Truck hesitates to take off

It depends on what you mean by "easy". I had never heard of anyone doing this until I came to this forum...

Maybe: It is easy for "the inexperienced" to make the mistake.

 

Agreed...it's not like the transmission looks like the engine...

We've all been there OP. When I was younger I put a screw right threw the rear quarter panel of a camry. Was installing an amp in the trunk and shot a mounting screw right through the outside of the car LOL

 

So I followed instructions and changed my own fluid, removing the hoses and the whole bit. It was fine consuming and a total pain in the ass but it's done. And the oil is changed haha

 

Way to get back on the horse...

Assuming it drives and shifts well again?

 

OP I feel your pain. It's a sick feeling when you fire up the engine, put the truck in gear, and then realize what you just did...you go from feeling good about doing your own oil change, to feeling as dumb as you ever have. Don't ask me how I know haha...glad you got it up and running again.

 

I don't know what's going on but I'm very aroused right now.

 

Haha!

 

That's hilarious hahaha

 

I don't have the automatic, but does the transmission look similar to the oil pan or something?

 

Looks like a small version of every other auto trans truck I've been under. Petty hard to mistake for an engine oil pan.

That said, and not making excuses for those that have made the mistake, I can see people possibly doing this if drunk(who hasn't sipped a couple beers while wrenching), in a hurry, or their first time under a Tacoma and they don't notice the engine oil drain plug is tucked up out of the under in a gap between skid plate and frame.

Shit happens, but it's pretty hard for it to happen twice. At least the OP figured it out and fixed it. Bet he won't make that mistake again. That dude that filled his radiator with ATF needs to stick to public transportation or leased/dealer serviced vehicles for the rest of his life.

 

No, it looks like a transmission pan. I think the unconventional shape of the engine oil pan is what throws people off.

Interestingly enough, the parts driver / shop clean-up kid at my work drained the tranny instead of the engine oil week before last on the shop Colorado. He did realize it was red before too much was lost.

 

So far my worst has been putting the drain plug on the fill and the fill on the drain on the rear diff. Probably wouldn't hurt anything, but there I was doing another rear diff change the next day.

 

Hit the nail on the head, I had a few before I did it then killed a 6 pack out of frustration in between getting out from under the truck. Looking at it now, it was definitely a dumbass move especially looking at the transmission and how the pan is directly underneath. The sun was going down and I didn't see the color of the fluid nor did I even think about it. I learned a lot, plus I got a torque wrench, so that's nice

 

I had this exact thing happen to me when I was changing the trans fluid in my Frontier. I drained the trans fluid and all was good. I put the drain plug back on then proceeded to pour 3 quarts of trans fluid in what I thought was the trans fluid dip stick tube. I check the level and was like its pretty full, why the heck is it so full if I took out 3 quarts. I then realized that I had poured it in the engine oil dip stick tube, which wasnt labeled, just yellow. the one I was supposed to find was the black ball dip stick on the left. long story short, I did a drain and refill of the engine oil about 5 times and changed the oil filter twice in between running the engine to try and get all that trans fluid out. i used a crap load of oil to do this! before I did this, I would have said the same thing that who in their right mind would put the wrong type of fluid in the wrong place, but stuff happens, I found that out first hand! Now my oil dip stick has the word "Engine Oil" written in marker pen!

 

I have changed oil on all my vehicles and never once made this mistake yet because when I was a kid I forgot to put the oil in and ran the 76 Buick station wagon and lost a rod bearing. So much for that stabbin cabin. Chick's would have loved to park in that with a full mattress in it.

 

LOL... stabbin cabin...

BITD when I was young and dumb, I drained my manual trans instead of the engine oil in my Alfa-Romeo 1.5L boxer motor. Had to walk 5 miles or so back to the auto parts store to get some gear oil. Lesson learned, make sure of the correct drain plug. (and know the difference between the motor and the transmission)

 

I think my worse to date has been dumping 10 gallons of 110 octain in my Corvette. The problem is that it was the 110 for my Banshee (2 stroke). Running around downtown in an $80,000 Z06 that was running like a 72 Pinto was rather embarrassing.

 

and still rolled that Bitch like a G