Going to Transmission mechanic today

4

4x4RunnerDan

New member
I decided to separate this from the other post to keep it shorter. Basically here's my situation. I bought this AT 98 ltd 4x4 with 153xxx, at about 154xxx I noticed it was shifting differently into 2nd and 3rd. I have read every post about hard shifting, and more. I brought it to a mechanic, he drove with me and said he did'nt notice anything and not to worry. At 155xxx it was still happening so I brought it the dealer for a second and third opinion. Same thing, didn't notice it and told me not to worry. The first mechanic checked to see if it pulling any codes after dealership, nothing. Well now at 156xxx it's still happening, slightly more noticeable, and I'm about to drive from Texas to California and want to figure out what is going on before I make the drive. I hope for a pump issue or shift solenoid or anything instead of rebuild, obviously. I am going to a Transmission mechanic this time and am totally nervous and skeptical. If this person tells me not to worry I will be slightly irritated because I am almost certain that something is up but I just don't have the means or knowledge to fully diagnose it myself. So, any suggestions??

TL;DR hard shifting into 2nd & 3rd. brought it to 3 mechanics, all say not to worry and they don't notice it. I do so I'm bringing it to Transmission mechanic today
 
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4x4RunnerDan said:
I decided to separate this from the other post to keep it shorter. Basically here's my situation. I bought this AT 98 ltd 4x4 with 153xxx, at about 154xxx I noticed it was shifting differently into 2nd and 3rd. I have read every post about hard shifting, and more. I brought it to a mechanic, he drove with me and said he did'nt notice anything and not to worry. At 155xxx it was still happening so I brought it the dealer for a second and third opinion. Same thing, didn't notice it and told me not to worry. The first mechanic checked to see if it pulling any codes after dealership, nothing. Well now at 156xxx it's still happening, slightly more noticeable, and I'm about to drive from Texas to California and want to figure out what is going on before I make the drive. I hope for a pump issue or shift solenoid or anything instead of rebuild, obviously. I am going to a Transmission mechanic this time and am totally nervous and skeptical. If this person tells me not to worry I will be slightly irritated because I am almost certain that something is up but I just don't have the means or knowledge to fully diagnose it myself. So, any suggestions??

TL;DR hard shifting into 2nd & 3rd. brought it to 3 mechanics, all say not to worry and they don't notice it. I do so I'm bringing it to Transmission mechanic today
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Your trans is shifting differently?? You dont explain what is wrong. My truck shifts solid in all gears. I have never had an issue. Also when cold these trans like to stay in 2nd gear. ONce its slightly warm it will up shift to 3rd and so on giving a rough shift it was at higher rpms. Once warm it should work fine.

If dealership twice and another mechanic dont find any shift issues, its hard for them to tear down a trans and not charge you. In this situation they usually wont find an issue till it stops shifting, or is slipping or has an issue. If its not broke, its not broke.

If you keep bring it to shops and telling them there is an issue, one of them will say okay and just take your money. Remember that also. You could just need a trans service.
 
It is shifting hard into 2nd and 3rd. Seems to shift smoother when I accelerate more. If I accelerate mildly it is more noticeable. I will post after i get back today
 
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4x4RunnerDan said:
It is shifting hard into 2nd and 3rd. Seems to shift smoother when I accelerate more. If I accelerate mildly it is more noticeable. I will post after i get back today
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Do a trans service and flush out the old fluid. Put Toyota Type 4 also called type t-4 or just t4
 
Hard, firm, quick shifts are nothing bad you know. It's only an issue when it shifts slow.

Mine always shifts hard from 2nd to 3rd when the engine is still warming up.
 
Used, functional A/T trannies are like $250 a piece. I'd rather swap in a whole new automatic tranny than spend one dime on fixing an existing one. I've yet to have a rebuilt tranny not shit the bed in 6 months.
 
absalom said:
Used, functional A/T trannies are like $250 a piece. I'd rather swap in a whole new automatic tranny than spend one dime on fixing an existing one. I've yet to have a rebuilt tranny not shit the bed in 6 months.
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This is what I would do if he has a bad trans. I would rather get a reman from Toyota for $1500 after core charge than spend $1-$2k to have it build at a shop.
 
