2006 Ce Automatic Transmission Pan Damage - Toyota Corolla, Chevy Prizm (1998-2008)

This may be a post that gets entertaining...

My teenager was driving the 2006 Toyota Corolla CE (4 spd atm / 1ZZFE) the other night and drove over a log that dented and punched a 1/4" dia hole in the transmission pan. It also dented the transmission filter inside the pan.

THEN he continued to drive it home (another 5 miles) leaking ATF all the way. By the time he got home the car was revving at about 4000 RPM just to drive down the street and park.

The car has 186,000 miles on it and has had no problems. I say that so you know that the car was worth keeping but not worth trading in.

I was going to have the car towed to a shop to have the situation assessed but my son wanted to try and fix it himself. I said proceed carefully. He removed the pan and saw the dented filter. Otherwise, there appears to be no additional damage from the impact. The condition of the gears... (this is something you can answer for me)

Here are some questions:

-Does anyone think there is any ATF left in the transmission after driving 5 miles with a hole in the pan?

-Is there a fat chance that a new pan, filter and fluid will let the car get back on the road with no more problems?

-Is it time to take the Corolla to the junk yard?

-$100-150 in parts and new fluids is not a bad cost to let my son learn how to do this work. But is the tranny potentially in good shape? Should I get it to a shop, spend a few hundred to have it done "professionally"?

-If my son puts it all back together, how would you advise to add the transmission fluid to make sure it gets filled correctly?

Let's have some fun, add some humor if needed, but I am looking for some experienced advice/guesses.

Thanks

So it finally got a good flush, which was due at every 60,000 miles. default_ph34r It did still have enough ATF and hydraulic pressure for sufficient drive engagement to make it all the way back, so it likely didn't slip enough to burn the clutches. I'd just replace the filter and pan (clean and reuse original magnet(s) at bottom of pan), and refill it to proper level.

Start by putting in 5 quarts. Start engine, hold brakes, shift through all P R N D 2 1 shifter positions for about 2 seconds in each, and back to Park. Check level at dipstick 'Cold' mark with engine still idling. Stop engine and add about 1/2 quart If it's only on tip of dipstick. Check level with engine idling again, and add just enough until level is good. Check level again while idling after driving a while to test transmission, at which point it should be closer to the 'Hot' mark, as ATF expands when transmission is up to normal operating temperature.

Total capacity is 8 quarts. Pan and filter hold about 3.7 quarts (at normal dipstick level).

Transmission oil pan: http://www.toyotapartszone.com/oem/toyota~pan~sub~assy~automatic~transaxle~oil~35106-12100.html

Valve body oil strainer assembly (filter) BECK/ARNLEY # 0440330 (includes rubber gasket):

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1432846,parttype,8600

ATF: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Castrol-Import-Multi-Vehicle-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-1-qt/17253554#Item+Description

http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp_internet/castrol/castrol_usa/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/p,q/pds_ImportMV.pdf

Thanks for the links and advice. We are going to "fix" it this weekend... we'll find out if the clutch is still functional.

Here's the update: My son did a good job of putting the filter and pan back together. We had to put a total of 5 quarts of ATF in... so far it is running as good as new.

That's great... How many quarts did you start with, and which ATF did you get?

We got 6 qts of Toyota (OEM) T-IV. Poured 4 qts in then ran the engine up to temp and shifted through the gears a few times. Added the 5th qt a little at a time until we got the level right.