Possible Tranny Problem

[Synister]

Recently been having a strange problem with my 98 sr5 2wd v6 with 126k on the clock. It feels almost as if the parking brake is on when moving from a stop but it isnt. There is just a very real "drag" up until about 5mph, its strong enough so that when you take your foot off the brake the vehicle wont creep forward, it actually takes a good bit of gas to get moving. The very weird thing is it doesnt happen every time and it seems like the cooler weather causes it to happen more often. I pulled off my rear drums to inspect for something obvious but everything looks like it functions normally so Im inclined to exclude the brakes as the problem. Another thread mentioned to lube the drive shaft but my 2wd doesnt have any grease fittings. So im thinking its someting in the transmission. It was serviced roughly 12k miles ago by a stealership, flushed and filled as I recall. What else could be causing these symptoms and how should I proceed with troubleshooting? Thanks for any help.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Recently been having a strange problem with my 98 sr5 2wd v6 with 126k on the clock. It feels almost as if the parking brake is on when moving from a stop but it isnt. There is just a very real "drag" up until about 5mph, its strong enough so that when you take your foot off the brake the vehicle wont creep forward, it actually takes a good bit of gas to get moving. The very weird thing is it doesnt happen every time and it seems like the cooler weather causes it to happen more often. I pulled off my rear drums to inspect for something obvious but everything looks like it functions normally so Im inclined to exclude the brakes as the problem. Another thread mentioned to lube the drive shaft but my 2wd doesnt have any grease fittings. So im thinking its someting in the transmission. It was serviced roughly 12k miles ago by a stealership, flushed and filled as I recall. What else could be causing these symptoms and how should I proceed with troubleshooting? Thanks for any help.

What about the front brakes? Take it on a short, gentle drive and see if the front rims feel too hot for a short, gentle drive.
:cheers:

 

[pat161]

Do you use the ebrake, I know you said you ruled the rears out, but the ebrake freezing is very common on these. Could be an intermittent thing.

 

[Synister]

The front brakes release just fine, you can actually feel the rear "sag" down when you let off the brakes and the truck wont roll until you give it a good amount of gas. So the problem is with the rear somewhere. When I took apart the drums, they looked very very clean inside, no rust or anything and very little brake dust. I suppose I could spray the exterior parking brake lever with some wd40 or something at the hinge point but when I had it apart it worked well and the return spring pressure was significant. Also, the vehicle reverses just fine, I can stop and continue to go backwards with zero felt drag. Put it in drive though and the drag feeling returns until about 5 mph. My gas mileage on this last tank was about 40 miles below my tank average so something is def causing drag. The brakes both front and rear dont seem to be creating any excessive heat and there are no visible leaks from the rear axle seals either. Aaagggghhh!!!

 

[pat161]

You don't have a grease fitting right at the slip yoke in front of the axle? It would seem strange for Toyota to not allow the 2wd models any grease points. When you think about your problem theres really not a whole lot mechanical that would cause the issue you speak of. If it were a grease issue you would suspect it would at least whine at speed, if something was so dry it stops the truck from rolling I wouldn't expect it to just go away. Is your engine revving fine, meaning no miss or anything related to a spark issue? Any whining coming from the axle at speed, what happens if you jack the rear off the ground and try to spin the shaft?

 

[Uneek]

You don't have a grease fitting right at the slip yoke in front of the axle? It would seem strange for Toyota to not allow the 2wd models any grease points.

They don't. My '05 Tacoma Prerunner (2WD) doesn't have zerks for the drive shaft, but it has the clunk like the 4Runner though not as bad.

 

[drmorbius]

Recently been having a strange problem with my 98 sr5 2wd v6 with 126k on the clock. It feels almost as if the parking brake is on when moving from a stop but it isnt. There is just a very real "drag" up until about 5mph, its strong enough so that when you take your foot off the brake the vehicle wont creep forward, it actually takes a good bit of gas to get moving. The very weird thing is it doesnt happen every time and it seems like the cooler weather causes it to happen more often. I pulled off my rear drums to inspect for something obvious but everything looks like it functions normally so Im inclined to exclude the brakes as the problem. Another thread mentioned to lube the drive shaft but my 2wd doesnt have any grease fittings. So im thinking its someting in the transmission. It was serviced roughly 12k miles ago by a stealership, flushed and filled as I recall. What else could be causing these symptoms and how should I proceed with troubleshooting? Thanks for any help.

Not certain if this applies to your year 4runner but on certain years there is a brake valve located above the rear diff that has linkage to it that could be causing your symptoms. Anyway it's worth a look.

 

[phil55555]

I have the same problem. Did you ever figure out what it was?

 

[terra4r]

Sticky rear brakes? Take off the back drums and see if you blew out an axle seal? << NVM I just saw you said they were clean inside.