When I’m at a red light and go to take off, full engine/trans temp

I know what I’m going to say isn’t really for This thread but I need major help FYI this is my daily driver

Hey, I have a 1999 4Runner limited, v6 etc. my car won’t turn on, it won’t even crank, I turn the key to turn it on and all I hear was one click and that’s it but after a couple tries it will turn on but recently it’s been taking forever.
Initially we thought it was the battery so we went and got it checked, turns out it needed to be replaced so we did that. Then it was fine for a day but it started happening again, I did some research and found that maybe it was the starter relay so I went and replaced that and it work fine for a day again then it did it again. Once the car starts it drives perfectly normal but the problem is only when I try and start it.
Probably a week before it started happening my check engine light came on and me and my brother checked it out and it said I had a problem with my Throttle position sensor, we cleared the code because it seemed like a easy fix, so the next day I was under the hood to see what I needed to do to fix it and I saw a tube by the TPS was almost out so I pushed it back in and since then the check engine light never came back on. (I never replace the TPS)
Any help would be appreciated if you wanna know more to help me out I would gladly respond thank you.

The contacts within your starter are shot and need to be replaced. You can either pull your starter apart and replace just the contacts or you can buy a new/rebuilt starter. I would only buy an OEM starter (Denso brand) as aftermarket starters for these trucks are trash.

Replacing the contacts is super easy, removing the starter on the other hand, is a little tricky if you have 4WD.

This video will you show you exactly what needs to be done.

Starter Removal and Solenoid Repair - YouTube

Interesting. I thought they would only throw a code if somethin internally is wrong. Usually when they get above 300 degrees or something the A/T temp light will come on.


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This can be a separate issue of sticking rear driveshaft splines. Read up on lubing the rear driveshaft, which can fix the single clunk feeling when coming to a full stop or right when you start going again.

-Charlie

UPDATE: Dropped my pan, I’ll attach some pics of what it looked like in the pan. Magnets have minor amounts of metal on them imo for 200k miles. Refilled with Valvoline Maxlife ATF (red bottle) and it still shifts hard under low throtte(normal driving) however under heavy throttle the shifts are smooth. If I shift it manually using the lever from 1 - 2 - D the shifts are completely smooth also. I don’t get it. No metal bits or anything in the pan, new fluid, correct fluid level(I think), in-line magnifine filter and new transmission filter and it’s still not shifting smooth. Would trying a different fluid such as the blue bottle of Valvoline ATF have a better effect? I’ve heard some people say it’s a little thicker of a fluid which might help with the shifting. Is it okay if they mix?

Anything helps, thank you.


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Unfortunately I don't believe another type of fluid will make too much of a difference. Valvoline Maxlife is decent stuff. Full synthetic is better but not that much better (I've used both and stick with synthetic now). You've done all the maintenance items that one can possibly do. It may be time just to ride it out until the issue makes it undrivable or start looking for a low-cost used transmission to swap out if it's that bad. Hard to diagnose over the internet if it is really that bad or more of an annoyance.

It could make a difference, and it did for me, which is why I let people know of the viscosity difference of Maxlife ATF. You want a fluid that does not sacrifice viscosity to meet Toyota WS specification.

This could also be related to the kickdown cable. The common recommendation here is to adjust it to death. At 25 years, there is a fair chance the cable is stretched and binding. Replacing the throttle cable made a huge difference on my FZJ80. I would imagine the kickdown cable would have the same effect, as there is binding you won't realize until you compare with a new cable.

Thanks for the input. I’ve messed with the kickdown cable a couple of times. Right now it is pretty tight. I will try loosening it a lot and see what that does. Maybe I’ll even remove and inspect. I feel like I sound like a broken record but that might just be me trying to deny the fact that it’s going out.


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If it was going out, wouldn’t it shift bad all the time? Some times it’s perfectly smooth and it’s smooth every time when shifted using the 1-2-D on the lever.


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The cable shouldn't be super tight. That might be your problem.

Yes, it would start to shift bad every time and progressively get worse and start to slip or drift when shifting. Like I said, it's really hard to diagnose a 'feel' sort of thing over an internet forum. My 4Runner shifts hard when cold but once the fluid heats up it shifts smooth, except when I get on the throttle then it shifts very quick and hard again. If one were to drive mine for the first time, one might think there's something wrong with it but in actuality it's working exactly how I want it to. There are slight adjustments that can be made for shifting behavior using the above mentioned kickdown cable that's on the throttle body, and more drastic measures by modifying the throttle body. That's more for firmer shifts, not smoother shifts though.

Thank you. This isn’t that. This is delayed engagement of the transmission. It will act like it is in neutral, and then when I give it gas it will rev then slam into gear if I’m not careful. Also happens when I make a turn and the trans downshift. It will downshift into “neutral”, then slam into gear. I can feel when it’s in “neutral”, so I can baby the throttle and it shifts “smoothly” into a gear.

I made this post a while ago while I was fighting to figure out whether or not I need to plan on replacing my transmission. I’ve learned some new things and tried changing some things in order to try and get it to start shifting normal but nothing really seems to make any difference… previously I was adjusting the kickdown cable to “factory spec” or the measurements that were written in the factory service manual which states that the little rubber knob should be sticking 0-1mm out of the rubber housing. However when I do that, the transmission kicks into gears while driving. I loosened the cable so that the knob is inside the rubber housing(I’ll attach a picture) and that’s the only way it shifts smooth. Also, when I take my foot off the gas petal and then press the gas again, there’s an initial jolt, then it downshifts and goes. Does anyone else’s car do this? I feel like it’s probably not a good thing if the line pressure has to be really loose for it to shift normally. For those of you who have older model 4Runners, if you have time can you look and see where your cables are adjusted to? Literally any information will help. Thank you!



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The accelerator and kickdown cables on the majority of these trucks could use replacement at this point. Even if you get adjustment correct, the cable may not operate smoothly anymore. FSM adjustment likely does not factor in stretching over time as well.

That being said, yours looks incredibly loose. You could undo the cable without even loosening the nuts.