Yeah, that warranty would expire just in time for it to fail lol. Many of the users on here have 200k+ on the original unit, I think anything under 200k would be a decent bet, obviously lower is better though.

I have to say you are 100% correct at saying toyota transmissions dont do well being rebuilt. I talked to my toyota dealer and they refused to do any transmission rebuild and would only sell a new one for 6k. They referred me to a local transmission shop who they sub out their trans work. I spent 2500 having the muther rebuilt only to have it become the biggest pain in my ass i have ever had. It shifts terrible, i have had it in the shop in and out for the last 8 months and only to still have it stick in gear and constantly throw a "shift solenoid E" code. So needless to say i have over 3k in it now and its not fixed. i should have bought a junkyard transmission.

I opted for a used one with 130k on it. My girl is in the shop getting it swapped in so we'll see how it pans out. I'm hoping for the best since it's such a high risk situation. I was originally going to suck it up and spend the 3k to have it rebuilt but I decided not to.

I'm looking forward to hearing how your used swap in goes. I'm in a similar boat and trying to nail down my game plan.

Damn...I'm so following this thread...got pink milkshake two weeks ago but my local mechanic opted to do a full tranny flush (50 qts) as he said there wasn't much contamination in there. 120 miles later (knock on wood), still running great but i'm sure i'll be revisiting this issue again. Good to know about not using rebuilts.

I found a local shop recommended by a couple people I know. Most of the other local shops wouldn't put a used one in stating "We can't warranty the work since it's used." I'm like, yeah I know, I'm the one who bought the used tranny. Lol. The guy I talked to at the shop seems like a good guy and he said he would inspect the transmission (without disassembling the whole thing) and that he wouldn't put it in if something looks shady. They'll also take care of the old tranny which I didn't want to deal with anyway. They can rebuild it and come out ahead so it works in their favor. They're charging me 700 to swap it in so about 1300 total once all is said and done. That's a heck of a lot better than 3000. If you can do it yourself then you'll save the shop costs. I didn't feel comfortable doing that job myself. Fingers crossed that all ends up well. I'll report back with the conclusion. Should be tomorrow or early next week. It's one of those things where you really hope you made the right choice. Lol.

Make sure you monitor the fluid for the next few months. I flushed mine after a PMS with gallons and gallons of fluid yet a few months later, the tranny fluid still had coolant in it.

Just make sure you keep an eye on it. Any sign that there is coolant still in it, flush it again....

Then again.....

Or realize that after all that wasteful flushing you could replace it for a little bit more. And spare the hassle and worry of a future failure from h2o in the trans which breaks down vital clutch band material.

I've spent maybe a hundred dollars on fluid and my tranny still works great. I'd say that is money well spent.

Now people paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars to have it flushed instead of doing it themselves would probably be better off just swapping it out especially if the tranny was already showing signs it was about to shit the bed..

I haven't forgotten about this. The wrecking yard delivered the tranny late so my 4runner is still in the shop. Waiting...

I've got a 95 4Runner that seems to be stuck in 4wd low. Would a bad #4 solenoid cause this

This is the 3rd gen section, I would ask in the 2nd gen forum.

I doubt a bad solenoid in the tranny would cause the transfer case to be stuck in 4 low though.

Sorry to revive an old thread but I just had my trans go out yesterday. P0770 code for maybe a month, as soon as the code came up I had it checked and immediately did a drain and fill with the trans fluid. The car was running and shifting just fine with no issues. about a week after the drain and fill on a very cold morning heard some crazy whining coming from the transmission - though it was the torque converter. shifted slowly into gear maybe once or twice. the noise went away and once again drove just fine.

Fast forward to yesterday, driving up a mountain road on my way to a meeting when all of a sudden the tach jumps to redline and the transmission temp light comes on. Pullover. let it idle for maybe ten minutes then just shut it off for another ten and checked fluids. Smelled burnt to shit. decided to limp it 3 miles to the place where I needed to be for my meeting. I ended up getting to a family members house that lived nearby and that's where she sits currently. trying to decide what to do with her.

I would look for a used transmission, with only 109k on the 4runner I would think it would have lots of life left in it.

But if uncertainty creeps in as having it as a DD, then fix and sell it, and find something newer.

^This

Find a low mileage used tranny and swap it in. It's a fair amount of work but I was able to swap mine over the course of a week which included removing the good tranny from my 99 donor vehicle. This was all done on my back in my garage with the help of a buddy for a few hours at times.

If you're not up to the task, have a shop do it.

Lot's of life should be left in your 4R with only 109k miles on it.