Transmission Dipstick Tube (leak)

Hi Guys!
I noticed some tranny fluid on the ground under my 2002 Auto Prerunner. Couldn't for the life of me figure out where the leak was coming from so I took it into Toyota who said it appears to be coming from the "dip stick/fill tube" seal that is connected to the transmission.

They ordered me a replacement seal, cost is about $6. Is this something that is easily replaced or should I expect to run into complications. I always do minor work to my own vehicles and the dealership wants almost $200 in labour to replace this $6 part!

If it's extremely tough to get at, I may take it to a general auto repair shop to see what they can do.

Anyone else have any experience with this?
Thanks!

 

are you talking about where the tube off the pan meets the one in the engine bay? If it is a 4 banger its two bolts that hold the tube on and the v6 is one bolt. Take out the dipstick and then unbolt the tube. Replace the oring and put a bit of grease on it and install back in place. Just don't cram that thing on the tube going to the trans pan, you don't want to mess that one up. Probably a 10 minute job.

 

Easy, Easy, Easy

 

It's actually the 6 cyl. Wow, I don't know why the dealership would quote me $180 for 10 minutes of work. That's why I was doubting myself.

That said, after removing the bolt how is the tubes connected? Are they threaded? Or just press fit on?

What did you say not to cram? I didn't quite understand that part :/
Do you mean dont cram the top part of the tube assembly into the bottom?

 

Press fit with an o-ring seal. Lube the new o-ring.

 

it's just stuffed into the pan tube like putting two straws together. main reason not to force the tube in is that if you damage the lower section of the tube you usually have to replace the transmission pan. You will be amazed how you save your self 180 smacks for something that barely gets your hands dirty.

 

Or you can just put a bead of silacone around where the two come together. That what I did.

 

Thanks so much for the responses!

 

Hi, I also have a leak problem with my transmission dipstick/filler tube (on 2004 2.7L Xtra Cab 4x4), and hope that somebody would be able to help me.

Where the tube from the pan and the tube in the engine bay meet it is very obvious that they are not joined properly, as there is a very small gap between the tubes and fluid leaks out. However, it is not obvious to me how the two ends join. I have attached a picture of the engine bay side of the tube. As the picture shows, there is a flange at the end of the tube. The pan side also has a very similar flange, but there are two of them (like two hat brims if you stacked two top hats together).

Given the two sides I see, I can think of two possible explanations for how things go together:

1) I completely missing the o-ring part, and that part inserts into both the pan and the engine bay sides joining them. For some reason that does not matter, the pan side has two flanges.

2) The outer flange on the pan side is actually part of the o-ring, and part of the o-ring has broken off and is missing. I tried to see if I could pull the outer of the two flanges on the pan side out of the tube, but I did not use much force because I did not want to break the tube.

Could somebody point me in the right direction?

Thanks

 

If I remember right theres an o ring where the 2 meet.

 

Thanks. I know there is an o-ring. My problem is that I don't know if the o-ring is still attached, gone, or if the pan end is damaged and will not accept another o-ring without replacing the pan.

I got a better picture of the pan end. Could somebody take a look at the two ends below and tell me if all I would need to do is get an o-ring to reconnect the two, or if there is something else going on here?

Thanks

 

Could somebody help a brother out? I'll be taking another crack at this tomorrow...

Thanks

 

Hank, I think I can help you, as I have been in a very similar situation. The end has snapped off of the engine bay side of the filler, and that end is no doubt still inserted in the pan end of the tube. The o-ring is attached to this broken off piece. I have attached a picture of a new engine bay side of the filler, as well as a picture of a broken filler (the situation you are in).

Getting the broken end of the filler out of the pan end can be very tricky. If you are confident in your skills, the easiest route is probably removing the pan so you can get a good grip on the broken end and remove it without damaging the pan side of the filler. Another route would be to try to remove the end while the pan is still attached. The area is very awkward, though, and there is a good chance you will end up frustrated and cursing your maker. If you go this route, plug the pan end of the filler and blast the hell out of it with PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench before trying to get the broken tip of the engine bay end out.

A new engine bay side of the tube is around $100. OEM part number is 35013-35350. The O-ring (part # 90301-09011) comes with 35013-35350. Two bolts hold it on, both of which are also very awkward to access. For the top one, use a short handled nut driver and a 12mm socket, along with a mirror to guide the bolt. For the bottom one, a 12mm ratcheting wrench is the best thing for the tight area.

Patience is key for this job. Good luck.

