2001 4runner Tranny problems

[Fabio]

Hey guys.

Iam new at this whole toyota thing but I have a few questions about the tranny on my 2001 4runner V6 automatic 4x4 limited. The motor sounds strong, and really good, I have not done a compression test but the oil checks out. Now the Tranny. First the fluid is brown in color it is at the correct level on the dip stick, when started and shifted into P R N D 2 1 the tranny grinds and will not move. The transfer case sounds like it is switching into gear when moved from L N H. But it will still not move. I did just buy this 4runner, the thing that has me thinking long and hard is that the person before me switched the original 4 wheel dirve knob on the shifter to a chrome piece of junk that does not have a button on the knob. Would that be part of the problem and what does the original knob look like? Thank You

 

[zopperman]

Moved to the 3rd Gen section so that you can get some help

 

[snivilous]

The fluid shouldn't be brown, it should be red. Smell it, it should smell like carrots. And the knob with the 4WD button shouldn't matter, whether the button is actually engaged or not (which you will be able to tell from your dash 4x4 lights) won't matter since you have a multi mode transfer case meaning it acts like an AWD system if the 4WD button is engaged as long as the center lock is open (the button to the left of the steering column locks the transfer case which will display as an orange icon in the middle of your 4x4 lights and show "VSC OFF"), so you should be safe from hurting anything in that regard. I would flush all the fluid from the tranny and see what the filter and magnets in the the tranny pan look like to see if there are shaving. Then try and cycle it and see how it reacts, I feel like even with new fluid it won't help much but it's worth a shot. That wasn't much on fixing it since I don't know that much about trannys, but good luck!

 

[Fabio]

Tranny problems

Thanks for the help