2004 tacoma automatic transmission fluid change

tried to change automatic transmission fluid and filter.
removed all the pan bolts and the 3 bolts anchoring the check fluid tube. but couldn't remove pan. was afraid to pry to hard and damage the pan. finally added fluid back in and was unable to change the filter. my tacoma was 93000 miles. any suggestions

 

The pans can get glued up there so they take a bit of prying. Luckily for you there's no point to changing the filter. The filter is a mesh and will only catch large particles so it never really gets dirty. Change the fluid every 30k and you'll be good.

 

How did the fluid you drained out look and smell? It should be clear/red. 93K miles is normally not all that much.

If it didn't smell burnt or look really brown, you should be fine with just doing that drain and fill. If it was dark, do another drain and fill in 500 miles or so. Keep that cycle going until the fluid looks clear/red and smells like fresh ATF.

I have replaced the filter on an A340F with over 200K and it looked really clean still. But then, the fluid in that trans was also in great condition.

 

The answer to your question is an oil pan seal separator / gasket cutter:


But as the others have mentioned, with only 93k, a few drain and fills over the next few thousand miles to change out as much of the atf as possible is sufficient.