3rd Gen 4Runner Automatic Transmission Slipping?

[amalik]

Maybe having a lift speeds things up and then the fact [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I filmed the whole process but there is no f*cking way we had the trans out anywhere close to within 2 hours. It took Sean and I at least a whole days worth of work. I heard this before. Took us about 2 hours and I just don't see how that's possible.

First, we got the shifters disconnected and that took a while. Then we got the driveshafts out. Next was the rear crossmember and the sway bar. Then we disconnected all the electrical connections to the transfer case, removed the bolts that hold the transfer case to the transmission and separated the transfer case from the transmission. Next we took the upper dipstick tube out and took off the access plate off the bottom of the bell housing. Then, as Sean turned the crankshaft bolt, I got all the bolts out that hold the flex plate to the torque converter. Then we had to get all the electrical connections disconnected from the transmission and disconnected the wiring loom completely from the trans. Next we pulled the starter. Then we got the transmission jack in place and took out the front cross member. Finally, we remove the bell housing bolts and pull the transmission out.

Again, how the f*ck you do all the above in 2 hours is beyond my comprehension. Even if we weren't doing this all on our backs and we weren't filming this, I know we still would have taken way more than 2 hours. However, if 2 guys are working at the same time with a lift, I reckon things would go much quicker. Since we're filming every step, we can't be working on different things at the same time.

Anyway, I know I'm a slow mechanic but I mange to getter dun.

Sean is backed up with his editing duties because we've been doing quite a bit of wrenching lately so hopefully we'll have the video out within the next month. It will be a multi-part video because one video for the whole job would be way too long.

hey Tim, what are ya'll doing, swapping with junkyard?

 

[mtbtim]

hey Tim, what are ya'll doing, swapping with junkyard?

We put a Toyota remanned one in his rig. Sean called around to all the Toyota dealers in the Bay Area and picked up one at Melody Toyota in San Bruno for $2200. Most of the dealerships wanted $2500+.

 

[amalik]

We put a Toyota remanned one in his rig. Sean called around to all the Toyota dealers in the Bay Area and picked up one at Melody Toyota in San Bruno for $2200. Most of the dealerships wanted $2500+.

awesome!

so it had transfer case and tranny in one?

 

[mtbtim]

awesome!

so it had transfer case and tranny in one?

No, it didn't. $2200 is just the price for the auto transmission. We separated the transfer case from the transmission and then turned in his damaged transmission to avoid paying the core charge.

His transfer case is fine, I hope. He had a noise before the transmission imploded and we're thinking it's the rear driveshaft. Sean said the noise has recently gotten louder so we're going to take a look at the driveshaft to see if there's any noticeable play. Then we'll probably remove the shaft and drive around in 4Hi to see if the noise goes away.

 

[thegipper]

Did the rebuilt tranny for the dealer come with any kind of warranty and will they honor it if you install it yourself?

Thanks Tim

 

[amalik]

No, it didn't. $2200 is just the price for the auto transmission. We separated the transfer case from the transmission and then turned in his damaged transmission to avoid paying the core charge.

His transfer case is fine, I hope. He had a noise before the transmission imploded and we're thinking it's the rear driveshaft. Sean said the noise has recently gotten louder so we're going to take a look at the driveshaft to see if there's any noticeable play. Then we'll probably remove the shaft and drive around in 4Hi to see if the noise goes away.

cool.

I hope for your guys sake you don't have bad u-joints or DC in the rear DS. Remember that other thread we were both a part of? Painful topic.

Maybe lube/grease 'em up?

 

[mtbtim]

Did the rebuilt tranny for the dealer come with any kind of warranty and will they honor it if you install it yourself?

Thanks Tim

The rebuilt tranny comes with a 1 year, 30,000 mile warranty. Don't know if the warranty is an issue if you install it yourself. Maybe something we should have asked but I think we could definitely argue we did everything right especially since we documented everything by videoing the whole thing. You either get the transmission bolted up to the engine or you don't. I don't know how they could say something we did with the installation could cause an internal failure on the trans unless we forgot to put fluid in it.

Anyway, I hope we don't have to deal with a warranty issue and this remanned transmission gives Sean lots and lots of trouble-free years.

 

[mtbtim]

cool.

I hope for your guys sake you don't have bad u-joints or DC in the rear DS. Remember that other thread we were both a part of? Painful topic.

Maybe lube/grease 'em up?

We lubed his u-joints a while back but I do remember one fitting on the double cardon joint giving us a problem getting the grease gun onto it. I forgot about this when we were putting his truck back together. We'll start by greasing all the u-joints and slip yoke and see if anything changes with the noise. Then we'll probably pull the shaft and drive it in 4Hi and see if the sound goes away. If not, we know the problem is somewhere else.

 

[thegipper]

Long story short on my tranny issue I was having, it appears to be fixed (clogged tranny filter as I suspected).

More details can be found here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/235022-parts-list-future-tranny-swap-2.html

thanks everyone for the help/advise

 

[Pritch421]

Hey guys, I'm brand new here and just purchased my first 4Runner last weekend. I've searched around a bit for an answer but haven't run across it just yet.

