Help with transmisson slipping at warm transmission temps!

[theriddler]

Ok, let me preface this situation a little bit. I purchased a 2002 4runner with a bad transmission...so I thought. It would actually start up and move for about 5 minutes before it got hot then it was immobile, only rev up and not move. I trailered it home and replaced the transmission filter and replace all the fluid. The fluid was a nasty brown color and had indication of water in the transmission at one point and the magnets were nasty with sludge.

After all that work was done I was able to drive it for about 20 minutes and then the problem would happen again. So i'm making progress on keeping it alive but I wouldn't call it driveable yet. Question: would it be in my best interest in installing a trans cooler? I'm looking at the Tru Cool 4589 and totally bypassing the radiator. I took it for a test drive this morning and monitored the trans temp with the Torque App on my phone. Test drive was going well until it got up to about 170-180 degrees then the tranny started to slip. This seems like an awful low temp for the tranny to slip. What do you guys think about one last hail mary and throwing a trans cooler in it? And maybe throwing in a bottle of Lucas transmission fix...just to thicken up fluid some.

Thanks for any ideas!

 

[jgue467]

I'm no trans expert yet that one sounds like it's given up the ghost. On the flip side you could try keeping on flushing that trans out again and again, some one here have had some luck doing that.

Water in trans indicates it's either been sunk in too deep of water or maybe it's developed strawberry milkshake, you need to figure this out because swapping another trans in will cause the problem again, radiator new?

I don't think a cooler will help it at this point because the temps still clilmb in longer drives. I'd spend my time/money on looking for a good junkyard replacement or a remanufactured one if ya got the money. Hope ya' got it cheap enough to offset these costs. Luck and enjoy the runner. :cowboy:

 

[thegipper]

I'm no trans expert yet that one sounds like it's given up the ghost. On the flip side you could try keeping on flushing that trans out again and again, some one here have had some luck doing that.

Water in trans indicates it's either been sunk in too deep of water or maybe it's developed strawberry milkshake, you need to figure this out because swapping another trans in will cause the problem again, radiator new?

I don't think a cooler will help it at this point because the temps still clilmb in longer drives. I'd spend my time/money on looking for a good junkyard replacement or a remanufactured one if ya got the money. Hope ya' got it cheap enough to offset these costs. Luck and enjoy the runner. :cowboy:

This.

Cooler isn't going to fix your problem. You can try the Lucas stuff because at this point, you got nothing to lose.

I'd start looking for a replacement trans, been there, done that. It's not too bad.

 

[alanflies]

Agree with the above posts...Usually once a transmission starts to slip, It's done. You may nurse a couple hundred more miles out of it with various band aids and friction modifiers, but once those clutches start slipping, there's no going back. I would start looking for another trans and setting up for a swap. Good luck, It's not that big of a job.

 

[19963.4lsr5]

It probably had the strawberry milkshake and the clutch plate friction material started falling apart. The antifreeze brakes down the glue.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mtbtim]

Like others have stated, your transmission is toast. Start looking for a replacement. You can go the used route, remanufactured route or have it rebuilt at a reputable shop. If it were me and I was planning on keeping the rig for a long time, I'd go the remanufactured route. From what I've learned, remanufactured means they replace all the moving parts and not just the ones they think they need to replace. You're basically getting a new transmission going the remanufactured route. So, this can be the difference between buying a remanufactured one and having one rebuilt. The advantages of having it rebuilt though is the shop could make improvements to the design like a better valve body and heavier duty clutches. But, with a higher performance rebuild usually means a much higher cost.

I'd hate to pick one up at a junk yard just to find out it either had a shit ton of miles on it and it was on it's last legs or the previous owner(s) of the vehicle abused it and never changed the fluid. It would really suck to do all that labor just to find out you got a crappy transmission.
[MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I have a 3 video series showing how you can replace your automatic transmission. It's not a super hard job, it's just really time consuming. Having a person to help you makes it much easier so hopefully you've got a friend for family member that likes to wrench too. Good Luck!

Here's the videos:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oZDSjlxl2Q4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O4GA3UhPC5Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T4YY3IfnzaQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[HiLife]

I had trans problems on another car. Wondered how long I could make the trans last before totally giving up the gost.
I would let the car rest, letting all the trans rubbish fall out of suspension from the fluid and rest to the bottom. After days of rest, the start up and drive were flawless until the rubbish got mixed up in the trans fluid again.
Just for an experiment I wonder how long I could make the trans last before giving up the ghost totally.
Draining the fluid, filtering it, then putting it back in got me 50k miles more. Had to do it every 5k miles. Shorter intervals as the mileage clicked up.
My advice to others is start looking for a replacement trans if it shows signs of having lots of rubbish in the fluid and giving shifting issues.

