"Rumble Strip" Transmission issue

[riteshcarla]

any update to this.

I wouldnt be surprised if this does not fix the issue

Please dont say that! My truck is going in on the up coming monday. Its costing me about $1700 CAD to get this done. So far, all the diff's and the transmission have been flushed 3 times in the last month. The drivelines have been greased etc. Now we're looking at the torgue convertor. Any reason you say it wont work?

 

[eskimochaos]

Please dont say that! My truck is going in on the up coming monday. Its costing me about $1700 CAD to get this done. So far, all the diff's and the transmission have been flushed 3 times in the last month. The drivelines have been greased etc. Now we're looking at the torgue convertor. Any reason you say it wont work?

What year and v6 or v8?

I say that because....and I repeat myself often.

The 2UZ-FE engine and A750f were designed for the 100 series land cruiser. Toyota's premier off road vehicle known as the king of all roads. It puts the 4runner to shame in terms of quality, and durability.

The LAST place they would skimp is the drive-train. The engine and transmission were designed for a car that not only weighs about 1000lbs more but is designed to be loaded down with gear, people and steel bumpers/winches so that the UN can save jungle babies in the worst conditions.

It is simply put, one, if not the most over engineered car on the planet.

I am an active member on mud which is LC based and there has not been one reported failure of a transmission or engine. (a750f equipped that is: 00/01 had a shim manufacturing defect leading to premature failure in the a434f 4spd)

The 100 series is equipped with numerous vibration dampers that are mounted throughout the frame to reduce vibration. The V8 is known to produce harmonic vibrations at low RPM due to the fact that it doesnt have an EGR system. Even so, many people report slight.

Basically what Im getting at is there is serious doubt in my mind that your trans has failed. It is simply a harmonic vibration, that for some reason, is worse on some cars than others.

The only last though is that without the use of an external trans cooler on V6 models (tacos too) the fluid and or trans get up to temp too quick under certain conditions.

Take it for what its worth

 

[riteshcarla]

What year and v6 or v8?

I say that because....and I repeat myself often.

The 2UZ-FE engine and A750f were designed for the 100 series land cruiser. Toyota's premier off road vehicle known as the king of all roads. It puts the 4runner to shame in terms of quality, and durability.

The LAST place they would skimp is the drive-train. The engine and transmission were designed for a car that not only weighs about 1000lbs more but is designed to be loaded down with gear, people and steel bumpers/winches so that the UN can save jungle babies in the worst conditions.

It is simply put, one, if not the most over engineered car on the planet.

I am an active member on mud which is LC based and there has not been one reported failure of a transmission or engine. (a750f equipped that is: 00/01 had a shim manufacturing defect leading to premature failure in the a434f 4spd)

The 100 series is equipped with numerous vibration dampers that are mounted throughout the frame to reduce vibration. The V8 is known to produce harmonic vibrations at low RPM due to the fact that it doesnt have an EGR system. Even so, many people report slight.

Basically what Im getting at is there is serious doubt in my mind that your trans has failed. It is simply a harmonic vibration, that for some reason, is worse on some cars than others.

The only last though is that without the use of an external trans cooler on V6 models (tacos too) the fluid and or trans get up to temp too quick under certain conditions.

Take it for what its worth

I did read up on your previous posts regarding this. I do indeed own a V8. Having said that, i could understand minor vibrations etc coming throughout the truck at low rpms, but to suddenly start happening in the last 2-3 months, severely (in my mind) when the actual truck is 6 years old and over 100,000kms of smooth driving makes me think something else is wrong. The minor vibrations would be a minor buzz/shake etc. I have a severe rumble strip shake. Letting off the accelerator or changing gears, the problem goes away.

I have seen about 10 -15 reported cases that are exactly the same as mine description wise that i found on the internet. None of these have had a solution to date. I contacted Toyota Canada and their advice was to continue on with the current dealer as they are going through the diagnotic steps. After this, there isn't too much more left to swap out. I'll keep you guys updated.

 

[KB084RUNNER]

Not to hijack this thread but I am on my 4th Toyota and make it a practice to do a complete cooler line ATF fluid exchange every 50,000 miles. I get the WS fluid for a case price of about $88 (12 qts) from my dealer. I always do this and never seem to get any shudder issues which is no doubt torque converter/fluid caused IMO. I have had some rear diff issues (dealer replaced the diff) on my 08 4R and do get up/down shift from my trans going up and down short hills where I live. But nothing abnormal.