 

Wow, awesome Hank. Thanks so very much!

 

No problem, Hank. People sharing knowledge, that's what Tacoma World is all about.

 

Amen, brother.

 

I just read through all this. Same problem, appears to need the same solution. First problem was the dealership completely stripped all the bolts holding on the skid plates when I had it in for a recall. Bought a set of EZ Outs and got them all out and both skid plates off. There's so much built up trans fluid gunk that I can't see the leak but I'm sure this is it. I'm headed to the carwash for an undercarriage spray to see if that helps me find the leak. My neighbor owns a garage and would do this for a case of beer but I always feel like a wuss asking anyone to do mechanical or construction work for me so I'll try it myself.
By the way I'm working on a 2002 Prerunner with 240,000 miles. All it's ever needed is oil changes, tired, and wiper blades. Runs and looks brand new.

 

Same issue here. I have 2 tubes that aren't connected. First tranny slip today. I ran the dipstick down the tube and it didn't even do into the other tube, it just shot out into the engine bay. I used metal tape and zip tied both sides of the tubes together as a temp fix until I get parts.

 

WARNING: LONG POST!
Reviving an old thread here, but the same exact thing that happened to @hank4151 happened to me when I recently went to do a transmission fluid and filter change. After draining the fluid, I attempted to pull the top half of the filler tube (engine bay side) out of the bottom half (pan side) and the top half snapped off at the small flared out portion above the press fit piece (see first photo)...I HATE RUST!

The press fit piece with the o-ring was then stuck in the pan side of the tube. I PB blasted the hell out of it, waited for half a day and grabbed onto it with pliers and vice grips to try to pull it out...no luck. The next day I took a Bernzomatic propane torch to it and heated it up until it was extremely hot (I could barely hold on to the tube where it enters the pan even with thick gloves on) and then grabbed it with pliers again and was finally able to pull the press fit piece out but it was still extremely difficult to get out. The o-ring was completely melted and gone (didn't surprise me) and there was surface rust on the press fit piece as well as in the pan end the press fit piece goes into. I cleaned both of these areas with 400 grit sandpaper and got an o-ring at the hardware store that seemed like it was roughly the right size (probably a little smaller). I sprayed the inside of the top half of the filler tube and press fit piece with carb cleaner and made sure there was no debris inside and then JB welded the press fit piece to the top half of the filler tube (see second photo). I tried my best to make sure the JB weld wouldn't go into and run down the inside of the tube too much, knowing that the dipstick has to run down through there freely. While letting it dry for a full 24hrs, I thoroughly cleaned the pan, magnets, pan surface, and surface where the pan mates up to the transmission body using a plastic scraper and then super fine steel wool (this took a LONG time). I put a new rubber gasket on with 19 new bolts and bolted the pan to the transmission body. I then took the top half of the filler tube and re-inserted it into the bottom half at the newly JB welded press fit portion. When I went to bolt the top half of the tube back onto the engine body at the bracket, I noticed there was a lot of tension at that middle part where the tubes mate together. I was tightening the bolt and then the tube broke again at the spot where I JB welded it. I almost couldn't believe it and wanted to put my fist through the hood but knew it's a very small contact area that JB weld was trying to hold together.

