DIY oil change on 2004 Solara V6 SE....need quick answer

[dronek1975]

I know it might "sound" like an idiot question but i'm lost in the precess of changing oil....I have drained an oil, oil dipstick is dry now so i assume i have unscrewed right oil pan...there is 2 in both sides, one on the passenger side and another is located on the drivers side...that's the one i have drained, drain plug (thread) is wider and need Hex wrench to unscrew it. Did i do the correct one and drained tranny oil instead on engine? I went to a dealership to get a new drain plug for engine oil and "crushers" so they did but what they gave me is the smaller one that fits oil pan in the passenger side so now I'm like WTF!!!? and stuck. Once again i've drained oil on the drivers side where drain plug is bigger/wider.
Did i do a correct side?
Thanks

[Midias]

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[Ilovemylara]

I know it might "sound" like an idiot question but i'm lost in the precess of changing oil....I have drained an oil, oil dipstick is dry now so i assume i have unscrewed right oil pan...there is 2 in both sides, one on the passenger side and another is located on the drivers side...that's the one i have drained, drain plug (thread) is wider and need Hex wrench to unscrew it. Did i do the correct one and drained tranny oil instead on engine? I went to a dealership to get a new drain plug for engine oil and "crushers" so they did but what they gave me is the smaller one that fits oil pan in the passenger side so now I'm like WTF!!!? and stuck. Once again i've drained oil on the drivers side where drain plug is bigger/wider.
Did i do a correct side?
Thanks

Oh man.. YOU DRAINED THE TRANNY FLUID! Im assuming the dipstick you are checking is the orange one of the right as well? If so, then thats tranny fluid. The oil dipstick is yellow and says engine oil. The oil pan and oil pan drain screw is on the passenger side, just in front of the passenger side front tire. Oh well, never a better time to change ur tranny fluid. lol

[[SMAN]]

WOW

Um yeah, the engine oil pan is on the passenger side. You don't actualy take off the oil pan, you just drain it from the plug (and put the plug back in before you put new oil in. To get to the filter that you need to change, you need to remove the plastic splash guards under the engine. This will give you access to the filter (carefull cause oil will drip out of there too when it is unscrewed). Put a new filter on, then add engine oil from the top of the engine. As for the transmission, if you actualy took off the casing, you may need to do a lot of flushing and cleaning. It's designed to be a sealed system and even tiny specs can do major damage. I would consult the factory service manual found elsewhere on the site for proper steps to all this.

[CosmicGrooves]

Take a picture

[lambition]

You have drained trany for sure.

You don't need hex wrench for motor oil and it is on the passenger side.

Can't you tell that just by looking at the color of oil you have drained? Trany is red and motor oil is brown.

And it even says which dip stick is which on its handle.

Get transmission fluid from Toyota ATF TYPE T-IV and fill it back up.

Also, you don't need to replace drain plug unless it is damaged (its pretty hard to damage it) and you can get crush wahser in any auto parts stores.

It is good to replace crush washer, but you don't have to unless it is in bad condition. I did oil change 10+ times without replacing wahser, but I never had a single drop of oil leaking from my drain plug.
You can also apply RTV silicone gasket maker to the washer if you want to make sure your old washer does not leak.

[dronek1975]

well, as You guys said i drained tranny fluid(my first attempt to change oil by myself LOL)....almost 4 quarts came out...it's all good now as that fluid was nasty. Went back to the dealer got fresh transmission fluid (car has 64k miles now). Of course i ended up replacing both tranny and engine fluids. I used Mobil1 fully synthetic 5W30 and mobil1 oil filter. Also replaced both bolts with washers. It was very easy job even for someone like myself. Thanks for help.
Cheers

[Pogs]

well, as You guys said i drained tranny fluid(my first attempt to change oil by myself LOL)....almost 4 quarts came out...it's all good now as that fluid was nasty. Went back to the dealer got fresh transmission fluid (car has 64k miles now). Of course i ended up replacing both tranny and engine fluids. I used Mobil1 fully synthetic 5W30 and mobil1 oil filter. Also replaced both bolts with washers. It was very easy job even for someone like myself. Thanks for help.
Cheers

Dont sweat it. We all do things unintentional, at least your trying to do these things yourself and gain knowledge (experience is knowledge too lol). I just hope you didnt drive your solara to the dealer(driving with no tranny fluid might be bad).

[mazen222]

well, as You guys said i drained tranny fluid(my first attempt to change oil by myself LOL)....almost 4 quarts came out...it's all good now as that fluid was nasty. Went back to the dealer got fresh transmission fluid (car has 64k miles now). Of course i ended up replacing both tranny and engine fluids. I used Mobil1 fully synthetic 5W30 and mobil1 oil filter. Also replaced both bolts with washers. It was very easy job even for someone like myself. Thanks for help.
Cheers

Dont sweat it. We all do things unintentional, at least your trying to do these things yourself and gain knowledge (experience is knowledge too lol). I just hope you didnt drive your solara to the dealer(driving with no tranny fluid might be bad).

ya... might

[KSolara]

the filter is rite next tot he plug in the oil pan... hard to miss

[NightRider]

Hey good that you fixed your ride. Just don't ever do cross polarity when reconnecting your battery to your car. The 120amp fuse is a REAL PAIN in the A$$ to change!!!