Delay getting into reverse?

[barvaz]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum but own my '95 3.0 since 1997. Love it and had lots of fun with it, on and off road.

Recently the transmission started to act up, with something that (to me) looks quite weird: when I shift into reverse, the auto transmission would not immediately go into gear. Sometimes it will just lag a 10-15 seconds and then suddenly latch in, but sometimes it will just sit there (had to push my car out of a parallel parking the other day cuz it just wouldn't shift into R). The weirdest thing is, that once it slides into reverse once - there's no further problem during that trip: it will shift in and out like a charm. Turn the engine off, park for a few minutes or more, problem's back. Make it shift once into reverse - again, no problem for the duration of the trip.

Plus, it all happens with reverse gear only. All other positions latch in smooth and nice, no noise no difficulty.

When it happens, playing with the transmission lever (in/out, into D then into R, into P then into R...) doesn't help. Nor does anything else I could think of...

Anyone has any idea as to what could be wrong, and moreover, whether it's something I can fix without overhauling the transmission or getting a new one?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Black_TurboSR5]

I would look at the Transmission Control Unit, The fact that when you turn it off and when you turn it back on then the problem shows up then fine for the rest of the time it's on makes me think it's that. I would inspect the trans Control box and clean the terminals and may be look for signs of trapped moisture.

 

[barvaz]

I would look at the Transmission Control Unit, The fact that when you turn it off and when you turn it back on then the problem shows up then fine for the rest of the time it's on makes me think it's that. I would inspect the trans Control box and clean the terminals and may be look for signs of trapped moisture.

Thanks! What an interesting idea. Thinking about it, a couple things come to mind:

1. When the problem occurs, my reverse lights do light up, even when the actual gear doesn't latch. Sorry I forgot to mention this in the original post. Does that vote against the TCM being the culprit, or could it still be it? (also, when it happens, I do see a very very slight reduction in the engine RPM when I shift to R, as if "something" does happen but it's very subtle).

2. Can such a TCM terminal problem affect reverse only? All the rest of the positions work fine...

(btw, a stupid question: TCM is located somewhere between the transmission lever and the radio, right? or am I completely off?)

Many thanks!

 

[Black_TurboSR5]

Yes that's where it is. Also I'm thinking about the condition of the transmission fluid and the filter. I may have trouble flowing when cold.

 

[jimwww]

fliud in tranny all the way up?

I would chk tranny fluid or chg it. Should b chgd every 80k

 

[barvaz]

Yes that's where it is. Also I'm thinking about the condition of the transmission fluid and the filter. I may have trouble flowing when cold.

Thanks. Won't that cause a problem for any gear, not just reverse?

 

[CRAWL UGLY]

Has there been any updates to this problem? I am also having this same exact issue...

I have noticed that when i park on a flat surface the problem doesn't occur as much as when i let it sit for a couple of hours parked on an incline. Maybe something to do with fluid draining?


Definitely not cool to be caught pushing your 4runner out of a parking spot in front of all the soccer moms at your sons school

 

[barvaz]

No progress, unfortunately. I have not noticed this phenomena (problem happening more often when parked uphill), sounds interesting. It's not just fluid though - fluid here is topped (and actually fully replaced once since the problem started).

If you get any insight into this, or get it fixed in a shop - please post here.

 

[KidVermicious]

I don't know the inside of a transmission from a hole in the wall, but if it's just reverse, wouldn't that be a solenoid?

 

[barvaz]

I don't know the inside of a transmission from a hole in the wall, but if it's just reverse, wouldn't that be a solenoid?

I'd love it to be! - are you referring to a particular solenoid? Which one?
(as you can see, I'm less of an xmission expert than you are ).

 

[KidVermicious]

Which one? The one that controls reverse, of course! By which I mean, I have no idea.

Check the factory service manuals sticky up top, there's a couple links to transmission manuals in there. Maybe there's a troubleshooting guide like in the FSM?

 

[CRAWL UGLY]

Looks like this might be our problem but its worded a little weird to me. Also the tech i spoke with, mentioned that valve body inside the trans going out. When that happens the fluid drains when its not supposed to. Then when you put it in gear there's no pressure to make it shift/move. As you go on throughout the day everything will work fine until it drains out of the valve body again. To fix it either rebuild the trans or replace it. Hope this isn't the case but its a possibility.

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1990-199...oypdf/95rmsour/1995/954runne/at2/troubles.pdf

page 2 under: "Vehicle does not move in
any forward position of
reverse"

 

[barvaz]

Yep, I also bumped into this one, but the way I read this sentence was assuming "of" was a typo and they actually meant "or". This makes the sentence less weird (and also sets the problem farther from ours ). But of course that's just an assumption.