I drove my '99 2WD 4Runner for a week without issue. The last day or so, the transmission is having trouble shifting from park/neutral to 1st gear. Basically, I'll start it up, put it in drive, let my foot off the break and it doesn't roll. If I hit the gas, it'll "thump" and kick in to gear. It doesn't have this issue when I go from park to reverse and there aren't any transmission issues once driving. Also, when I pull in my garage it does smell a little burnt. I'm hoping it's just the transmission fluid. Any help or thoughts are appreciated!

 

[mtbtim]

We lubed his u-joints a while back but I do remember one fitting on the double cardon joint giving us a problem getting the grease gun onto it. I forgot about this when we were putting his truck back together. We'll start by greasing all the u-joints and slip yoke and see if anything changes with the noise. Then we'll probably pull the shaft and drive it in 4Hi and see if the sound goes away. If not, we know the problem is somewhere else.

We figured out the noise the other day. It was his parking brake cable vibrating. We tightened the cable and the noise went away. Stoked it was such an easy fix.

 

[mtbtim]

Hey guys, I'm brand new here and just purchased my first 4Runner last weekend. I've searched around a bit for an answer but haven't run across it just yet.

I drove my '99 2WD 4Runner for a week without issue. The last day or so, the transmission is having trouble shifting from park/neutral to 1st gear. Basically, I'll start it up, put it in drive, let my foot off the break and it doesn't roll. If I hit the gas, it'll "thump" and kick in to gear. It doesn't have this issue when I go from park to reverse and there aren't any transmission issues once driving. Also, when I pull in my garage it does smell a little burnt. I'm hoping it's just the transmission fluid. Any help or thoughts are appreciated!

Check your trans fluid level and notice the color. If it's pink, it's good. If it's dark, it needs changing.

It could also be sticking rear brake shoes. Maybe your brakes got compromised with gear oil due to a leaking axle seal and your brake pads are swollen from the grease. Take a look at the inside of the rear tires and see if you see any grease sprayed onto them. If you don't see anything, remove the rear wheels, remove the drums and inspect the brakes.

 

[Pritch421]

Check your trans fluid level and notice the color. If it's pink, it's good. If it's dark, it needs changing.

It could also be sticking rear brake shoes. Maybe your brakes got compromised with gear oil due to a leaking axle seal and your brake pads are swollen from the grease. Take a look at the inside of the rear tires and see if you see any grease sprayed onto them. If you don't see anything, remove the rear wheels, remove the drums and inspect the brakes.

Much appreciated! I checked the trans fluid this morning and it was brown so definitely need to get that flushed and replaced. Hope this fixes the issue!

 

[thegipper]

Much appreciated! I checked the trans fluid this morning and it was brown so definitely need to get that flushed and replaced. Hope this fixes the issue!

If your fluid is brown, than I would to a total fluid exchange using the video Tim made. You essentially pump one quart out and fill one quart at a time (approximately 13 times). This will leave you with all new fluid.

Make sure you check your fluid afterwards and get the level correct. The tranny fluid temp needs to be at least 150 degree's (stop and go neighborhood streets for 20 minutes usually works) and should be at the top of the "hot' mark. You check it while its running, after shifting through all of the gears for a few seconds. Check it while it's running and in park.

These tranny's are pretty picky about the level being correct.

My tranny recently started whining and had a delay (when cold) shifting from P to D or P to R. In my case, the fluid was brand new still but the filter was totally plugged up starving the pump. This is what caused the whine to occur and the delay in shifting from P to D or P to R but now it has completely gone away.

 

[mtbtim]

If your fluid is brown, than I would to a total fluid exchange using the video Tim made. You essentially pump one quart out and fill one quart at a time (approximately 13 times). This will leave you with all new fluid.

Make sure you check your fluid afterwards and get the level correct. The tranny fluid temp needs to be at least 150 degree's (stop and go neighborhood streets for 20 minutes usually works) and should be at the top of the "hot' mark. You check it while its running, after shifting through all of the gears for a few seconds. Check it while it's running and in park.

These tranny's are pretty picky about the level being correct.

My tranny recently started whining and had a delay (when cold) shifting from P to D or P to R. In my case, the fluid was brand new still but the filter was totally plugged up starving the pump. This is what caused the whine to occur and the delay in shifting from P to D or P to R but now it has completely gone away.

Hey Mike, since you have experience with this, I have a question for you. When you took your filter out and cleaned it, do you think that fine metal mesh runs the entire length of the filter or is it just covering that one inlet opening? The reason why I'm asking is because I was thinking of dropping my pan soon to see what has accumulated at the bottom of the trans pan magnets to get an idea of the health of my transmission and then also inspect and clean the filter.

If the metal mesh just covers the inlet opening, I could see how you could effectively clean it and reinstall it. But, if the filter material runs the length of the filter, I don't see how you could thoroughly clean it through that one inlet port. Also, there's cork gaskets on one side of the filter that seal against the transmission. Did you have any concern that taking off this old filter and reinstalling it would cause issues with maybe the old gaskets on the filter not resealing well against the transmission?

