So the wifey calls me yesterday morning to tell me that she is broke down on the highway. She managed to get it off onto an off ramp half way up. I was just getting to work. So I leave and go home to get changed and get my F-250. I call my friend who has an awesome trailer and drive 45 min. to get it and then another hour to go rescue the wife. I get there and friggin' people coming off the highway onto the ramp are just flying by us with no regard for our safety. I was screaming and yelling but it made no difference. So I did my best to get her vehicle up onto the trailer as fast as I could sock it down with one strap and get out of there ASAP! Pulled off the ramp and found a sweet parking lot right next to the ramp where I could pull in and calmly finish securing the vehicle.


So she was driving down the road at about 65-70 mph and without warning the tranny just whined loudly and stopped any further forward movement under power? The engine runs perfectly but when you shift it into any gear NADA nothing no noise no shifting nothing. So I don't know what is wrong with this thing but it owes us nothing with almost 300K on the clock and probably the original transmission, plus it survived a strawberry milkshake years ago and continued working fine for another 60+K miles after I replaced the radiator and flushed the tranny out for over an hour.


So anyone know where a good place is to source a rebuilt transmission? Should I even attempt to rebuild it myself? I have done all the work on this myself and would say I am very capable but I have never rebuilt a transmission before and I know it isn't trivial. Any and all advice is very welcome!

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one of my previous 4runners was a milkshake survivor too, if caught early enough you can save them.

now your problem sounds a lot more serious and not related to the milkshake you hada 60k ago. If I remember correctly the 2001 and 2002 was a different tranny from all the rest and had a weak planetary gear .
I have never rebuilt an automatic...I have manuals...I watched a friend rebuild an auto and it looked fairly simple...but I would not try it myself at this point in my life.
I would look into getting rebuilt or even look into a rebuilt from toyota

there are other good sources and Im sure someone will chime in soon.. My mind is blanking right now on name, but there is a guy on this forum from texas with a burgandy and gold 2001 that had his transmission rebuilt

Glad your wife was safe when that happened. Curious to know any source of good trans

Yes where I got mine 2 yrs ago now - Yota1 out of Riverbank CA. I'm sure prices have risen yet I got mine then for $2600 with a good core. Smooth as silk - even gained 2mpgs out of it. They likely will not have one just sitting on a shelf - you'll have to get in line but worth finding out their current load. Best of Luck whatever you do.

Products Archive - Yota1 Performance, Inc.

second for Yota1. Had my transmission in my '02 replaced there last november (2023) for the same price listed above. If your current seized core is still usable, they pay I think $800 for the old core. Cant remember but pretty sure the price listed above is AFTER the core return fee. I can't recommend Yota1 enough. Everyone there is legitimately passionate about old toyotas, love to shoot the shit about em, and are very up front and honest. My transmission has been like butter ever since

I just went through this on my 2002 with 275k miles. I went with YOTA 1 and its been good for a few months. Its nice to have a smooth shift again.

I dropped mine off to install and it was about 5k. They said they would let me knows if my core was any good when they opened but I never heard back so I guess it wasnt?

Id would assume your cores bad if the tranny stopped on you.

4th hi-5 for Yota1 where I'm going time comes.

Well if I were you I would contact them and ask about your core charge and why you were never contacted and given a refund? My core I assume is good just needs to be rebuilt from scratch and that is why they charged me a $1000 core fee. They said I would get back most of the core fee minus the shipping which honestly I kind of think isn’t really cool. I don’t have an issue paying for shipping for the new trans but having to pay for the shipping of the core which he said he values more than the core fee is a bit much truth be told. But I am happy I found a place with a good reputation that I could get a transmission from. I finally got the trans out today. I dropped the pan to put a junk yard pan on and there was quite a bit of junk in the pan. I don’t know what failed but it was enough to bring the vehicle to a complete halt on the interstate.

I am waiting for them to finish my rebuild and ship it. Cost was $2650 + $1000 core charge to be mostly refunded once they receive my core back. I just finished removing the trans today. I dropped the pan to install a junk yard pan which they said was a good idea. There was a good amount of junk in the pan. Something let loose in there. I’m guessing the pump.

Was yours still operating (somewhat) towards the end? Mine was yet would whine alot and sometimes what sounded like marbles (probably metal chunks from OD bearings) could be heard momentarily yet it would still drive and change gears right before I decided to park it.

I've read the '01-'02s planetary OD gears/bearings tend to have issues after 200k or so.

I've got 15K on the new trans and am just about ready to a full fluid swap. Kinda hate to do it since the toyota branded fluid was $13 a bottle (x12). Probably gonna go with Valvoline this time. Luck and enjoy the Runner.

I contacted Yota1 about a year ago and they offered a remove-rebuild-reinstall for 2650 plus 1000 for the R&R parts and labor. I could swing that with rides from friends as they are only a couple hours from me. The money was tight but I would find a way. I could never get Rebecca to email me a quote, however, so I put it on the back burner. I've had a transmission whine for 2 years(!) and it's my only vehicle. God I love these trucks!

@ITWrencher not meaning to hi-jack thread.

Mine developed the whine, what pushed me to pull pan change main screen.
Didn't help whine, pint of Seafoam Trans conditioner did.
Could be worth a try, why I did sort of last-ditch effort thinking Trans going.
Seafoam only a cleaner not going to fix mechanical issues. Scratching my head since.
Only thing I can point a finger at Seafoam cleaned 3 strainers in the valvebody.
Yea great minds at Yota 8/99 decided 1 main screen not enough let's add 3 more.

So today I finished the transmission job and got Bessie back on the road. She drives better than ever. As usual though there is a BUT? Two minor issues I’m looking at. First is the VSC OFF & VSC TRAC lights are on with no MIL indicator light? My hand held tester does not seem to have any ability to read brake system codes…….ARGHHHHH! I got back under the vehicle to check and make sure all plugs etc. were connected and they were. When I shut the car off and then restart it still in park I have no lights on. I can manipulate the 4x4 system and lock the transfer case etc. with no problem but as soon as I put it in drive and begin moving those two lights pop back on? The other thing is that I am feeling an odd vibration when driving down the road that can be felt in my back in the seat. I don’t know if it is a normal 4Runner vibration or if something is still not right? Maybe something to do with the VSC OFF VSC TRAC lights on? I tried reading the manual on this system and holy hell is it complicated. The vehicle runs great and is shifting better than it ever has. When you mash the throttle she downshifts and really feels like she got a full makeover. The wifey said it felt like it had more horsepower…..LOL. I’m going to get in touch with a friend of mine who was a Toyota dealer tech for a long time and see what he says unless someone hear possibly is an expert on the VSC system? Overall I am quite pleased with the Yota1 Performance trans that we bought. It makes the truck feel like a completely different vehicle.

For those finding this thread, @infamousRNR and I have a 3-part video series you can use for the job.

Here's Part 1: