Help! Need Auto Tans Guru

Tyler James Inc

Tyler James Inc

Senior Member
I was cruising CL the other night, and saw a killer 3rd gen pop up for sure cheap. Ad said "bad torque converter won't make power".
I grabbed a dolly, and went to pick it up. It was parked at a trans shop, and the 4R owner said "you can start it. It starts right up and runs great". So I started it, and it did run great. I was like "what the hell? Let's see what happens", so I put it in D. It was as if I was in a manual, and just let the clutch out- with the brakes on; it tried to move forward and died. We pushed it onto the dolly, and we were on our way.
After cleaning up the engine(PFA)-
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I decided to try to back it off the trailer. It backed off fine, went forward fine, backed up, forward, back, and then around the block a couple times. Shifted great, TC slipped as it should, and grabbed as it should.
What is going on? The ad made it sound like the TC wouldn't grab, but when I tried to move it at the trans shop, it was like it was locked up. Then it drove fine. Could a solenoid be sticking or something?
Thanks for any help.
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Dude some folks have all the luck. Do you have a CEL? Do normal routine when buying used, service tranny go from there. Since it acted odd I see your concern. When you change ATF check out Transfoam (seafoam for trans). Some say it's snake oil, have used it in my 96 for 150k shifts like new never any problems. Put some miles on it drain and fill couple three times.
 
Considering how new that radiator looks I am guessing it may have had the pink milkshake.

Drop the pan and see what the magnets are holding.
 
Well, without the drive shaft disconnected it's possible that you did some damage to the trans. I've seen a couple T4R's that have damaged the planetary gears and will not move forward, only in reverse. Your best bet is to look up the mechanical, and road test procedure and specifications in the repair manual. Stall tests can tell you if the torque converter is any good, and if the holding devices are good, performing a road test will tell you what works and what doesn't work, and disconnecting the electrical connector(or mechanical test) will tell you if the problem is electrical or mechanical. Following the results of these tests will make sure you replace whats broke the first time, instead of wasting time throwing parts at it willy nilly.
 
What did you use on the engine bay to get it so clean?

Nice find!!

I just had the #1 solenoid go bad. Through a code and would start out in 2nd or 3rd. Still moved fine, just not very well at start the block or so I went to pull over.

How does the fluid look on the dipstick?
 
Thanks for the replies, guys.
I'm not sure how I could have damaged anything, [MENTION=148927]Toyotayoda[/MENTION] . Is there something you see that indicates I could have done damage? What am I missing here?

No CEL, and it drives great! I'll take a look at the fluid, but the PO said it was definitely dirty- and the rig has 222k miles on it. I guess I should drop the pan too.
Thanks for the suggestion on Transfoam- I'll check into that too.
I'm up in the air on what I want to do with the rig. I'm thinking my Anthracite might get replaced. [emoji43]
I have a manual trans, but not sure how that would go over in an '01. Gotta do more research on that.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I was hoping to get someone who knew for sure what is going on, but maybe it's not simple- even for a trans guy.
 
Good luck. Dropping the pan may give you more insight into what may be happening based upon what you see on the magnets and in the fluid. If the gears have chipped then pieces of them would be in the fluid. At the worst you end up finding one in a yard sometime down the road for cheap.

Auto transmissions IMHO are the hardest thing to repair and give armchair advice on.
 
Trans Guru's would be doing what was suggested as a starting point. Start with the basics dig into it.
Let it set overnight in a place where you can drain trans, drain into bucket with
cloth over bucket to catch any metal/trash. Since its new to you, have no idea if pan has been dropped ever, do it. check what magnets are holding.
Inspect condition of ATF.
Reinstall pan, Refill ATF. Drive hell out of it till it gives you more to go on or it dies of old age.
A/T's are not rocket science.
Good Luck
 
How's the fluid level on the tranny?
I'm absolutely not a tranny guru, but just a thought.

Unless I misread your post, it stalled out when first started when on level ground (at the shop). After towing it home (front end lifted) it started and drove around fine, no stalling , surging, etc.

Again, not a tranny guru, but could a super low fluid level cause that, and having the front end raised like that 'got the existing fluid where it needed to go' to start off with?

How does it drive when at your house, after sitting level?
 
Manual into an 01 is a pain because of the VSC/TRAC and it not being an option so there's no ECU or anything like that. I've never seen a manual swap into an 01-02.

Why are you thinking about giving up the Anthracite for this one? I really like the color of your current rig.
 
Tyler James Inc said:
Thanks for the replies, guys.
I'm not sure how I could have damaged anything, [MENTION=148927]Toyotayoda[/MENTION] . Is there something you see that indicates I could have done damage? What am I missing here?

