem2Pb1Hq819s-OR9xR5Z1Ag&dib_tag=se&keywords=Standard-M10x1-5-Thread-Stainless-Fitting+copper&qid=1714996112&sprefix=standard-m10x1-5-thread-stainless-fitting+copper%2Caps%2C57&sr=8-1&th=1


And thanks to the author of the original thread
Hook78
I printed off and had this handy with me while I the completed job and went back to it many times when I needed that particular torque setting along the way.

 

After a weeks worth of driving I did a quick crawl under to make sure everything was leak free...
Here is a pic of the finished job with the stainless button head pan bolts and the stainless over flow plug.
Will replace the drain plug at the next drain and fill since I received the stainless versions after I had completed the fill and fluid level check. With the fluid still cool I was able to replace the overflow plug with the engine running and didn't lose any. The old overflow plug was rusting quite badly.

 

For those that have taken the opportunity to open/inspect the old filter, how did you get it apart? Just pried it apart at the folded seams or maybe tin snips? Don't want to grind it of course since this will just introduce more metal particles and make it impossible to determine which are which.

 

I’ve always replaced mine with an aftermarket kit mostly because it includes the rubber pan gasket. I only visually look at the screen through the port holes on the filter and never take it apart. If you’re going to reuse it or buy a new one, I’d say just visually look at the condition of the screen thru the filter holes without pulling it apart.

 

Same here. No need to take the old one apart

 

No disagreement there. In my case though I have the time and just want to have a good look since its the first filter and would be interesting to see what it caught from day 1 up to now.
That's why my question was "how do you" rather that "should I"

 

Trying to remember the geometry of the filter. Does it take the fluid inside before sending it through the screen? Or is the screen right over the pickup?

 

300k and never done this, AM I GOING TO DIE?

 

Unfortunately yes, I wish you the best with what time you have left

 

Please dont wish. It isnt fair.

 

Screen mesh is sandwiched inside the housing from what I recall.

 

Yes, and bottom panel is sort of folded/crimped along edges to top panel. Think of the metal on the bottom of the doors. From the looks of it I will I see if I can get a screwdriver and pry apart that seam all the way around. Metal looks to thick to use tin snips

 

Locktite isn't required for filter bolts?

 

No, I’ve never used it the many times I’ve done it.

 

Had the time so decided to dissect the OEM filter. Came apart with maybe 5 minutes effort. Its just a folded metal seam you can fold back and separate the parts.
No visible large chunks in the filter screen itself but holding it up to the light you can see a definite distribution of metal particles as well as some black material that I couldn't identify that was not iron (non magnetic).. Seeing that the screen is supposedly between 50-100 micron i am glad it did its job. But also glad I have the magnefine in cooler loop as well since I certainly do want to catch the iron particles smaller than 50 micron (spec says the magnet will catch down to 5 microns).

 

How much metal sludge was on your magnets when you dropped the pan?

 

Very little sludge on pan magnets. I credit the small volume to the fact I started using the magnefine at around 100 miles and it caught quite a bit.

 

Ah gotcha. I’ve never heard of an inline filter like that but seems like a great idea.