HiLife said:
What Texas city are you in?
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I am right outside Dallas.


The person I was planning to take to wasn't able to look at it today and won't be open till Monday.

I decided to check my MAF since I had been getting blow by at one point and thought it could be dirty. I removed the MAF while it was running and the engine shut off. It actually seemed to be idling smoother after it plugged it back in and restarted. So then I drove it a bit and it seemed to be shifting smoother than it has in a couple months. Is this possible? I thought I had read some where that the computer will also do a sort of reconfiguration after you do something like this
 
JayRolla said:
This is what I would do if he has a bad trans. I would rather get a reman from Toyota for $1500 after core charge than spend $1-$2k to have it build at a shop.
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Toyota sells re-manned AT's? Can you be more specific? Link, certain dealer or?
 
amalik said:
Toyota sells re-manned AT's? Can you be more specific? Link, certain dealer or?
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Call the dealer, go online to the OEM parts suppliers like camelback and look up auto trans. Almost every manufacturer sells a reman trans. People do this with there mitsubishi manuals because even modified aftermarket race trans seem to fail quicker. You give them your core, you walk way with transmission. If you can get online pricing locally thats best best so you dont pay for shipping both ways. Trans core is $1k. So if locally done thats best bet.

My local dealer matches online pricing. I get quote from them through email, they match online pricing since it was done online and send me quote. I walk in and purchase. Usually you have to wait for the trans to be shipped to then if not in stock.
 
JayRolla said:
Call the dealer, go online to the OEM parts suppliers like camelback and look up auto trans. Almost every manufacturer sells a reman trans. People do this with there mitsubishi manuals because even modified aftermarket race trans seem to fail quicker. You give them your core, you walk way with transmission. If you can get online pricing locally thats best best so you dont pay for shipping both ways. Trans core is $1k. So if locally done thats best bet.

My local dealer matches online pricing. I get quote from them through email, they match online pricing since it was done online and send me quote. I walk in and purchase. Usually you have to wait for the trans to be shipped to then if not in stock.
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plus one on this I work at a dealership and we def do remans.
 
Ok so I took it in today and now it is reading a p0110 code. This mechanic didn't spend too much time driving around with me but he also says that there is nothing that would indicate any issues with my transmission. I'm not exactly clear on how this code can be related to hard shifting though. Any suggestions on where to go from here? Should I do further testing before I replace the IAT?
 
You've had 4 mechanics tell you there's nothing wrong or anything to indicate something is wrong but you still don't believe them?

If the truck is throwing a P0110 code then I'd start by cleaning the MAF sensor and seeing what happens. For the transmission I'd replace the TPS sensor and adjust the cables and do a fluid flush and see what happens. Beyond that I'd ignore it. The mind has a way of tricking you in to thinking there's a problem when there's not.
 
4x4RunnerDan said:
Ok so I took it in today and now it is reading a p0110 code. This mechanic didn't spend too much time driving around with me but he also says that there is nothing that would indicate any issues with my transmission. I'm not exactly clear on how this code can be related to hard shifting though. Any suggestions on where to go from here? Should I do further testing before I replace the IAT?
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Hard firm shifting is what my 1996 has done since I bought it with 180k miles. It now has 260k miles.

p0110 is your maf, clean and reset ecu. Research on how to clean.
 
cashmoney said:
You've had 4 mechanics tell you there's nothing wrong or anything to indicate something is wrong but you still don't believe them?

If the truck is throwing a P0110 code then I'd start by cleaning the MAF sensor and seeing what happens. For the transmission I'd replace the TPS sensor and adjust the cables and do a fluid flush and see what happens. Beyond that I'd ignore it. The mind has a way of tricking you in to thinking there's a problem when there's not.
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At this point I do believe them. In the beginning I was worried because when I bought it, it wasn't doing it at all. I wouldn't have bought it if it was. So this is what raised concern, but now with this many people telling me to ignore it I guess I should. I just really want this to be the reliable truck I was looking for. Ill clean the MAF today. Thanks to everyone for all the input! I'll update if anything changes
 
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