No CEL, and it drives great! I'll take a look at the fluid, but the PO said it was definitely dirty- and the rig has 222k miles on it. I guess I should drop the pan too.
Thanks for the suggestion on Transfoam- I'll check into that too.
I'm up in the air on what I want to do with the rig. I'm thinking my Anthracite might get replaced. [emoji43]
I have a manual trans, but not sure how that would go over in an '01. Gotta do more research on that.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I was hoping to get someone who knew for sure what is going on, but maybe it's not simple- even for a trans guy.
Click to expand...

What [MENTION=148927]Toyotayoda[/MENTION] was referring to is you shouldn't tow a vehicle with an automatic transmission by the front wheels with the rear wheels on the ground. The driveshaft is turning the transmission but the transmission isn't being properly lubricated because the vehicle isn't running and powering the transmission fluid pump which is moving the fluid throughout the trans and to the trans cooler and back. Basically, you cook the transmission. Not good. If you drove though only residential streets and a short distance, you probably didn't do damage. If you actually got on the highway and drove a long distance, you probably did damage towing it in this fashion.

I'm guessing you might not have read your owners manual all the way through. In the towing section it gives a NOTICE "Never tow a vehicle with an automatic transmission from the front with the rear wheels on the ground, as this may cause serious damage to the transmission."
 
mtbtim said:
I'm guessing you might not have read your owners manual all the way through. In the towing section it gives a NOTICE "Never tow a vehicle with an automatic transmission from the front with the rear wheels on the ground, as this may cause serious damage to the transmission."
Click to expand...

Unless you pull the rear driveshaft.
 
theesotericone said:
Unless you pull the rear driveshaft.
Click to expand...

This is true. Question is, did he? The fact he didn't catch on to what [MENTION=148927]Toyotayoda[/MENTION] was saying leads me to believe he didn't remove the driveshaft. Hopefully I'm wrong though.
 
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Mark_BC said:
Or just remove the rear driveshaft, correct?
Click to expand...

Yes, correct. The reason why the owner's manual warns about this is what tow company is going to get under your rig and remove the driveshaft for you? Ain't gonna happen. Do they give a shit if they roast your transmission. Nope. So, it's best to be informed about the safe ways to tow your rig. If I ever break down, I'm going to request a flat bed tow. If they show up without a flat bed and want to tow it by lifting it up by the front wheels, they better have a dolly for the rear wheels or I'm not going to let them take it. They can tow it safely by the rear wheels and the front wheels on ground with the transmission in neutral and the transfer case in H2. Safest way, request a flat bed tow.
 
mtbtim said:
Yes, correct. The reason why the owner's manual warns about this is what tow company is going to get under your rig and remove the driveshaft for you? Ain't gonna happen. Do they give a shit if they roast your transmission. Nope. So, it's best to be informed about the safe ways to tow your rig. If I ever break down, I'm going to request a flat bed tow. If they show up without a flat bed and want to tow it by lifting it up by the front wheels, they better have a dolly for the rear wheels or I'm not going to let them take it. They can tow it safely by the rear wheels and the front wheels on ground with the transmission in neutral and the transfer case in H2. Safest way, request a flat bed tow.
Click to expand...



Very much false. I drive a tow truck and some vehicles are in situations where I have to tow with drive wheels down, drive line is pulled every time and re installed at drop location, UNLESS they are one time use bolts like in fords. Which is explained to the owner ahead of time.
But it is a correct statement, it shouldn't be towed with the drive wheels down. The transmission can handle 35 mph for 15 miles like that. Anything farther or faster COULD damage the trans.



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imryannn said:
Very much false. I drive a tow truck and some vehicles are in situations where I have to tow with drive wheels down, drive line is pulled every time and re installed at drop location, UNLESS they are one time use bolts like in fords. Which is explained to the owner ahead of time.
But it is a correct statement, it shouldn't be towed with the drive wheels down. The transmission can handle 35 mph for 15 miles like that. Anything farther or faster COULD damage the trans.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I've been working as a firefighter for 11 years, been to 100's of accidents and I've yet to see a tow truck driver pull a driveshaft on scene but maybe that's because their tow yard is in the city limits. But, some of these vehicles are picked up on the highway and they drive at highway speeds for at least a couple miles before they reach the nearest exit. Now, did these guys take the nearest exit or did they keep driving on the highway to make the return trip to their yard quicker. I don't know.

Again, do yourself a favor and request a flat bed tow. Don't count on the tow truck driver giving a shit about your rig.
 
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