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Mystery screw found in my automatic transmission pan.
Hello,
I have a 1999 SC 300 with an A340E automatic transmission.
I removed the transmission pan to change the pickup screen filter and to my surprise found a steel cadmium plated M4 x .7mm x 12mm Phillips pan head screw in the pan. No lock washer or any other hardware was found. The pan did not have an abnormal amount of clutch material or ferrous debris stuck to the magnets.
My question is this... Does my A340E transmission use this size screw anywhere internally. The definitive answers I'm looking for are if this screw, exactly as stated above and not simply an M4 screw with an alternate head type and length is used in my A340E. I would think someone would have to have a fair amount of A340E rebuild experience to definitively answer this question.
Thank you LeX2K.
My transmission seems to be working fine, but I would feel a lot better if I knew for sure if this screw did or did not originate from this transmission. If it did not originate from this transmission, I can only conclude past service carelessness or attempted sabotage.
I hope someone on ClubLexus can shed some light on this.
So bare with me since it has been about 4-5 years since I found the same screw in my pan attached to one of the magnets. I cant remember for the life of me where it ended up fitting, but I do recall taking an hour or so to find the spot. The trans worked just the same with or without it, but for peace of mind I was on a mission to put it back. I want to say the way i found it's home was I saw another screw like it and found an open hole that was threaded and fit near the one that was in place. Not a great answer, but I can confirm that screw was from inside the trans and you can put it back in.
So bare with me since it has been about 4-5 years since I found the same screw in my pan attached to one of the magnets. I cant remember for the life of me where it ended up fitting, but I do recall taking an hour or so to find the spot. The trans worked just the same with or without it, but for peace of mind I was on a mission to put it back. I want to say the way i found it's home was I saw another screw like it and found an open hole that was threaded and fit near the one that was in place. Not a great answer, but I can confirm that screw was from inside the trans and you can put it back in.
Thank you vipsoarer.
I'm guessing you did not document the diameter, length, and thread pitch of the mystery screw, but how certain are you that it was a Phillips head screw at least?
You're correct I didn't document it. From memory with how strangely sized (small, fine pitch, about 3/4" long) along with being a Philips head and not a standard bolt head, I remember it very well. It's one of those things that sticks out that you wouldnt think would be associated with the transmission.
Yes, it is off colored gold and cadmium plated. I finally found a photo of the mystery screw and where it belongs. I doubt it will hurt anything to leave it out for now. The link is: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...placement.html
04-24-22, 08:30 PM
Mystery screw found in my automatic transmission pan.