Seems the trans shift logic on the 5 speed T4R is designed to dump it off into 5th gear OD asap probably for CAFE perfomance since the truck has a 4.88 rear diff. So, I run around town most of the time in "4" on the selector and have no problem with the constant up/down shifting in the hilly sections of my commute. Nature of the beast IMO but I think it wears out the fluid pretty quick with the shift logic. Plus I do believe the Toyota WS fluid is crap. My wifes Lexus ES350 just rolled 100k and got it's 2nd flush. The fluid coming out both times was dark brown. So, no way I am going over 50-60k on WS fluid when it only costs $88 to flush it. It is a way easy job as the hardest part is taking off all the underbody covers.

 

[eskimochaos]

Toyota has stated that the color of WS fluid is not indicative of it's condition at all.

 

[Ducman]

Rumble Strip

Yeah you guys who don't have this issue...

Trust me, I'm 100% sure its NOT a harmonic vibration. Forget motor mounts, forget transmission mounts. That is not it. It only happens during the shift into OD at light throttle. Again driving around in '4' instead of 'D' it never happens.

Take your truck and drive over some rumble strips in the highway.

Thats EXACTLY what it sounds and feels like, its that loud and that violent.

My money is on torque converter. My concern though is that the replacement Toyota converter will suffer the same fate over time. The threads I've read from newer Tundra and Taco owners... more than a few have had torque converters replaced under warranty and the problem has gone away.... then over time it comes back again. It seems like a build defect of some kind in the torque converters to me.

My update is my truck is still doing it. :ybrick:

I have some of my 75k mile WS fluid from my first drain in a Blackstone bottle on my counter. I just need to get it sent in.

 

[riteshcarla]

Well, my truck is in the dealership right now. So far, they called me yesterday to say while they were taking the driveshafts off to replace the torque convertor, they found 1 was seized. Since it was seized, they thought they'd try to just replace that first and see if was still doing it.

Got the call this morning. It DID NOT fix the issue. They are moving on to replacing out the torque convertor. In canada, we just get hosed. A driveshaft cost me $710CAD and the torque convertor will cost be $606 CAD plus labour being estimated at 8-9 hours running $105/hr. This is not including the driveline fluid flush that i've already done. ($515CAD). :ybrick:
Will keep you guys updated.

 

[CEPhD]

Curious

I am really intrigued by this problem. As mentioned several times earlier in this thread, the transmission was designed before WS fluid was the norm. When ours started acting up, I figured I would do a drain and refill and being the cheap-o that I am, went to Wal Mart and purchased Wal mart Type VI fluid, which is allegedly compatible with the WS fluid. I drained the pan, put 4 qts back in and leveled it off using the jumper wire, pull the plug technique. Since then, we have had none of the vibrations.

Did the Type VI fluid somehow change the properties (viscosity, temperature-viscosity relationship, compressibility, etc.) just enough to mask the problem? Was swapping out 20% of the fluid enough to remove some crud that was causing problems? Did the problem just go away on its own? Was our transmission low on fluid before and the addition just brought it up to the correct level?

In any case, I submit my experience as simply that. If it was not cost prohibitive, it would be cool to get a 4Runner and remove all the WS fluid and replace with Type IV (the heavier, previous generation that the trans was originally designed to use) and see what happens. Something tells me that it might just work...

Another idea that I had, when looking at the almost watery consistency of the used WS fluid was the old friction modifier trick. Perhaps the fluid still meets viscosity requirements, but its lubricity has been reduced. Again, I did not do this, just spit-balling here.

 

[scottm]

If you're going to bother changing out the fluid, a local transmission specialist and guru suggests turning the transmission with the drain open to pump the fluid out of the torque converter. He turns the engine with the starter, has the ignition disabled so it won't start. You should be able to get most of the fluid out instead of 20%.

 

[riteshcarla]

So an update for you guys. I had the torque convertor replaced and the problem is not happening anymore. BUT.... now i have a brand new issue. VSC lights and CEL. Error reads P0420 so basically catalyst below threshhold bank 1. This all happened after they replaced the torque convertor. :wtf:

More to add to the list. Now with the VSC lights on, i assume this means it shuts it off. Just in time for our great Canadian winter and our snow fall.....

