My dipstick was always impossible to slide in without jamming it in. This finally led to it getting broken off at the hot full notch , leaving the other part in the lower half of the tube. I dropped the pan last night, and discovered that my fluid looked pretty dark , but didn't smell foul at all.

Anyway, when the dealer pulled up my VIN to get the part # for the "trans fluid depth actuator gauge mechanism assembly" two dipsticks came up. One was for cali regs, and the other for fed regs. He looked under my hood and read somewhere that it met cali specs, so he sold me that one. After getting the rest of the dipstick out if the tube, I matched them up to find out that they were the same length, but had completely different ranges for both hot and cold. The new dipstick has both ranges about 3 inches lower than the original. I scratched marks into the new gauge to where the old hot range was, and I am going to go by that.

My questions are:

1: What would emissions standards have to do with how much trans fluid goes into my truck? And what range should I follow, old or new?

2: The parts guy told me that I didn't need a new screen, just rinse and re-use, so I went with it ( I have never dropped a pan before). Now I wonder how he expected me to clean all of that screen that is out of sight/reach? I can only clean what I can reach with my finger, and the rest just got an OK rinse with mineral spirits.



BTW: while I was down there I wanted to investigate my P0773 code (shift solenoid E electrical malfunction) and sure enough, there was a lose wire in the front most solenoid. The plastic piece that holds the wire tight had fallen off, and stayed in the pan. I will post pics of this tonight, when I can plug the camera into the comp. Just for kicks, I unplug all 3 of the solenoids, sprayed them with electrical cleaner, and tightened up the female side of the connector.

 

Pics as promised. Notice the plastic piece missing off the connector.
I am no tranny expert, so someone tell me: how bad is that screen?





Good thing I had a good helper!

 

I have heard others mention that they just flushed the filter and reused it. As you are aware, it is difficult to see into the filter due to its design so you never really know how much crud is still in it. After fooling around trying to clean mine I tossed it and spent $23 on a new one.

I dunno about your dipstick dilemma. I would find out for sure if yours is a Cali vehicle since that is quite a difference in the reading of fluid levels from the different sticks. Is it possible the broken stick was a fed model put in a Cali vehicle and that is why it broke, or are they identical in design other than the markings?

 

Can't you unbolt the filter/screen and wash it out good that way?

 

Just replace it.. peace of mind is worth 20$..

 

They are the exact same design, all three kinds are almost impossible to get in the hole. I am starting to think that there is a rock or something in the full tube. Why couldn't toyota just mold a nice smooth curve, instead of letting someone with severe ADD run that thing through the bender.

 

I would also replace the filter....I pulled mine earlier this year and it was clogged very badly, so bad that tran fluid wasn't getting to the right places causing me to be stuck in 1st gear. The filter is almost impossible to clean, so while your in there just replace it and clean the pan good. Also, the tran pan bolts are super soft, I broke 2, and luckily the gasket sealer I used has held up with no leaks.

I'm as stumped as you are on the transtick, why would the levels vary that much?

 

I just had the same issue. Dropped the pan, ordered a new dipstick from Toyota, and changed the oil and filter. The filter ran me $30 at Auto Zone. My old one looked great still, but I figured what the hell. I have never dropped the trans oil pan before, but it was relatively simple. I didn't even bother with loosening the strut bar as the pan dropped easily without.

 

cali spec emissions could be a different spec transmission, or fluid...for fuel efficiency
and it would show up different on a dipstick