Tranny filter replacment for Siennas

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I had planned on doing the wife's tranny in her Sienna when I changed the oil today. There's several pan bolts that look near impossible to reach due to a lower crossmember, has anyone dealt with this? I didn't see any work around for it but I didn't look very hard either. And what's up with the oil filter location, could they make that a little harder to get to?
 
Funny that I stumbled across the same thing, just within the last 2 days picked up an 08 Sienna for my wife.

Those guys were having trans fluid analyzed,oil etc. I thought Cruiserheads were out there.. Guess that will be a good site to bookmarak when I have to get into the van.........

Funny about the oil filter too. I looked high and low for it, through the top of the motor, under the driver side, passenger side. Then saw thats where the keep the spare tire............ That will be fun for me in 1000 miles.

Any tricks to pass along appreciated.
 
Funny about the oil filter too. I looked high and low for it, through the top of the motor, under the driver side, passenger side. Then saw thats where the keep the spare tire............ That will be fun for me in 1000 miles.

Any tricks to pass along appreciated.

Hated the oil filter at first, but if you try it, it isn't too bad. Just to make sure that you torque the drain cap on the filter housing (10Nm IIRC) lower than the housing itself (18Nm). My idiot dealer did other way around on the first oil change, I had to take the filter housing down before I could drain it. :doh:
 
Hated the oil filter at first, but if you try it, it isn't too bad. Just to make sure that you torque the drain cap on the filter housing (10Nm IIRC) lower than the housing itself (18Nm). My idiot dealer did other way around on the first oil change, I had to take the filter housing down before I could drain it. :doh:



Are you talking about a standard screw on type oil filter? or an oil bath type filter? I still havent needed to find it on the van yet.

But did read some posts about I think Canadian spec vans with an oil bath type filter...
 
Are you talking about a standard screw on type oil filter? or an oil bath type filter? I still havent needed to find it on the van yet.

But did read some posts about I think Canadian spec vans with an oil bath type filter...

Not sure about the Canadian spec, for the US version, there is no standard type of filter, the oil filter housing locates at the bottom (on oil pan), and you will basically drain the oil, and replace the paper filter inside the oil filter housing, and put everything back. This may helps:

Mechanical - Replacing the Oil Filter Element on a 2007 Sienna - Part 1

I believe the same for Avalon, Lexus RX350...
 
That sucks,,,,,, But THANK YOU for the link that makes it a bit easier.

I guess thats why I couldnt visibly locate an oil filter since there isnt one.


So WXM. Do you pull the whole cansiter like the guy in the link did, or do you drop the center section first, let it drain then pull the entire unit?

Seems like pulling the whole unit would make more sense, I guess a bit messy if you dont hit the oil catch pan. but unscrewing one less thing that could leak oil eventually seems like a better idea to me.


Do you also replace the O ring on the entire housing like that guy did or just when it is worn/damaged /left at the oil change shop?
Does a new O Ring come with the filter element? Im guessing thats a dealer only filter.
 
Here is a better write up. http://members.cox.net/n0v8or/avalon_oil_change.pdf

Both O-rings come with the paper elements. It really isn't too bad. I do it in proper way by draining from the center cap first, not as messy. Though, when I first took over from the dealer, I noticed that they over-tightened the small cap, so when I put 3/8" drive extension in, I unscrewed the entire canister off. :mad: Now come to think of it, they might have done it on purpose for the reason you suggested - so that they can remove the the housing without a filter wrench. Anyway, I don't want to spend more time cleaning than the oil change itself, so I will continue doing it "proper" way. Of course, if you don't mind the messy part, I don't see why you couldn't do it the other way, although you might still need to replace the small O-ring in the cap in regular basis as it might not design for long lasting.

[Edit] Sorry, Steve. I just realized that we some how hijacked your thread from transmission filter to engine filter.
 
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Toyotas dont have transmission filters like your old chevy did. they have screens and magnets. no need to get in there. Drain and fill the 3-4 quarts with the frain plug or have it flushed.
 
the 05 does have tranny filters, there were numerous changes between the years. I did another drain and fill yesterday, the filter will be done next time when I have more time to play with it, there's holes in the crossmember for access. I also did the ac/alt belt yesterday, what a big pain in the ass, there is nothing easy when it comes to maintenance on these vans. That forum wxm linked is pretty helpful though.
 
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