Normal Transmission Shifting?

[philsanchez76]

Hello, Just bought a my first 4runner 2 weeks ago (2001 Limited 4x4 with 150,000 miles) and am trying to get everything in perfect running order. The guy I bought it from was unsure if anything had been done to the automatic transmission. I have noticed it shifts hard from first to second (a little buck) and then every other shift is totally seemless. Is this pretty normal for a 4runner? Or should i be worrying about the trans? Checked the fluid- it's full and nice and red. Any suggestions or other experiences? Thanks.

 

[mwollman]

Well, I have a 2000 limited and I haven't noticed a hard shift at all. I will check though tomorrow and get back at you.

 

[SkidPalace]

I think the Toyota tranny is known for it's silky smooth shifts.
The soft shift from 1 to 2 is a cause for failure in supercharged setups and is a receommended upgrade.
Knock on wood, my SC'd setup without the tranny valve body mod still shifts like butter from 1-2.
What did do the service records indicate for transmission fluid changes?

 

[philsanchez76]

He had no clue what was ever done to the tranny or when. The fluid is still pretty red when i checked the level. Should I take the initiative and drop the pan and check it out?

 

[durrell]

I have pretty smooth shifts at 161k miles, although I have occasional rougher shifts. Does the buck happen when driving normally or when you're hard accelerating?

 

[brian2sun]

I change all the fluids and filters first thing when I buy a used car. Even if the tranny fluid looks ok, you never know what the hell is in there - there's lots of different grades of ATF out there and even more stupid people. It ain't no spring chicken at 150K, so I say at least drop the pan and clean or replace the filter. If it were me, I'd do a DIY flush (which I did on mine around 185K and had awesome results and have 197K now). If all else fails, I've used Lucas Transmission Fix before and it works good too.

 

[Brian32]

if the engine is cold this is normal.. same happens to me

 

[brian2sun]

if the engine is cold this is normal.. same happens to me

:iagree:

 

[daugherty83]

Do youself a favor, as I've posted in many other threads and buy and install an external tranny cooler while you are draining and filling your tranny. This mod will bypass the in-radiator tranny cooler and keep you away from a tranny failure caused by contamination of coolant and your tranny. Good luck!!

 

[philsanchez76]

I have pretty smooth shifts at 161k miles, although I have occasional rougher shifts. Does the buck happen when driving normally or when you're hard accelerating?

It seems to happen while driving normally more often; though I can't reproduce it at will. And it definitely still does it when it's fully warmed up. I will take Brian2Sun's advice and drop the pan tomorrow and give her a little inspection and flush. Thanks for all the help fellas- let ya know what happens.

 

[brian2sun]

"To Flush or Not to Flush?"

You may just want to drop the pan and do the filter only (which only removes about 35-40% of the fluid) and see if that's enough to solve your problem, or you might want to go for a full flush.

Some people say flushing an older tranny is a bad idea and it will magnify the problem and can even cause it to break. When I flushed mine, I also switched to Amsoil synth ATF at the same time and my tranny is as happy as ever and I haven't had a hard shift in 12K/1 year or so.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm contradicting myself, I just want to give you a heads up on the debate that's out there about flushing if you weren't aware. And this, Dropping Pan And Flushing Transmission is definitely worth reading.

 

[philsanchez76]

You may just want to drop the pan and do the filter only (which only removes about 35-40% of the fluid) and see if that's enough to solve your problem, or you might want to go for a full flush.

Some people say flushing an older tranny is a bad idea and it will magnify the problem and can even cause it to break. When I flushed mine, I also switched to Amsoil synth ATF at the same time and my tranny is as happy as ever and I haven't had a hard shift in 12K/1 year or so.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm contradicting myself, I just want to give you a heads up on the debate that's out there about flushing if you weren't aware. And this, Dropping Pan And Flushing Transmission is definitely worth reading.

Thanks for the link. I checked it out and that is some process. But i am definitely up for saving a couple hundred bucks for the DIY work. Think I will try the pan-drop/filter change first and then possibly go for the flush as more of a last option.

 

[durrell]

Yeah, I don't think you should be experiencing any hard shifts. I drove mine around today and tried to pay attention to the shifts and they were so smooth they were hard to notice.

It was cold this morning (39*) and I still didn't experience any hard shifts, but I had ran the engine for a few minutes before leaving so I may not be the best example.

 

[Rapter]

A co-worker of mine recently asked me a similar question. He said he has rough downshifting from either 3rd to 2nd or 2nd to first when coming to a stop. Not sure if you're getting any of that going on.

 

[PhdNPrerunners]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but my 99 is doing the same thing with 153k on the clock. From first to second and second to third it shifts hard every time when I am driving normal but if I give it a lot of gas from a stop it shifts smooth through all the gears. Also if I come to a stop really fast it will downshift really hard when it comes to a stop. Do you guys think I should flush would help it or is my transmission about to go? I have no idea of what the previous maintenance on it was.

 

[kball]

Hard shifting is normally associated with the strawberry milkshake failure. How does your trans fluid look? It should be dark red and clearish. If it's pink and milky that's bad.

 

[toy-runner]

I too just purchased a 4runner two weeks ago. No maintanence records what-so-ever. 99km miles. I checked all fluids and they were in prestine condition. No rust at all, being a california car, but I will change all the fluids possibly this week with all new filters as well. It just bugs the hell out of me because I'm clueless of when the fluids got changed. I did notice that the tranny seems to jump alittle when switching from 1st to 2nd gear, but only when the vehicle is cold (and only sometimes), this should be normal. Next on my list is timing belt replacement.

 

[PhdNPrerunners]

Hard shifting is normally associated with the strawberry milkshake failure. How does your trans fluid look? It should be dark red and clearish. If it's pink and milky that's bad.

I will have to check it tomorrow but last time I remember looking I dont recall it being dark red

 

[jreask]

I too just purchased a 4runner two weeks ago. No maintanence records what-so-ever. 99km miles. I checked all fluids and they were in prestine condition. No rust at all, being a california car, but I will change all the fluids possibly this week with all new filters as well. It just bugs the hell out of me because I'm clueless of when the fluids got changed. I did notice that the tranny seems to jump alittle when switching from 1st to 2nd gear, but only when the vehicle is cold (and only sometimes), this should be normal. Next on my list is timing belt replacement.

I felt the same way when I bought my '01 with 197K on it. I checked all the fluids, they looked and smelled good, then I changed all of them to synthetic. I had the tranny fully machine flushed at the dealer for about $175. This removes all but about 5% of the old fluid. I know it cost a little more than the umpteen quarts you have to run through it to "flush" it yourself, but the time saved and the PITA of pulling the pan several times was well worth the extra money to me. I am sure that the machine flush does a better job than the "at home" method. So, if you can afford to have your tranny professionally flushed, it is the way to go. IMHO.

JR

 

[PhdNPrerunners]

Hard shifting is normally associated with the strawberry milkshake failure. How does your trans fluid look? It should be dark red and clearish. If it's pink and milky that's bad.

Well I checked my fluid today and it was not dark red. When I put the fluid on a paper towel it was pink. So I take it is time for a flush lol