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

Going to repost the article regarding transmission filtration.
Good read and reason I run one.



"In nearly 30 years of study, engineers John Eleftherakis and Ibrahim Khalil defined the failure modes of automatics due to contaminants and determined the typical types and allowable amounts of contaminants. The results of those studies have been published in various Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) technical papers since 1990."

"Trans failures come when contaminants decrease the operating efficiency of the internal valves that operate the transmission. The long-term issues are from the abrasive wear of small particles, which causes internal leakage and lower pressures. Larger particles can cause valves to jam outright. Anything that reduces apply pressure allows more clutch slippage. The advent of electronically controlled solenoid valves has made the problem worse because a solenoid is nothing more than an electromagnet that attracts the ferrous contaminants."


https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/129-1002-automatic-transmission-and-power-steering-filters/

 

I plan to add one when I upgrade my trans cooler.

$26 Magnefine 3/8" Magnetic Inline Transmission/Power Steering Filter

https://www.amazon.com/Magnefine-Magnetic-Inline-Transmission-Steering/dp/B0787KWZPS

 

Exactly. And somethings out there sound like snake oil. This isn't one of those. Everything about it make sense.

On the Tacoma the cooler lines are 10 mm. So if you want to used one get the 3/8 inch version.

Some expressed concern that this would somehow reduce line pressure and effect transmission operation. Since its the cooler line it has no relation to operation. Its is a low pressure (8 psi) line that then just dumps back into the pan. And as mentioned in the article its applicable to both the transmission and power steering and i use them in both since as mention there is NO filtration in the power steering at all. This is basically a bypass filter since not all the fluid passes thru it all the time. Only the small portion that is fed off to the cooling line so it can take a while to filter it all. The paper element is rated at 40 micron for all the non ferrous material.
What the magnet does catch is so fine you cant feel any abrasiveness at all.

These were tested and actually have both GM and ford part numbers and are mandated to be used whenever a rebuilt transmission is installed..
I have included pics of my PS install, the material pulled of the filter magnet after a change (recommended 30K miles) and what the internal components of the filter look like.
The original version used a plastic/nylon case that you could unscrew to examine the contents after a change. The new ones as show in my PS install are a sealed stainless steel canister design.

The ISO cleanliness scale is interesting and i have included a better description of how it works since its referred to often in that article



https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/28979/iso-cleanliness-code

 

When the transmission is new its recommended to be installed before the cooler. If more than 5000 mile after the cooler. And if a rebuilt transmission is installed after the cooler as well. This is just so that any material that may have accumulated in the cooler over time wont get past the filter.

 

Managed to get a better focused picture of debris on the pan filter. Fair amount of silver metallic shards. Any opinions what the black material is? Its both light and sticky and non metallic. Maybe the non metallic components of clutch disks ?? (it wasn't RTV)

 

I've been running this one, post-aftermarket cooler, for some time now. At some point I'm going to take it apart and inspect, but so far, so good.

Solid particulate is a major failure mode for hydraulic systems and placing it on the return line to the pan should have negligible affect on operation of the pump and trans (other than keeping it cleaner obviously), so I don't really see a downside other than spending $30 and having to install it (which is far outweighed by the benefit of improved filtration).

 

Kind of hard to tell from the low res picture, but could it be metal? Very fine metallic particulate can appear black.

 

It wasn't picked up by a magnet but that only means it wasn't iron/steel. Could have been aluminum, brass, copper or maybe lead.. And was soft and sticky when I rubbed some between two fingers. i know clutch disks can use various organic/inorganic fibers as part of the material. Too bad i dont have a cheap microscope I could use to get a closer look at the structure.

 

The cooler line is a bleed off the converter and then dumps into the pan. So negligible becomes none at all as far as effect on operation. It has no other purpose as far as transmission operation. If it somehow became blocked you wouldn't notice any change in operation until the ATF temp became to hot.

 

I changed the first one quite early (maybe 5000 miles) since i figured it had a lot of original material to remove which they call type 1 contaminants. From that point on I change them every 30,000 miles. i liked the old nylon cased ones since they were easy to take apart (top where the label is just unscrews). Haven't tried to cut apart one of the new metal cased ones yet. After seeing the results on the old nylon ones I dont know if I will even bother opening one of the new ones or maybe just the first one out of curiosity

 

This is fantastic! I've got the A340F transmission in my 2015 SR5 (2.7L, 4x4). I can't find the part number for the gasket to do this - any recommendations, or just go with FIPG? I'd prefer a pre-formed gasket like in this writeup, but have reservations if there isn't a specific OEM Toyota part for the application.

 

Not sure what you mean about a pre-formed gasket since most if not all the filter kits come with one. Are you thinking of RTV vs a gasket?
I liked the BECK/ARNLEY kit for my 750 trans. Gasket was of course one piece and a rubber material, not paper or cork or rubber/cork combo
And they made the holes in the gasket just small enough that they retain the pan bolts. So you can screw in all the bolts and they will be held there on the pan.
See picture

This is the just one of many for yours. Be sure to confirm that your pan has the same number of holes as the gasket. For some of the kits that were listed for my 750 trans they had the wrong gasket . Lots of other manufactures for this kit

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=478975&cc=3307208&pt=8600&jsn=1084

 

The easiest thing to do is to call your local dealer, provide your VIN, and ask for a part number. Then you’ll know for sure if an FIPG or a solid gasket is required. Then you’ll have a part number to get started with. Who knows what technical requirements drive the one versus the others, but I tend to trust the engineers who designed the system.

