real time tranny problem

A

Armandi

New member
here are the last two weeks.


tranny cooler line fitting into radiator breaks. I replace the radiator. The same day I clean the throttle body and maf as i have done before. Two days later the car woould occasionaly stall on start up. Low rpm and want to stall unless given gas. But only stalling if I had been out of the car for a few minutes. Example: If had been driving and stopped in the store for a few minutes. Never on a cold start up.

Yesterday the tranny started slipping. Never a trans problem before. Drained and refilled this morning. Drove 15 miles fine then started slipping again. Got stuck in an intersection...turned the car off and started it back up. Went back into gear. Had it towed home and dropped the pan. Little but of sludge but zero shavings.

electrical?

any advice would help.
 
Register to hide this ad
Explain the cooler line problem better. There's a couple of issues at hand. If the tranny ran dry then yes damage could have been done. If the cooler contaminated the transmission with coolant then the clutches may be toast if the tranny wasn't flushed. I think you glossed over that repair.
 
What lead up to or how did you find out about tranny cooler line fitting breakage?

EDIT - Drcoffee just beat me to it.
 
Ok so I noticed that I had a small leak at the fitting on the tranny cooler line that goes into the bottom of the radiator. It's a 90 elbow. I went to see if it was loose and it just popped of completely. Obviously at that point I had coolant and ome fluid leaking out. I had the truck towed to a radiator shop where they swapped the radiator for me. Drove fine for two weeks besides the stalling issue. Until this morning when it started slipping.

Started slipping immediately this morning. Drove down the block. At times the truck wouldn't move at all. After turning it off and back on it found the gear. Drained and refilled with Mobil 1 ATF and a bottle,of Lucas. Drove for 15 miles fine even at highway speed. Started slipping again. Pulled off the highway. Got stuck at an intersection. Turned her off and on and was ale to find gear and the pulled over for tow.
 
Take a look at the ABS control module. I have never had this problem with the runner, but I definately had this with my volvo sedan. It would drive fine, then slip out of gear and the engine would rev. I had to pull over, turn the car off, and then when I restarted it, it would run normal for a while. Then it got to the point where it would not go into reverse. Also the speedo did not work after stopping at the store and turning the car off, but upon restarting the vehicle it came right back on. It was a short in the ABS control module.

I am thinking the problem is something electric, especially if everything with the tranny fluid is normal and has been.
 
Don't get me wrong. The fluid needed changing but this seems so coincidental that the two happened so close to each other. I forgot to mention it has 163k on it. Should I try and run an OBD scan?
 
I'm just trying to get a better picture of what's gong on. Are you sure that you topped off the trans fluid? I mean actually checked the dip stick while it is running to verify it has enough? Was the fluid you removed pink and milky or red'ish translucent? What concerns me if the port was so loose it fell off in your hand, I'm thinking the transmission ran dry. Or worse, the cooler inside broke first and mixed with the trans fluid. We just need more info to be able to help you.
 
I am not sure if it would tell you anything since there are not any lights on, but it can't hurt to try.

Also I googled tranny problems, and although this is a slightly different presentation of symptoms, this guy had a problem with his tranny that was Battery related??

When was the last time you had your battery replaced? Or even tested at a napa/auto zone?? Worth a shot, and cheaper than a new tranny??

2000 4Runner Automatic Transmission (Battery???) Problem - Transmission Discussions at Automotive.com

I am still thinking electrical, assuming that you checked everything that Dr. Coffee just said.
 
Last edited:
Get rid of the Lucas, that may be a problem. I have used a whole bottle before (not on an Aisin tranny) and had slippage.

I'd buy some transmission fluid in bulk (at least 16qts, more like 20) and do a flush. It sounds like a pink milkshake occurred and the clutches may be gone.
 
Im sure the tranny did not run dry. The fluid was not bright red. Slightly burnt. I suppose it could have gotten contaminated.
 
You should not have a problem with flushing the transmission.

Here is a procedure:
Dropping Pan And Flushing Transmission

Antifreeze could have mixed with the ATF when the radiator failed, which ultimately leads to the destruction of the clutch packs in the ATF. Google 4runner pink milkshake and you will see.

But I would start with the procedure above, making sure the ATF level is spot on, and go from there.
 
I'm going to assume it is pink milkshake. Is the flush even worth doing? Don't I need to replace the whole tranny?
 
here are some pics. You can see the color of the fluid on the bottom of the bolts. The stuff on my finger I had to reach up in to get. You can see it in the other pics as well.
 

Attachments

  • piphne 27 014.jpg
    piphne 27 014.jpg
    142.1 KB · Views: 853
  • piphne 27 016.jpg
    piphne 27 016.jpg
    125.9 KB · Views: 319
  • piphne 27 018.jpg
    piphne 27 018.jpg
    124 KB · Views: 359
Looks like the dreaded pink mikshake to me, fluid looks awfully frothy on your finger. Stop wasting your money on simple fixes, and a flush won't help now. Its either time to source a new or used tranny or rebuild what you've got.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 341 (members: 0, guests: 341)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,306
Messages
3,554,045
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top