im hoping you can help me... my neighbor has a 2001 toyota tacoma 2wd automatic and he changed the oil yesterday and im not sure he actually changed the oil or not.. let me explain he used a 14mm socket and took out a nut with washer right under the middle of the car of what seemed like an oil pan... the oil came out it was black and he said he's not sure now if it was oil or the tranny fluid b/c this morning he started the truck put it in gear and it did not move... im not home now so i cant check the tranny fluid to see if its full or not... the truck has 88000 miles on it and the tranny fluid i doubt its red but i dont think it should be that black like the way he described... anyway can you tell me if the oil pan is in the middle of the car just past the front wheels on this truck...?? thanks
this poor kid just got the truck and tries to do the oil change himself and probably did more harm then good..

also if he did drain all the tranny fluid is it as simple as buying some new fluid and filling it back up?

he also filled it up with 4qts of oil and checked it with the dip stick and it was just above full so i dont think it was the oil but still not sure...

4qts seems abit low however he would not be able to put 4 qts in unless he drained the oil pan. Or he had a really bad leak.

Auto trans fluid is Red. Unless heavily burned which would be brownish and smell really bad. Not to mention the trans holds a lot of oil.

The drain plug is exactly where you described it and if the skid plates are like the 4runner their should be a hole in the skid plate for the drain.

If he did happen to drain all the trans fluid you should be able to fill it back up and be ok.

To check the autotrans fluid pull the tranny dipstick while the engine is running and warm. The vehicle should be level.

It sounds like he drained the right fluid and might have another problem but to be safe he should check the tranny fluid before attempting to put it in gear again.

thanks a lot for this info... i told him what you said and he said when he filled it back up with 4 qts of oil and measured it with the dip stick it was just a bit above full ... also he said there was no skid plates its all visible and bare uner there you can see the exhaust pipes and the whole oil pan and bolt just by looking under the truck... he said the oil bolt is 14mm and had a washer...

he's not sure where the tranny reservoir is so when i get hom tonight ill have to check it for him... thanks for all the info if you have any other ideas let me know thanks..

poor kids dad is in Iraq and his mom bought him this used truck and he might have done more harm then good

hmm I guess 2wheel drives don't have skid plates. Regardless I think he is ok, just tell him not to drive it until you look at it. If the oil is fine in both trans and engine, make another post in the tacoma or 4wheeling section and we will help!

he told me when he fired it up now it gets into gear but he has to press the gas pedal all the way to the floor to get it moving... making me think it might be b/c there is no tranny fluid??

thanks a lot mickdaddy ... ill have to go home and check it out for him...

Check if his Parking brake is engaged.

well guys i just found out he did drain the tranny fluid... unfortunately, the washer kinda gave it away for me but there is no fluid in there what so ever and probably too much oil.... hard lesson learned but i guess its a good thing b/c the tranny fluid was so black it was due time anyway to have it changed.... now he has given it to a mechanic and they are going to fix it for him... thanks for your help guys...