 

[eskimochaos]

So an update for you guys. I had the torque convertor replaced and the problem is not happening anymore. BUT.... now i have a brand new issue. VSC lights and CEL. Error reads P0420 so basically catalyst below threshhold bank 1. This all happened after they replaced the torque convertor. :wtf:

More to add to the list. Now with the VSC lights on, i assume this means it shuts it off. Just in time for our great Canadian winter and our snow fall.....

catalyst or did you mean catalytic converter?

sounds like a lovely ordeal.

 

[riteshcarla]

catalyst or did you mean catalytic converter?

sounds like a lovely ordeal.

Actually the code reads
Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)

It could be Cat convertor, O2 sensor, maybe something else.

 

[Ridger]

So an update for you guys. I had the torque convertor replaced and the problem is not happening anymore. BUT.... now i have a brand new issue. VSC lights and CEL. Error reads P0420 so basically catalyst below threshhold bank 1. This all happened after they replaced the torque convertor. :wtf:

More to add to the list. Now with the VSC lights on, i assume this means it shuts it off. Just in time for our great Canadian winter and our snow fall.....

So have you figured out the issue to the latest problem?

Has the 'rumble strip' issue returned?

 

[riteshcarla]

So have you figured out the issue to the latest problem?

Has the 'rumble strip' issue returned?

So for my truck, rumble strip issue was the torque converter. The seized driveshaft didn't help but not the cause. It has not come back! If you guys are having this issue and have powertrain warranty left, go in asap!!

As for the p0420 error, it's the left catalytic converter. I was sooo pissed. The dealer calls, says they need to replace the front left cat. Cost :$1750 installed! Ouch! Weather being bad here and having no traction control for the wife I say go ahead. Come home same night, check my manuals and this forum, realize emissions warranty is 8 years/ 130k and my truck is still under it! Called dealer next day and get the 'ohhhh, you're right! It's under warranty so no charge! didn't the other guy check this...' Had we not looked into this, we'd be out that money!

Considering I bought 3 trucks from them including this one, they'd check the warranty status of the vehicle! It's going to be completed tonight. Will post update once all is back to normal!

 

[eskimochaos]

Glad to hear it's working now.

Did the dealer comment on the torque converter they replaced?

 

[riteshcarla]

Glad to hear it's working now.

Did the dealer comment on the torque converter they replaced?

Thanks! The dealer hadn't commented on it as I didn't ask. Wanted to make sure it was actually working and after a good week, I can honestly say, it is. When I pick up the truck tonight, I'll ask the techs about the old torque converter and if it showed any signs etc.

 

[KoNEJO]

i just bought my first 07 runner sport 4x4 from somebody that was still making payments on it. so i drove it 2 days ago and it does vibrate on D when use 4 is gone. truck has only 63k and i think the owner had the extended warranty bumper to bumper to 100k. my question is if it is the converter will the warranty still covers it? the lifetime power train.warranty was not transferable. thanks

 

[riteshcarla]

i just bought my first 07 runner sport 4x4 from somebody that was still making payments on it. so i drove it 2 days ago and it does vibrate on D when use 4 is gone. truck has only 63k and i think the owner had the extended warranty bumper to bumper to 100k. my question is if it is the converter will the warranty still covers it? the lifetime power train.warranty was not transferable. thanks

If you are able to reproduce the issue with the dealers, they will cover the costs under the warranty. I would take it in right away and actually take them for a drive. Initially, when i dropped mine off, the dealers couldn't reproduce the issue. They said they drove it around for 45mins and still nothing. I went straight there and took them for a drive and within 5mins of normal city stop/go driving, it was doing it. Once they knew the issue, they were ale to produce in on demand.

The other thing that Toyota Canada said was that things need to be documented. You can't just say that it was doing this for months BEFORE the warranty expired and you brought it to the dealers AFTER the warranty expired. If you show the issues were brought to the dealers and they couldn't find an issue at the time and after the warranty (within a reasonable timeframe) expires, they would still cover the issue.

If we had powertrain still on the vehicle, yes Toyota would cover this repair under warranty.

 

[KoNEJO]

thanks riteshcarla, I will keep driving it for another couple weeks then i will go to the dealer i will let you guys know the outcome...[

 

[riteshcarla]

So it's official finally. My truck is back to it's original glory! No more shudder, and after the cat was replaced, no more CEL! The tranny shifts are nice and crisp. Since all the drivetrain fluids were flushed, and driveshafts were inspected / replaced, the truck 'seems' to roll better. Expensive ordeal but it good to go now!