I priced the filter on Camelback Toyota and it's $42. When you factor in the shipping, you're talking $52. A place like Camelback does offer free shipping but your order has to be at least $150. So, I'm just trying to figure out if removing, cleaning and reinstalling the filter is the smart move or replacing it is the better option.

 

[mtbtim]

If your fluid is brown, than I would to a total fluid exchange using the video Tim made. You essentially pump one quart out and fill one quart at a time (approximately 13 times). This will leave you with all new fluid.

Make sure you check your fluid afterwards and get the level correct. The tranny fluid temp needs to be at least 150 degree's (stop and go neighborhood streets for 20 minutes usually works) and should be at the top of the "hot' mark. You check it while its running, after shifting through all of the gears for a few seconds. Check it while it's running and in park.

These tranny's are pretty picky about the level being correct.

My tranny recently started whining and had a delay (when cold) shifting from P to D or P to R. In my case, the fluid was brand new still but the filter was totally plugged up starving the pump. This is what caused the whine to occur and the delay in shifting from P to D or P to R but now it has completely gone away.

Here's the video Mike was referencing:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RumPXivBlk8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Pritch421]

If your fluid is brown, than I would to a total fluid exchange using the video Tim made. You essentially pump one quart out and fill one quart at a time (approximately 13 times). This will leave you with all new fluid.

Make sure you check your fluid afterwards and get the level correct. The tranny fluid temp needs to be at least 150 degree's (stop and go neighborhood streets for 20 minutes usually works) and should be at the top of the "hot' mark. You check it while its running, after shifting through all of the gears for a few seconds. Check it while it's running and in park.

These tranny's are pretty picky about the level being correct.

My tranny recently started whining and had a delay (when cold) shifting from P to D or P to R. In my case, the fluid was brand new still but the filter was totally plugged up starving the pump. This is what caused the whine to occur and the delay in shifting from P to D or P to R but now it has completely gone away.

Awesome! Thank you both. I'll take a look at the video and see if it looks like something I can do myself. I'm definitely a novice so we'll see. Any advice on types of transmission fluid?

 

[thegipper]

Hey Mike, since you have experience with this, I have a question for you. When you took your filter out and cleaned it, do you think that fine metal mesh runs the entire length of the filter or is it just covering that one inlet opening? The reason why I'm asking is because I was thinking of dropping my pan soon to see what has accumulated at the bottom of the trans pan magnets to get an idea of the health of my transmission and then also inspect and clean the filter.

If the metal mesh just covers the inlet opening, I could see how you could effectively clean it and reinstall it. But, if the filter material runs the length of the filter, I don't see how you could thoroughly clean it through that one inlet port. Also, there's cork gaskets on one side of the filter that seal against the transmission. Did you have any concern that taking off this old filter and reinstalling it would cause issues with maybe the old gaskets on the filter not resealing well against the transmission?

I priced the filter on Camelback Toyota and it's $42. When you factor in the shipping, you're talking $52. A place like Camelback does offer free shipping but your order has to be at least $150. So, I'm just trying to figure out if removing, cleaning and reinstalling the filter is the smart move or replacing it is the better option.

Good questions Tim.

The mesh does appear to run the entire length of the filter. This is why I used two full cans of carb cleaner. I used the spray hose on the can to spray up into the filter the best I could. I would then spray a bunch in it and shake the shit out of it to get more gunk out of it. I'm confident that I did remove all of the crap in there (could have used my video bore scope to confirm).

Having said that, I wouldn't hesitate at all to just buy a new one. The cork gaskets were reused. They were relatively compressed but not cracked or anything. If I knew for certain that my issue was going to be a clogged filter, I would have probably just bought a new one and new gaskets. I was honestly thinking (my luck) that when I dropped the pan, it was going to be full of metal and a confirmation that I was screwed.

I'd check on Amazon and see if they sell an OEM tranny filter. I've found a lot of OEM parts for even cheaper than Camelback when you factor in shipping ect.

Don't get me wrong, if you use a couple cans of carb cleaner, you can confidently clean your old filter and just reuse it. Whether the cork gaskets are still intact, is a crap shoot. I don't like to throw away money but at the same time, I am relatively anal about certain things. I wouldn't want to wreck my tranny over a 50 dollar part.

I've also read on here that many of the aftermarket tranny filters are junk (sealing issues).

 

[trailbikerider]

Just to add to this, my '02 does this exact same thing when you accelerate from coasting. It also seems to want to downshift extremely easy, or at least that's what I'm hoping it's doing. If you're coasting and then go to accelerate, it has a slight "clunk" to it that feels like it the transmission is playing catchup to the vehicle speed before it engages.

I didn't do a great job of explaining it, but it is doing the same sort of thing your truck is.

 

[Pritch421]

I'm purging the transmission fluid tomorrow and I'll update on any changes.