Should I start saving for a transmission?

[Frontier719]

For those who have had to rebuilt/replace your transmission, what mileage did yours go at?

I've never had a transmission go out on me so I don't know what the signs are, but I think mine is starting to go. After sitting at a red light, I'll let off the brake and feel some kind of clunk as the transmission engages.

Also, when driving on the highway, sometimes I think I feel some hesitation when the 4Runner shifts gears--but maybe this is just paranoia

 

[Quadsbc]

When was the fluid last swapped? Where is the clunk? Under your seat or rear end?

 

[LittleCaesar]

Grease up your U joints with a good grease with a little moly in it such as Valvoline Synpower.

 

[Frontier719]

When was the fluid last swapped? Where is the clunk? Under your seat or rear end?

Its been doing it since I bought it a year ago. I had the transmission fluid flushed about 5k miles ago.

I'll have to feel where it comes from. What would you think it means coming from under the seat vs towards the rear end?

 

[StreetCreeper]

Could it be a sticking rear brake from a leaky wheel cylinder?

 

[my92t4r]

would hurt to try some Valvoline Maxlife AFT, it helped a few of my auto tranny.

 

[ToyotaBrah]

I really think it varies when a transmission will throw in the white flag. An automatic that has seen primarily highway miles should last longer because it has not cycled through the gears as much as a city driven one. Stop and go traffic wears out the clutch packs and other transmission components. This is why it's imperative that the fluid be changed at the specified intervals.

 

[Frontier719]

I really think it varies when a transmission will throw in the white flag. An automatic that has seen primarily highway miles should last longer because it has not cycled through the gears as much as a city driven one. Stop and go traffic wears out the clutch packs and other transmission components. This is why it's imperative that the fluid be changed at the specified intervals.

Ya, I live between Colorado (lots of highway) and DC (lots and lots of city driving). I've only put about 6,000 miles on it since I've owned it and I got it flushed soon after i bought it. Fluids are the easiest and best maintenance!

 

[csp]

Mine has an occasional clunk like that too. It's almost so faint that I thought I was imagining it at first. It's almost feels like a hesitation, then it engages.

 

[Frontier719]

Mine has an occasional clunk like that too. It's almost so faint that I thought I was imagining it at first. It's almost feels like a hesitation, then it engages.

How many miles on yours?

 

[BrianSD_42]

I'm at 231K miles and very little to no slipping. I wouldn't say 0 because we'll well it's an old truck but near zero slip.

 

[Ape Runner]

I made it to 205k and then had a factory remanufactured trans put in at the dealer. $2800. I think running larger tires (285/75/16) was the contributing factor. I lost 4th gear. Trans was regularly maintained.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Grease up your U joints with a good grease with a little moly in it such as Valvoline Synpower.

x2 on greasing the drive lines. Transmissions don't "clunk" when they are going bad, they stop shifting gears. The clunk is your drive line that needs some attention.

 

[zenimcphea]

Where is the clunk? Under your seat or rear end?

 

[BoostedRNR]

I have had two 3rd gens do this. My problem was the slip yolk on the driveline. It's a very common problem with the 3rd gens. I just keep it greased and it keeps it minimized

 

[4Runner4TW]

I too have looked into this as I also get that clunk feeling. Its coming from the drive line. I have not been able to get rid of the clunk yet. My transmission is at 191,000. I've been a little paranoid lately because I pulled a 3000# trailer from Seattle to Arizona but all seems fine. I've been off road 3 times and made a few 200 mile trips since then. These trucks are built to last.

 

[xcmtb83]

I had a clunk/driveline slop in my 3rd gen and it ended up being loose bolts that hold the links (upper and lower) on the rear axle. I would check those 8 bolts for piece of mind.

 

[BlackCat914]

x2 on greasing the drive lines. Transmissions don't "clunk" when they are going bad, they stop shifting gears. The clunk is your drive line that needs some attention.

Transmissions can absolutely clunk when going bad. They can slam into gear, slip into gear, not shift at appropriate times, etc. Not shifting is only one of many possible symptoms. OP's issue sounds like a slip yolk problem.

 

[BoostedRNR]

Oh, and my trans has 250k on it. When I put my shift kit in, there were lots of larger metal shavings. Slapped it together with an inline filter and it feels great! I'm sure it won't last forever, but I'm hoping to get a few years out of it before I start looking for another one

 

[mtbtim]

You know Frontier719, I bought a 2000 4runner 4x4 with 111,000 miles on it last September and it makes the same clunk you are experiencing with yours. I also have changed my transmission fluid and all my u-joints and slip yokes are well-greased.

I've spent some time trying to diagnose what's causing this, and I think it's just the fact that sometimes the transmission hasn't dropped into the lowest gear before coming to a stop. After you left off the brake and start rolling forward, the transmission finds the lowest gear and drops in giving you that clunk feeling. What I've noticed is I experience the clunk after letting off the brake if I come to a stop quickly and didn't give the transmission a chance to make it into the lowest gear yet if that makes sense. To see if my theory made sense, I would drive through residential streets and come to a slow stop giving the transmission a chance to drop into the lowest gear before coming to a complete stop and I wouldn't get the clunk after letting off the brake. I keep my hand on the shift lever and I can feel the transmission dropping into gear when I experience the clunk.

I understand some think it's a driveline issue but I truly believe it's just a situation where the transmission hasn't dropped into the lowest gear yet. The lowest gear on these automatic transmissions is pretty darn low. I detect it shifting up into second at around 10mph. That means when it's downshifting, it's not going to drop into that gear until you slow back down to around 10 mph. If you come to a complete stop quickly, I just think the transmission didn't have a chance to shift into the lowest gear yet. Taking the foot off the brake and rolling forward allows the transmission to finally drop in.

I've never experienced this with an automatic transmission and it possibly means that maybe we both might be having to do a transmission rebuild or replacement at some point. My transmission has no problems shifting or downshifting and I don't detect it slipping at all. It's just that weird clunk I feel at a stop sometimes. As long as the transmission isn't slipping, I'm not too concerned about it but it would be nice to get a definitive answer what exactly is causing this. Since my 4runner had very low miles for it's age, I think most of it's miles were around town and the transmission probably got a lot more shifting through the gears than one that was driven on the highway mostly.

Does anyone else have any theories on what we're experiencing?