P0770 and transmission slipping... might be the end

LookAtThatDog

LookAtThatDog

New member
Out of the blue my trans starting slipping really bad after work. ATF is bright red, clean and filled all the way. Figured I'd try to get home anyway, threw cel P0770 and slipped like crazy. Went to a really great trans guy - we drove it around and he's sure it's the torque converter shitting on the solenoid (basically). There's kind of a buzzing noise coming from the trans pan... sounds bad.

Thing, it, its intermittent. It will drive terrible and throw a code, and then drive fine and not throw a code. I put in a bottle of lubegard red and am hoping for the best, but I'm pretty sure I'm ****ed.

Looks like most people on this site rebuild the trans after a P0770 or never log in again.

If the trans is ruined and a rebuild+new TC cost like 2000-2500, I might as well buy another 4runner. Mine has a lot of issues as it is - drive belts are bad, power steering pump is bad, fuel filler neck is rusted, frame is rusted, front sway bar is broke, starter contacts are bad, tires are getting old, the list goes on for days.

I could find a used trans and TC... but that repair is too much for my tiny garage. Not to mention that'd be the most extensive repair I've ever tried.

Does anyone have any good news for me? Maybe I'm just having a nightmare?
 
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LookAtThatDog said:
Out of the blue my trans starting slipping really bad after work. ATF is bright red, clean and filled all the way. Figured I'd try to get home anyway, threw cel P0770 and slipped like crazy. Went to a really great trans guy - we drove it around and he's sure it's the torque converter shitting on the solenoid (basically). There's kind of a buzzing noise coming from the trans pan... sounds bad.

Thing, it, its intermittent. It will drive terrible and throw a code, and then drive fine and not throw a code. I put in a bottle of lubegard red and am hoping for the best, but I'm pretty sure I'm ****ed.

Looks like most people on this site rebuild the trans after a P0770 or never log in again.

If the trans is ruined and a rebuild+new TC cost like 2000-2500, I might as well buy another 4runner. Mine has a lot of issues as it is - drive belts are bad, power steering pump is bad, fuel filler neck is rusted, frame is rusted, front sway bar is broke, starter contacts are bad, tires are getting old, the list goes on for days.

I could find a used trans and TC... but that repair is too much for my tiny garage. Not to mention that'd be the most extensive repair I've ever tried.

Does anyone have any good news for me? Maybe I'm just having a nightmare?
Click to expand...

Nope your SOL, you bought a POS. Just end your nightmare.
 
Just drove it for 30 miles and can't get it to slip at all now. The transmission noise has dulled down, but is still audible outside of the truck.

I'll report back tomorrow... :shrug:
 
Drop the pan and check for metal slivers/debris. If there is none drop your trans filter your solenoids should be in view. Look at them to see if anything look loose or broken. You can also test them following FSM guidance.
I didn't see five solenoid while I was in there. It has been a good 3-4yrs though. I remember seeing three two group up and one further back.
Maybe you could keep it and use it as a learning tool. Sounds like a fun project.
 
Rock_Rat said:
A 0770 code is nothing more than your overdrive solenoid (S2 I think?)that's either intermittent or bad. You probably have very little resistance in the windings, Not hard to replace. Order one and bring it to American Transmission to replace for you. You'll notice once the code is reset and you de-select OD it won't come back on. I had that code last year and replaced the solenoid but I never had the tranny slip. Just curious, can you feel it shift into 4th and do your RPM's drop with the code or does it still stay wound up around 3000rpm. Mine worked normally but was still throwing the code. Had an electrical problem not a mechanical one. The CEL came on but OD still worked OK.

Shouldn't cost too much to replace your torque converter either. Replacing a transmission because it's slipping is like saying youre going to replace your engine because of a misfire. Don't panic and take it one step at a time.
Click to expand...

I drove it to work today after resetting the code. It slips like crazy going into second, but is okay in first third, and fourth. The code came on while i tried to merge onto the highway, when it slipped the most. It seems like when other people get the code, their driving in unaffected - but in my case it drives poorly first and throws the code second. Does a bad solenoid make that much noise?

Tyota89 said:
Drop the pan and check for metal slivers/debris. If there is none drop your trans filter your solenoids should be in view. Look at them to see if anything look loose or broken. You can also test them following FSM guidance.
I didn't see five solenoid while I was in there. It has been a good 3-4yrs though. I remember seeing three two group up and one further back.
Maybe you could keep it and use it as a learning tool. Sounds like a fun project.
Click to expand...

I figure ill take a look inside this weekend but I have no idea what I'm even looking for. It'd be a fun project if it wasn't my daily...
 
Throw a used tranny in there. Will take about 4-8 hours depending on your skill and cost about $200-$600
 
This whole week the truck has been unpredictable. It'll drive 100% okay and throw no codes on the way to work, then on the way home it won't want to shift up, or slips like crazy.

I drained the pan and the fluid was brown and smelly. The fluid on the dipstick was bright red, so I'm not sure how that works out. I put in 4 quarts of Castrol synthetic ATF and a bottle of Lucasoil Transmission fix. The noise is 90% gone and the truck has been driving good today. We'll see if it changes its mind tomorrow.

I probly should have done a flush instead of a drain and fill... now if I flush it all that new ATF will be wasted. And ATF is expensive as hell too.
 
LookAtThatDog said:
This whole week the truck has been unpredictable. It'll drive 100% okay and throw no codes on the way to work, then on the way home it won't want to shift up, or slips like crazy.

I drained the pan and the fluid was brown and smelly. The fluid on the dipstick was bright red, so I'm not sure how that works out. I put in 4 quarts of Castrol synthetic ATF and a bottle of Lucasoil Transmission fix. The noise is 90% gone and the truck has been driving good today. We'll see if it changes its mind tomorrow.

I probly should have done a flush instead of a drain and fill... now if I flush it all that new ATF will be wasted. And ATF is expensive as hell too.
Click to expand...

Yeah it is a pretty penny but if the pan was that dirty just think how other part of the system is. It might contaminate your new fluid once it is cycled.
 
Believe it or not, putting a tranny in these is pretty simple. If it acts up again I'd say just get a used one and stop the wild goose chase.
 
Normally you do several drain and fills to change old fluid. I think there's 16 quarts. You probably only added 4 or so new quarts, so you've got 75 percent old nasty fluid. If it mixes completely, the next drain and fill would give you 56 percent old nasty fluid left. The next 42 and so forth.

While you're doing drain and fills you can use cheaper regular stuff, especially if you don't have much faith in your current transmission.

I'll add another vote though for putting in a known good transmission. For how cheap and easy they are to put in its worth it. You'll be better off than where you are now
 
Replace it...easy enough job, like an above poster said 4-8 hours, thought realistically be more in the 8-10 hour, but worth the time.
 
It appears to be cured for now. I know most of the fluid is old, and I'd like to do a flush. I saw other people disconnecting tranny cooler lines and pumping the old fluid out, while putting new fluid in through the other side. Seems simple enough.

I'd love to swap in a new one (especially a manual one) but It'd be just me doing it. I don't have any car enthusiast friends nearby and am struggling to find anybody off t4r.org that lives near Chicago. My truck is my daily, and If anything went wrong I'd be ****ed for getting to work.

I figure I'll do a fluid flush next weekend even though its not acting up.
 
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