2007 Sienna tranny pan

[Mikeman]

New to the forum and relatively new to Toyotas. Has anybody removed the tranny pan? I was going to do a tranny fluid drain, drop the pan and clean it before filling with new fluid. However, I took a look underneath and there is a frame member that is pretty close to one corner of the pan. I was wondering if there's enough room to get the bolts out and drop the pan. Looks kind of tight.

[Mikeman]

Well, I gave it a go and then gave up after spending half an hour trying to get ONE stinking bolt off the pan. I started with the worst bolt and tried every trick in the box that I had. Access is just plain bad. I could have gotten the bolt off. I gave up because I starting thinking about trying to get that bolt back in. You can't really get your fingers on it to spin it and I hate starting a bolt with a wrench and not by hand. I'll have to reformulate my strategy. The great Toyota manual says to "remove the pan by removing the 18 bolts". Yeah, right. Maybe the transmission mount has to come off and the tranny jacked up. Toyota let me down. It really shouldn't be this hard.

[Yuko]

I think the mounts might be worn and collapsed a bit. You can try to jack up the engine a bit with a floor jack and wood block to see if it gives you some clearance. I had a similar problem removing the oil pan on an 02 Camry, had to spent some time with a tiny 10mm wrench to remove on bolt hidden by the sub-frame.

[jo-e90]

Also, those 18 bolts need to have thread lock on each one. How are you suppose to get all 18 in and tightened before the loktite dries?

[wernermeister]

Originally Posted by jo-e90

Also, those 18 bolts need to have thread lock on each one. How are you suppose to get all 18 in and tightened before the loktite dries?

loctite is an anaerobic thread locker that cures in the absence of oxygen (= once the threaded connection is done and seals the air out).
No worries about drying.

[jo-e90]

Originally Posted by wernermeister

loctite is an anaerobic thread locker that cures in the absence of oxygen (= once the threaded connection is done and seals the air out).
No worries about drying.

The Toyota Service Manual says on step 10 c) of transmission valve body assy. (U151E/ U151F)" NOTICE: Apply the seal packing or equivalent to the bolts and tighten them within 10 minutes after application because the bolts should be seal bolts."

[wernermeister]

Originally Posted by jo-e90

The Toyota Service Manual says on step 10 c) of transmission valve body assy. (U151E/ U151F)" NOTICE: Apply the seal packing or equivalent to the bolts and tighten them within 10 minutes after application because the bolts should be seal bolts."

well, sure, once you screw them into the holes the "curing process" starts...
just set that beer down for the few minutes it takes to get the 18 screws in and torqued down... then grab it an done

[TOYOTAndy]

Ive done them w/o doing the following by just using a universal socket/ ratcheting flex head wrench, but you can jack up just to the left of the trans-pan using a block of wood. DONT jack up by the trans pan- (it will dent bad and you could damage the filter/valve body), then undo the transmission mount and should give you a better angle at those several bolts, otherwise you'll need a 1/4 10mm universal socket to get to those bolts. I just used the toyota black sealant on the bolts.

[Mikeman]

Originally Posted by TOYOTAndy

Ive done them w/o doing the following by just using a universal socket/ ratcheting flex head wrench

I tried the universal socket and it was no go. Between the bolt and the frame is less than the depth of the socket. The only thing I could get on was a box end wrench. What year did you do this one?