 

[theriddler]

I'm no trans expert yet that one sounds like it's given up the ghost. On the flip side you could try keeping on flushing that trans out again and again, some one here have had some luck doing that.

Water in trans indicates it's either been sunk in too deep of water or maybe it's developed strawberry milkshake, you need to figure this out because swapping another trans in will cause the problem again, radiator new?

I don't think a cooler will help it at this point because the temps still clilmb in longer drives. I'd spend my time/money on looking for a good junkyard replacement or a remanufactured one if ya got the money. Hope ya' got it cheap enough to offset these costs. Luck and enjoy the runner. :cowboy:

Wow...thanks for all the good posts guys! These aren't the answers I wanted to hear but they're the answers I was expecting. I think i'll try flushing it a time or two more and then be done with it...water can be difficult to remove where it doesn't belong. I'm 99% sure it had pink milkshake at some point but I verified the radiator wasn't the problem right now just to make sure. I didn't get it as cheap as I should have but it's a 2002 Sport Edition in black...just what I was looking for

 

[theriddler]

It probably had the strawberry milkshake and the clutch plate friction material started falling apart. The antifreeze brakes down the glue.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I didn't know that. I do know that ATF in the cooling system will make anything rubber it touches expand and fall apart though! The radiator hoses have expanded and the radiator cap literally fell apart into pieces in my hand due to the oil in the cooling system...haha

 

[theriddler]

Like others have stated, your transmission is toast. Start looking for a replacement. You can go the used route, remanufactured route or have it rebuilt at a reputable shop. If it were me and I was planning on keeping the rig for a long time, I'd go the remanufactured route. From what I've learned, remanufactured means they replace all the moving parts and not just the ones they think they need to replace. You're basically getting a new transmission going the remanufactured route. So, this can be the difference between buying a remanufactured one and having one rebuilt. The advantages of having it rebuilt though is the shop could make improvements to the design like a better valve body and heavier duty clutches. But, with a higher performance rebuild usually means a much higher cost.

I'd hate to pick one up at a junk yard just to find out it either had a shit ton of miles on it and it was on it's last legs or the previous owner(s) of the vehicle abused it and never changed the fluid. It would really suck to do all that labor just to find out you got a crappy transmission.

[MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I have a 3 video series showing how you can replace your automatic transmission. It's not a super hard job, it's just really time consuming. Having a person to help you makes it much easier so hopefully you've got a friend for family member that likes to wrench too. Good Luck!

Here's the videos:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oZDSjlxl2Q4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O4GA3UhPC5Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T4YY3IfnzaQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Rebuilt from Toyota or find a donor 4Runner are the options i'm looking at now. I don't think i'll buy a used one by itself, like you said it's a 15 year old trans so it's a gamble on what you get. Honestly, I've seen some nice donors on Craigslist for cheap that run fine but have the frame rot. We're talking mechanically sound and everything working 4runner for $1500 or less....that way i'll have an engine too!

Thanks for the vids by the way, that's going to be very helpful if I go that route

 

[theriddler]

I had trans problems on another car. Wondered how long I could make the trans last before totally giving up the gost.
I would let the car rest, letting all the trans rubbish fall out of suspension from the fluid and rest to the bottom. After days of rest, the start up and drive were flawless until the rubbish got mixed up in the trans fluid again.
Just for an experiment I wonder how long I could make the trans last before giving up the ghost totally.
Draining the fluid, filtering it, then putting it back in got me 50k miles more. Had to do it every 5k miles. Shorter intervals as the mileage clicked up.
My advice to others is start looking for a replacement trans if it shows signs of having lots of rubbish in the fluid and giving shifting issues.

You know, the same thought crossed my mind. I couldn't believe how it went from slipping in 5 min at idle to 30 minutes of driving time...that gave me a little hope that I could make it last a bit longer.

I just found it odd that after the fluid/filter change I could take it out and drive it and almost bark the tires it shifted so well but then after the transmission gets to X degrees it would slip like crazy. After letting it sit for 20 minutes I was able to get in and drive it again for another 20 minutes.
That's what got me thinking about a big ass cooler, most of the drive time for this 'Runner will be a few highway miles and mostly backroads anyways.

 

[theriddler]

Thanks again to everyone's replies even if I didn't respond to you directly. I'll give this trans a little more love before I give up completely and see if things get better or worse and i'll post a progress report in a week or two.

 

[gonzo711]

Update? I'm currently in the same boat. Trying to figure out if I need to get a new trans or if I can keep trying to diagnose it and find out it's something a bit simpler. Great info on this thread though, if anyone responds back, thanks in advance.

 

[HiluxSurf SSR-G]

you mentioned that you're 99% sure it had the strawberry milkshake and that the radiator cap is damaged, that means the atf cooler in the radiator is damaged.

have you replaced the radiator? perhaps that's all you need, in addition to more flushing, to keep the tranny for a few thousand miles more.