 

Thanks babylon5 - that's it exactly, i.e. - should I use the gasket that comes with the filter or use the "orange stuff" from Toyota (

$35 Toyota Genuine Fluid 00295-01281 Formed-in-Place Transmission Gasket - 3.5 oz. Tube

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EDBR8C). My current pan has this FIPG on it, probably from the factory, but I like the idea of the rubber gasket for ease of use - bonus for holding the bolts in place while installing the pan. The link you sent is actually the exact filter/gasket I ended up ordering, so you're spot on! Presumably you've had no issues with leakage?

 

Maybe that orange FIPG is unique to the 340 trans?? My 750 came with one piece gasket originally . And I have been under the truck to do an oil change and grease the u-joints over the last year and its 100% leak free. Went overboard and replaced the original pan bolts with washer head stainless cap screws and the overflow and drain plugs with stainless as well.
Since I also use a magnefine inline filter I only planned to drop and replace the pan filter this one time.

 

Good to hear there are no leaks...now you're putting all sorts of ideas in my head though!

 

Can't help it. If it says stainless I jump on it. One additional reason is that another poster mentioned that with the original pan bolts which has a captured/separate washer it allowed salt corrosion to actually get in between the washer and the bolt. And as a result some of the bolts heads actually snapped off when removed.

And for the plug for the overflow tube it was becoming quite corroded..

I did a lot of caliper measurement of the original pan bolts to replicate the overall length and the washer diameter in the stainless ones i replaced them with.

Not sure if the the 340 uses the same pan bolts/drain plugs but if it does these are the replacements

Pan bolts

$10 uxcell Flanged Button Head Socket Cap Screws, 50 Pcs M6x14mm - 304 Stainless Steel Socket Drive Fasteners Bolts, Fully Thread Machine Screws for Furniture Installation (Silver)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DP2VQVNZ?smid=A1THAZDOWP300U&th=1


Drain and overflow plugs

$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/dp/B0CD65YY3N?th=1


And as for idea's "Ideas are bulletproof" from "V for Vendetta", or in my case
"Ideas are Stainless"

 

Well, everything went relatively well with the transmission pan drop, filter change, etc. I do now find myself experiencing something that a user on another forum explained here: https://www.customtacos.com/threads/auto-trans-fluid-level-madness.159210/

Short version: his truck shifted well except occasionally with some hesitatation in reverse. On the dipstick's "cold" reading it indicated TOO MUCH fluid, but on the "hot" reading, not enough. He found out he had to put in a full 6 quarts of ATF rather than the roughly 5.1 quarts that came out.

Admittedly, I was reading the dipstick cold and getting a "full" reading by that measure, but I've since learned that's merely a guideline indicating the level is sufficient to drive safely and that the hot measure is definitive. At any rate, the truck drives well and shifts cleanly, but I sense some hesitation in reverse, where it will "jump" into that gear and the tires will spin out a bit. It doesn't happen every time, but from reading through these Tacoma World, I'm assuming that the reverse clutches require the most pressure...thus low fluid would show up most obviously in reverse. Let me know if I'm missing something or off base with that assessment!

Another user on that other forum said this:

I'm not sure where you stand, because the 5 quart refill you describe is in between the amounts required for a simple and a total refill on an A340F.
A simple drain and refill (gravity only) should require only somewhere between 1.7 and 2.0 US quarts.
A TOTAL refill (e.g., after tranny removal, disassembly, and reassembly) should require something like 7.6 US quarts.​

I've now got 6 quarts in there and it's still reading "overfull" by the cold measure but "low" by the hot measure. I don't want to put too much ATF in there, but it appears that 6 quarts didn't do the trick, though that seems like a LOT of fluid for a pan drop. Is 7.6 quarts REALLY an accurate measure of the fluid on a pan drop for the A340F?

For the record, here's how I'm checking the fluid level (from the FSM), after a 20 minute drive:

(a) Park the vehicle on a level surface.

(b) With the engine idling and the parking brake applied, shift the selector into all positions from ”P” to ”L”, and then shift into ”P” position.

(c) Pull out the dipstick and wipe off the fluid with a clean rag. Re–insert the dipstick and check that the fluid level is in the HOT range.

(d) Do this check with the fluid at normal driving temperature (70 – 80°C, 158 – 176°F).



I don't have an OBD2 scanner that reads transmission temp, but I would think 20 minutes of driving would be sufficient.

 

Your lucky that you have a dipstick. The fluid level check on the 750 is way more involved.

If i was in your situation I would just wait till the fluid is totally cold and bring the level to the bottom of the cool mark . Then add if required based on hot checks.
And as for temp I can be out for a 45 minute drive at 70+ F and the fluid might hit 150. Now I have the towing package atf cooler so that may a difference since I don't know what you have. It may not be getting as hot as you think so if its at the hot mark and temp is to low it could be too much.

Wait till you have been stuck in traffic and its 90+F out and then do a hot check...

 

Thanks babylon5! I'm not going to add any more just yet, as you've suggested. I may get a scanner that can show ATF temp (an excuse to buy a new toy). If I do, I'll use that to be more precise. For now, the problem is minor and if I'm low it's not by THAT much. I don't have the tow package/trans cooler, so perhaps my fluid will run hot compared to yours.

Either way, thanks again. And I've actually heard the term "dipstick envy" on these forums...so I know I'm lucky (even though it's driving me a little crazy)!