There should be a crush washer on your oil pan drain. Maybe it is stuck to the pan? I re-used mine for the first 8 or so oil changes, before breaking down and spending $2 for a new one at the dealer.

The ones for the PSD dump and fill are solid aluminum instead of the folded laminate style on the oil pan drain. The aluminum ones tend to develop a ridge. In a pinch you might be able to turn them around an re-use them. But since you have to go to the dealer to get the WS oil anyway, I suggest you pick up a couple new ones.

 

I will check the oil pan again at my next change. I didn't feel one on it or see one on the plug.

I will pick up a couple of washers when I get my tranny fluid.

I am still unsure where to look for the fill plug on the tranny. Can you give me some more specific info on where it is located? Passenger side I think?

Thanks.

 

Get on your back and slide head first under the front, center line of the car. Go past the splash shields, nothing needs to be removed. At this point you see the engine to your right and the transmission (psd) to your left. You will see the long, intermediate driveshaft for the passenger side where it enters the transaxle (lower portion of the psd).

There are three of the same kind of wide-flange, 10mm hex bolts arranged in a semi-circle around the driveshaft:

12 o'clock - not used
9 o'clock - fill port
6 o'clock - drain port

If you want, shoot me an email and I'll send you a screen cap of the relevant page in the service manual.

 

A cheaper place to buy your oil pan crush washers is your local auto parts store. Buy some M12 aluminum crush washers and you will be good to go.

If you are planing on doing a lot of the work on your TCH, an investment in an ALLDATA subscription would be something to think about. Mine has paid for itself many times over on the cars that I service. It has a picture of the drain bolts noted above just like the service manual.

 

I did my 07 TCH myself at ~48k miles, and the fluid drained looking like new. I do not understand how this fluid can turn 'gross' so fast.... my mileage is mostly highway, and I am wondering if this might be the reason for the clean fluid drain.

60K on it now.

 

Okay, this is a shout out to all of you DIY-ers...

• Based upon your experiences on this topic, it appears that transmission fluid should be replaced sooner than the maintenance schedule, right? EDIT...just looked at the manual. It appears that all we need to do is inspect it every 3 years...is that right?
• Are there risks to the long term health of the transmission if one is driving with 'gross' fluid?
• Based upon observation, what mileage or age would you advise getting the fluid replaced?
• Are the TCH's wearing out its transmission fluid at the same rate as gas cars?

thanks

 

If my fluid looked like that ("gross") I would have sent out a sample to be analyzed....!

 

Thanks for the info Georgia Hybrid, I will look into the washers and a subscriptiion.

I do as much as I can on my vehicles myself, hate to pay for something I can do now when one of these days I will not be able to do it.

 

I tend to drive it like I stole it. Plus it is operated in ambient temps up to 120F.

 

Maybe it is just a waste of money but at 60K I flushed my coolant and changed the tranny fluid. I figure I put enough $$ up front to buy it that a little extra TLC won't hurt. Peace of mind I guess.