I gave up for the rest of the day and decided to give my dad a call and explain what I was dealing with. We talked for awhile and he recommended I maybe try getting a piece of rubber tubing that would fit inside the top half of the filler tube and run it all the way from the top of the tube down just past that spot where the tube had broke. It would then bottom out on the spot where the o-ring sits since the tube is smaller in diameter there. He said this would provide some "inside" strength at that spot and I wouldn't have to worry about the dipstick possibly getting stuck if I were to only put a small sleeve of rubber tubing inside the filler tube across that broken spot. So I headed to the hardware store again the next day in the early morning and spoke with a worker and he recommended I try some aluminum tubing since it would be stronger than rubber as well as still getting some rubber tubing. They didn't have black rubber tubing so I bought 2 feet of clear vinyl tubing with an outer diameter that was almost exactly the inner diameter of the transmission filler tube (5/16 I believe it was). He said it would be difficult to feed either tubing material down through the top half of the transmission filler tube since the tube bends in two different directions. I knew it would be difficult too but I didn't anticipate HOW difficult. I spent the rest of that day trying to feed those two pieces of tubing (aluminum and vinyl) into the filler tube and with both materials I first lubed them with tranny fluid before starting to feed them inside the filler tube. I first fed the aluminum tubing inside and after multiple attempts I had no luck, it was a little too sturdy and I couldn't get it past the bends so I moved on to the vinyl tubing. I was able to get the vinyl tubing in a little ways to the first bend and then it would simply stop and move no further. I thought of a good idea and got some paracord and fed it down through the vinyl tubing and then tied a large knot on the top end so I could pull on the paracord and it would hopefully pull the vinyl tubing along. This worked a little but the coiled "memory" of the vinyl tubing as well as the bends in the transmission filler tube made it extremely difficult. I pulled for all I was worth and even with gloves on my hands were completely destroyed, aching, and raw from pulling so hard. Towards the end of the day I was finally able to get the vinyl tube to come out the bottom side of the filler tube by tying spaced out smaller knots in the paracord and pulling these knots inside the vinyl tubing and then giving quick, hard pulls on the cord which seemed to inch the vinyl tubing along (I was really testing my mental fortitude at this point). I then made sure the dipstick could still fit in and click beneath the retaining clip (see third photo). The dipstick went in but not without a fair amount of hard pushing and jamming motions which worried me a little but I decided to proceed since I'd gotten that far. I slid the press fit piece over the vinyl tubing sticking out at the bottom of the filler tube (see fourth photo) and decided to try adhesive siliconing the broken portion this time instead of JB welding it. I let the adhesive silicone dry overnight. The next morning I wrapped a little aluminum heat tape around the broken siliconed spot for extra strength and reinserted the top half of the filler tube into the bottom half at the newly siliconed and heat tape wrapped press fit portion. I was able to successfully bolt the top of the tube onto the engine body. I used a very small silicone kitchen funnel with a neck that fit inside the clear vinyl tubing and filled the pan up with 5.5 quarts. About 6 quarts came out when I initially drained and pulled the pan. I then spent about the next 3 hours trying to get the damn dipstick to go back in. It would go in a little ways but once it got to the second bend in the filler tube it would stop. I think the slight tackiness of the vinyl tubing and bend in the filler tube was holding it up. I decided to go for a short drive around town to see if heating up the entire tube might help and to see how shifting felt. Shifting was noticeably smoother. When I got back home the filler tube was hot and I tried getting the dipstick in again but it just wouldn't go. I pushed as hard as I could, trying not to bend or break it and then finally it moved. I was able to jam it down the rest of the way and got it seated all the way in. I was exhausted but happy I'd got it in and hopped underneath the truck to look at the middle of the filler tube to make sure the broken area was still holding. When I got underneath, I saw the dipstick sticking out at the broken spot and running down the outside of the filler tube. I almost lost my mind. After a few too many f-bombs, I realized the dipstick had finally broken through the vinyl tubing at the second bend in the filler tube due to me jamming it down in so many times and then ran down in between the inside of the filler tube and outside of the vinyl tube and exited at the broken spot which had been siliconed. At this point, I finally gave up and decided to go online and buy a new top half of the filler tube which comes with an o-ring. My dad had been searching around for awhile to try to find the best price and he found a used one on Ebay from a 99 4Runner in California. The tube looked to be in great shape and was about 25 bucks cheaper than buying one brand new from Toyota so I immediately bought it.

It arrived 4 days later. I lubed the o-ring and press fit portion with tranny fluid and inserted it into the pan end of the filler tube. It seated in with a loud satisfying pop and checking underneath the truck I could see that it seated all the way in (see fifth picture). I bolted the top of the tube to the engine body and then wrapped the press fit portion where the two tubes mate together with heat tape for extra strength and hopefully to keep salt spray and grime out of there (see sixth picture). I then went to put the dipstick back in and it went in effortlessly!

All I can say is:
1. This took much longer and turned into much more of a project than I thought it would be... but that's been the case with everything I've tried to do on this truck due to rust.
2. If anyone who sees this post is going to drop their transmission pan and change fluid+filter be wary of this possibly occurring especially if your truck has spent most of its life in the rust belt like mine.
3. If this does happen to you, I HIGHLY recommend just buying a new or used in good condition top half of the filler tube from the get go. This will save you a lot of time, effort, and stress.
4. I may still file off the JB weld on the old top half of the broken tube and press fit piece and see if someone local to me could weld these two pieces together...we'll see. I'm no welder, but I know it would be tough since it's pretty thin wall tubing and would require a precision weld.
5. I absolutely HATE RUST WITH A PASSION!

I apologize for such a long post but I wanted to provide my entire experience in detail in hopes this may help somebody or at least give someone a laugh!

 

Hoooooly shit long post and necro thread.