Beck/Arnley Auto Trans Filter Kit - 044-0330

I've been using Beck/Arnley auto parts for a long time and always find them to be as good as genuine named OEM. This Transmission Filter is another fine example of superior quality auto parts that fit and work perfectly, with no leaks. Very highly recommended auto parts.

I've been wanting to change the Transmission Filter on this 2007 Corolla as it's never been changed despite just hitting 120K miles & being 14 years old. I did do several "Drain & Fills" when the car was purchased (4 years & 30K miles ago) so I knew the Automatic Transmission Fluid was still good. I bought a Genuine Toyota Transmission Pan Gasket for this filter change job so I didn't use the rubber pan gasket that came with this filter. I figured if the original Toyota Gasket hasn't leaked in 14 years, I would get another one, but I don't think it matters as the rubber gaskets are apparently very good. FYI-The Toyota Gasket is made of a cork composite while the one that comes in this box was rubber. Next time I change the filter, I guess I'll just use this rubber gasket instead of buying a Genuine Toyota Gasket.You drain the ATF by unbolting the 14mm drain bolt on the drain pan, then put the bolt back in, then unbolt the 18 bolts (all are 10mm) that attach the Transmission Fluid Pan to the Transmission I unbolted the bolts closest to the rear of the vehicle first & then worked my way up on both sides to the front so I could lean the pan towards the back of the vehicle to methodically & SLOWLY drain the fluid to the basin I placed under the pan. I'd recommend to still have a few shop towels or old T-shirts to catch some of the fluid that spills outside the basin & then throw them out afterwards. Take it slowly as otherwise the Transmission Fluid tends to come rushing out too quickly making a mess. I then removed the old transmission filter by removing 3 bolts (All 10 mm bolt heads just like the pan bolts) , 2 short bolts on one side & one longer bolt on the other side. I put in the new filter & it fit perfectly & looked just like the old one. I made sure the long bolt was installed on the side by itself & 2 short ones on the other side. I took off the old transmission pan gasket (mine was still attached to the transmission pan mating surface and came off easily) & cleaned off any remnants of the gasket on the transmission mating surface with a one-sided razor blade tilted at about 5 to 10 degrees and did the same thing to any remnants of the old gasket on the transmission pan mating surface (there were surprisingly very little remnants of the old gasket on either of the mating surfaces). I cleaned up the two magnets located in the pan (they had a fine gray dust like shavings on them-this is normal) with a paper towel & then cleaned the pan with water & then brake cleaner & dried it with paper towels. I placed the magnets back to their original spots; there are 2 raised lines in the pan if I remember correctly (one lengthwise & one widthwise) that help you orient them in the correct place. I then placed the new gasket on the pan & lifted the pan up to the transmission & screwed a bolt or two in by hand (only a few threads) to hold the pan and then started putting all the other bolts (18 in all) in just enough so they'll hold up the pan. I then tightened the bolts going in a "star-like" approach still using just my fingers. The goal is not to tighten one part of the pan tight while another part of the pan is barely on there; you want the gasket to depress evenly so it seals well. I got my wrench with a 10mm socket and tightened all of them them a little more. The torque requirements for these bolts is very small (about 48 to about 80 in/lbs (NOT FOOT/LBS!!!) from what I can gather as I've read conflicting specs for the torque requirement) so DON'T OVER-TIGHTEN them. Chilton Manual mentions 13 ft/lbs. which is a mistake as they apparently copied down the torque for the transmission drain bolt which is a 13 FOOT/LBS. You'll probably strip out the pan bolts & ruin the gasket at this torque specification!! I'll have to check again to see what Toyota says, but I chose to do it without my torque wrench as there were too many conflicting answers. It may have to do with the Genuine Toyota Gasket (cork composite) requiring a certain torque while the aftermarket rubber gaskets requires another. Regardless, it's better to err on the side of less torque at first.I started putting the new Automatic Transmission Fluid in via the ATF tube(make sure you