Help! Mistook tranny pan for oil pan and drove…

So I pulled a bonehead move. I went to change my oil, and in a rush I drained my transmission oil by mistake. It was quite dark which is why I didn’t notice my error as it was happening, I’m hoping it was only dark due to never being changed in 259,000 miles. I drove it the next morning and made it about a tenth of a mile down the road and pulled right over as it was began to slip really bad. Spent 5 hours in the side of the road trying to figure out the procedure for adding fluid, got some help from a guy with a really expensive code reader who seemed to know how to use it. We got the truck to temperature, filled and opened the check plug untill it just trickled out. The rear end was jacked up, and after cycling through the gears and adding a little more fluid everything seemed to be working again, all gears were engaging smoothly and the wheels were turning against the depressed brake pedal. Once we lowered her to the ground I had nothing again. Pulled the truck home and made the guy said he would be over to get me back on the road in a couple days. It’s been almost a week so I got factory service manual, jumped the pins on the plug under the dash and waited for the trans oil temp light to stay on, and added more fluid. Now I have reverse but nothing else, and the transmission MIL has come on. Any ideas?

 

I only drained 3 quarts, the truck holds 11, and only drove a quarter mile at most. As a dumb Kid I had other vehicles with tranny leaks and tranny slips and drove the hell out of them, adding fluid almost always fixed the problem, could I just need my trouble codes cleared? I hate to think something as tough as a Toyota truck could sustain mechanical damage from such a short drive…

 

So you drained the trans fluid, not the oil...... so did you also overfill the oil as well? I'm not understanding how you could add 7.5 qts of oil if the oil never had been drained and not realize it

 

This is getting good.

 

I hope your transmission is still good. I've done the same thing with a Chevy ~ driven it a short distance with it low on ATF and no real consequences.

Keep us posted with your results.

 

We are definitely missing some critical info. What did you add back in, and where did you pour it into? I think this answer is the root of your problem.

 

The oil apparently hadn't been changed in 259,000 miles. There was probably no oil left. I'm honestly kinda surprised the engine wasn't seizing up.

 

I think OP meant the ATF had never been swapped out which is why it was dark.

OP drain your engine oil, it's a miracle you didn't blow the rear main assuming you haven't yet. In my experience transmissions can be hit or miss on the bearing they'll take. I had a Chevy 3/4 ton trans that welded itself together driving around the block after replacing the fluid and topping it off but it being a quart low. Had a 4runner trans start slipping and new fluid made it go another 6 months. Heated the tundras trans up once and lost 5th and 6th gear before the overheating light came on. If you got reverse back you might just be flushing bubbles out so there's still hope, but I wouldn't hold my breath either...

 

i did an oil change on my Yamaha outboard last week and forgot to fully Re-Seat the dipstick . . . needless to say I left a 2-quart synthetic oil slick in an undisclosed bay before the low oil pressure alarm went off. Luckily I was only idling and shut it down immediately, came back to the launch ramp on the electric trolling motor. Ooops !
LOL

 

I got 3 words into reading the title; thought hell ya this is going to be entertaining, I'm clicking on this one; got there; and....

... not what I thought it was gonna be!!!

 

The way I read this story, OP realized it was Tranny fluid that was drained but drove it anyway because he probably didn't have any to replace it with, and thought he could get away with it being low. But I could be wrong.

 

Wow, I kind of figured this forum would be a little more civil than trying to talk politics on Reddit, but I guess not. To everyone roasting me, I know I messed up, that’s why I said “I pulled a bonehead move” in the first sentence of my post. I just bought the truck a week ago, my first move after getting another paycheck was changing the oil, which is what I thought I was doing. I’ve never seen a drain plug on a tranny pan before, this truck is my latest model vehicle by 11 years. I always had to just drop the pan from the corner and catch the tranny fluid as it dribbled out. Anyway, as I said I was being rushed, and after draining the wrong fluid and swapping out the oil filter, I dumped just short of 5 quarts in and had to roll out. Fsm said it takes 4.8 with a filter change. I had someone picking me up right after so I didn’t check the dip stick. (bonehead move) the next morning I drove less than a quarter mile, probably a tenth of a mile. As soon as it started to slip I pulled right over, got under the truck and realized what I had done. I walked back home and got my drain pan and got the extra oil out of my engine while waiting for my ride to the parts store to get transmission fluid.

Where are you reading 7.5 quarts?

You should read a little better, if I type slower do you think that will help?

I drained out right around 3.5 quarts of trans fluid, I know because I poured it into an old oil jug. I just figured it had been low on oil, and was glad I had changed it. I added just under 5 quarts of motor oil into my motor, and once I realized what I had done drained about 4 quarts of motor oil from the correct (this time) oil pan, until my dip stick read a proper level. I then added the 3.5 quarts of transmission fluid I had drained to my transmission from the fill plug on the side of the transmission, shifted through the gears and when nothing came out of the check plug I added another half a quart of transmission fluid to my transmission. So if there is any other critical info you are missing to help me figure out the solution to my mistake, let me know and I’ll gladly give it to you. If you are just trying to troll me then go ahead and be that guy.

 

I was just giving you the benefit of the doubt from the word salad you initially posted. After reading your explanation, its even worse. Good luck to you.

 

Assuming it was a Guess as the 4.7 oil capacity is close to 7 quarts.

