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

babylon5 · Jun 14, 2025 at 9:31 AM

ddaytaco said: ↑

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)!
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As an alternative and I get the impression that you also like toys is the scangauge. You can see hundreds of things then I bought one for the need to know fluid temp when checking the fluid level on the 750 plus i have configured one screen to act as a trip computer with distance , miles to empty, liters remaining etc...

RockinU · Jun 14, 2025 at 11:59 AM

ddaytaco said: ↑

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.
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I just finished the second pan drop filter change in the last 3 weeks. First one was 4.1L from the pan/strainer, the one today was 4.3L.

Both A750F so not the same, but makes me think 6 from yours is quite a bit.

ddaytaco · Jun 14, 2025 at 3:46 PM

RockinU said: ↑

I just finished the second pan drop filter change in the last 3 weeks. First one was 4.1L from the pan/strainer, the one today was 4.3L.

Both A750F so not the same, but makes me think 6 from yours is quite a bit.
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I would have thought the same, and really would have thought I was going crazy if I didn't see that other post elsewhere with the same issue and the word "madness" in the title.

I just checked it cold - it's exactly in the "cold" range on the stick. But it's going to be very hot this week...I'll drive in some traffic during that and check it hot after. We'll see...

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

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

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