have a narrow funnel that will fit inside this narrow tube). I first put in about 3.2 quarts of automatic transmission fluid if I remember correctly, started the vehicle & shifted into each gear (Park, Drive, Reverse etc.) for about 5 or 10 seconds & checked the fluid. IF full, it should be around the "Cold" marking on the Transmission Fluid Dip Stick as you just started the vehicle, but checking the level when the vehicle is hot shows the most accurate measurement. According to the Owners Manual, a "Drain & fill" for this vehicle is 3.2 quarts (3.0 Liters/2.6 Imp. qts) so since you remove even more fluid when removing the old ATF filter, you should probably put in about 3.5 quarts to start. I started off very conservatively at 3.2 quarts, but over the next few days, I checked it and added a little more each time. Ultimately, I believe I ended up putting in a total of about 4.0 quarts. I'd recommend driving the car for 20 minutes & then just checking your dipstick & adding more fluid as needed. AT Fluid increases in volume as the car warms up. For what it's worth, I've read that the amount of fluid required to move the level from the "COLD" marking on the dipstick to the "HOT" marking on this vehicle is about 1/2 quart.It takes a little while to do this job, but it's not difficult. The important things are to 1-slowly & methodically remove the pan bolts & tilt to one side to avoid AT Fluid spilling out too fast 2-make sure the long bolt goes on one side & the 2 short bolts go on the other side when bolting in the filter 3-make sure the mating surfaces on the pan & transmission are clean so the pan gasket seals well, and maybe most importantly 4-tighten the transmission fluid pan bolts a little bit tighter than hand tight as you don't want to strip the bolts.It's better to be conservative when 1-adding new transmission fluid and 2-tightening those 18 transmission pan bolts. If you do notice a leak from the transmission pan when you start the vehicle, you can always just tighten a bolt, or bolts, a little bit where it's leaking, but if you strip a bolt by tightening it too much, then you've got a problem. If you have a torque wrench, I would start with 48 in/lbs & see if it leaks. If it does leak, I would go incrementally higher till no leakage. I was surprised how little torque it took to remove the 18 pan bolts when I first removed the transmission pan. Finally, after you drive around for 15 to 20 minutes (to get the engine up to normal operating temperature), park on a flat surface with the engine running, check the Automatic Transmission Fluid dipstick and if its lower than the "hot" mark, you can just add some AT Fluid. If you put too much fluid in, then you have to drain some of it out after waiting for the vehicle to cool down first.FYI-Very little metal shavings were in the transmission fluid pan & old filter; I could see some small metal shaving glittering in the sun light when I cleaned out the transmission pan. They are tiny silver particles and I noted some gray dust-like particles on the magnets, bottom of the pan & inside the old filter. This is normal wear & tear; you just don't want to see big chunks of metal particles.

Perfect fit did lay the gasket out in the sun for a couple of hours which straightened the bends from being in the box filter was a perfect fit

The gasket is rubber. Beware the bolt holes are slightly over size and do not capture the bolts. This presents a potential for the gasket folding or slipping into the transmission during install and not sealing, it happened to me and had to drop the pan again due to a dripping leak then used thick grease to hold the gasket to the pan and hand start all the bolts prior to taking down and torquing. Slightly over torqued to 80 in lbs since there was seepage at 72 in lbs. I expected better of Beck/Arnley but it is a decent product. Pay attention and it'll do the job.

The transmission filter kit was exactly as decribed and fit without any issues.

Drained trannie fluid on 2008 corolla with 175,000 miles - no prior service done. Filter and rubber gasket fit. Rubber gasket was not as thick as the one it replaced. So far no leaks and trannie running fine. Giving 4 stars cause the rubber gasket was thinner than the one on the car with 175,000 miles on it.

This is a good kit at a fair price. It has a good non cork pan gasket.

The filter and gasket appeared to be high-quality parts, and were easy to install. The gasket laid flat, and aligned with the holes in the drain pan with no issues.