I too drained my tranny instead of oil pan the first time, but on my Taco and I realized before i had it even drained all the way. Shit happens, hopefully with some love and nudging she will live again for ya. If not, youll know what plug to not remove after you get it fixed.

 

Wait a second...I am getting a vision of the future...I see, a jiffy lube! Sorry couldn't help it

 

To start, don’t worry, you’re not the first, or the worst. MAYBE the first on a Tundra that I’ve heard of, but it was common enough over on Tacomaworld. One guy drained his transmission, overfilled his oil, realized his mistake, drained the engine oil to the correct level, and then put the transmission fluid into the cooling system. Yup, red fluid must go with the pink coolant, or no?

My first step would to read the code(s), but most cheap code readers probably won’t display it. Any way to get ahold of that guy who has the ultimate set of tools?

You did remove the jumper from your OBD2 connector, right?

I know you’ve gone through the fluid check procedure a few times now, in total did you add roughly 3.5 qts to match what you drained?

 

When you filled the trans and then removed the plug, were you on level ground and was the trans at full temp?

The way your first post reads it sounds like the rear was up when checking. Which would lead to incorrect fluid level.

 

2nd and 3rd gens really took over this thread.

Transmission rebuild is not the end of the world, buddy. Happens to the best of us sometimes. Things could be worse.

If it makes you feel better, a long time ago I changed my oil and forgot to put the drainplug back in before I dumped in 6 quarts. I was a couple... maybe several beers in lol.

 

With all respect

 

My bad tilly, I’m already pretty tense over this whole thing and I was on the defensive from getting roasted. Now that I reread your comment I see you weren’t being a dick.

 

The truck was on a hill where I pulled over, I jacked the rear up to make it level. As soon as I brought it back down to in level it stopped working again.

 

Dude with the real tools is MIA, I’ve called/texted a couple times a day, letting him know “anything but gay stuff” was on the table. He’s a friend of an acquaintance, and the acquaintance hasn’t been any help either. He’s a plumber and super busy right now so I’m sure he’ll get a hold of me when he is free… the cheapest reader I could find that would do what I need is 389 at O’Reillys, and Rent is due so I can’t swing it right now. Im going to miss out in a decent piece of work too, like 2500-3 grand for digging a trench and putting in a retaining wall in the softest dirt I’ve ever seen, which I was really depending on. yes I pulled the jumper out, good advice though. I put in exactly what I took out, then even tried to get another quart in there but when I had it at temp and pulled the check plug it just pissed right out. I called a couple transmission shops, there aren’t many where I’m at in the mountains, they all said I smoked it and I need a new transmission. I just don’t see it, I’ve seen some shitbox cars slipping for miles and a little fluid fixed it right up, and like I said it worked fine jacked up. Could it be a bad solenoid, or a sensor? Maybe fried a pump from running dry? I don’t really know how a transmission works lol. When I shift to reverse I can hear and feel it engage, and it goes. When I put it in drive nothing even moves, the engine revs up a little bit then the rpm’s drop.

 

Lots of great and knowledgeable people here on this forum, hopefully we can figure out what went wrong and what you can do next.

 

Maybe jack up the rear wheels and run it in reverse for a little while and see if things start flowing???
Just an idea.
Maybe give it a little RPM in drive and see if anything clunks into gear.
What type of trans fluid did you put back in it?

In regards to engine oil capacity
What engine do you have? V6 or V8
If you use the right length OEM filter (which is longer than the parts stores will sell you) it will hold 6.5 to 7 quarts of engine oil for V8. PN 90915/YZZD3
V6 I have no clue on engine oil capacity.

 

There's the time old debate about IF/WHEN you should change the transmission fluid on a high mileage vehicle.

Could be you got the fluid levels right eventually, but it knocked all the sludge/goo loose and it's clogged up now. 259k miles and dark fluid, sounds like it may have been better left alone unfortunately. That could be the mystery.

Sorry, man, happens to the best of us. Did the same thing on a roadtrip. Went to do an oil change and dropped all the transmission fluid out of a Subaru Outback. Had no tools and was in the middle of a mall parking lot somewhere in the Midwest, wind whipping everywhere. We got it all together eventually but it was a close call.

 

People are gonna talk shit; don't worry about it. You fucked up, admitted to it, so you gotta expect a little ribbing.

Now, I don't see anywhere that you actually completed the oil change. Did you drain it and refill the engine oil with 6.5 qts?

Second, with the truck on level ground and up to temp and the trans filled, cycle it through the gears a few times. Then cycle it a few more times. Mine was maybe a 1/2 a quart low and would slip then bang into gear. It probably got air in the system that just needs to be worked out.

Calm down, step back, and take a few deep breaths.

 

I think I would put in another half quart or even quart of transmission fluid and see what happens. Cycle through all the gears and give it a little time to pump around in there. See if any comes out of the overflow port. Repeat as needed, then warm it up and set the level for real. Good luck!

 

Sounds like you have a lot of help on here from guys who really know they’re shit. Don’t think anyones chapping your ass on here and it seems like you’ve got some great options to go forward with solving this. My dumbest moment was hooking up the battery backwards and frying my fusable link when I first got my boat. Just rushing and not looking at what I was doing. We all learn from mistakes, so don’t beat yourself up. Hopefully you can get it going again, not sure where your located but a lot of guys on here have been willing to drive and help (within a reasonable distance) if there are a few cases of cold beer waiting for them.