Tranny Replacement

[Ph1llies05]

Just took my 04 4Runner (279,000)to the dealer because I was having issues with rough idling while stopped, issues accelerating from 1st to 2nd gear, and leaking oil. The mechanic told me that I would need to have my tranny replaced which will cost me about 5K for a remanufactured tranny. Has anyone had to replace their transmission and did you have any other issues that came after the replacement. I would love to holdon to my truck, but can't justify the 5K. Thanks

 

[Syr4RinNC]

I replaced one in my 03 back around 2011. At that point we just swapped in a used one. I had no issues thereafter (until the frame rusted through)

Might be worthwhile to find a dedicated transmission shop for another opinion/ pricing/ options

 

[chompster4runner]

Just took my 04 4Runner (279,000)to the dealer because I was having issues with rough idling while stopped, issues accelerating from 1st to 2nd gear, and leaking oil. The mechanic told me that I would need to have my tranny replaced which will cost me about 5K for a remanufactured tranny. Has anyone had to replace their transmission and did you have any other issues that came after the replacement. I would love to holdon to my truck, but can't justify the 5K. Thanks

I toast mine on the beach. Somehow the sand got into the service hole which is just a plastic clipped right below the transmission. Sand got into the seal and let out fluids. Anyways I found a use one for $700 with 78k miles on it. At least that’s what was written on the transmission. I would have done it myself but needed it done asap. Paid a shop $900 including rear main seal and fluid. That’s 90k ago and no issues.

 

[Mr_Dobalina]

My 2002 blew up after I did a transmission flush per the dealers recommendation.(don't do it!!!!!) I was broke at the time so my only option was to go to AAMCO, which just happened to be across the street from my apartment building.

You get what you pay for I guess... it was like 1,600 bucks or something to rebuild. It had a very hard shift into 3rd and they said it was as good as it was going to get. I was moving across the country shortly after that so I did not have time to battle this issue.

I used it as a trade in and luckily for me the dealer never took it for a test drive.

 

[Keros]

Just took my 04 4Runner (279,000)to the dealer because I was having issues with rough idling while stopped, issues accelerating from 1st to 2nd gear, and leaking oil. The mechanic told me that I would need to have my tranny replaced which will cost me about 5K for a remanufactured tranny. Has anyone had to replace their transmission and did you have any other issues that came after the replacement. I would love to holdon to my truck, but can't justify the 5K. Thanks

Though it might seem like there's many people who post about transmission problems... many of those people are here on the forums because they have transmission problems.

Generally, the 4-speed transmission is used as the definition of reliable. The 5-speed is generally pretty good.

There's almost zero risk of getting a "bad" used transmission from a reputable auto wrecker compared to the decent chance that a rebuilder did a mediocre job of rebuilding a bad unit.

Certainly there are great/amazing transmission rebuilders out there... but as Mr_Dobalina pointed out, you get what you paid for. No one makes them like Toyota [usually] does (or AISIN in this case...)

 

[djpope09]

Check LKQ and see if you can get a used transmission from them. I looked on there earlier this year and they could deliver a used transmission for $750 total (including taxes and shipping). Those had ~140k miles on them, but if you change the fluid regularly you shouldn't have any issues getting another 100-150k miles from it.

 

[YOKBB]

My transmission started having some minor issues so I called a local shop just for info and they quoted me 9 hours for labor, or about $1000 (not including parts). They said it would be the same if they were replacing the entire transmission or just the torque converter (I was thinking my torque converter was bad, not sure now). Sounds like you could get a better rate somewhere else. It's also not impossible to do yourself, which is something I'm considering if it ever gets worse.

Edit: I just realized your quote is from a dealership. I usually go to local independent shops that specialize in whatever I'm trying to fix, it costs less and they usually do a better job.

 

[YOKBB]

My problem turned out to be bad spark plugs. It eventually threw a code showing a misfire almost 10k miles after I started noticing the problem. It only had issues in 5th gear at low RPM, which made me think it was a transmission problem, but high gear + low RPM puts the most stress on the engine so it makes sense that you would see more issues under those conditions.

The Hayne's manual makes replacing the spark plugs more difficult than it needs to be. For the passenger's side, detach the air filter housing from the throttle body (IIRC there are 2 bolts holding it down, and a pipe clamp on the throttle body). A couple of extensions and a u-joint on your socket wrench will get the coils and plugs out of the driver's side.

And I'm feeling pretty stupid for not ever looking at the spark plugs until now. They're supposed to be replaced every 30k miles, and I've had it for more than that. I should have check them when I bought it. I'm just glad it only cost $30 for new spark plugs to fix the problem and I didn't need to replace the transmission.

 

[bob3dsf]

5k for a remanned tranny?? Is that including install at the dealer? I just asked my parts guy about that. I just wanted some background info. I'm always thinking my rig will fall to pieces on me tomorrow.... I don't know why. It's running fine and it's a Toyota... Anyway. It would be a little over 3k, and then there's a 1k core refund. So about 2k labor at dealer rates, doesn't seem way out in left field, but others may know better than me.

Timmy the toolman (he's a t4r regular and a 3rd gen dude) recently did a tranny swap on an FJC. Virtually the same transmission as ours. It's a very doable job, just a little time consuming and you need to be organized. A remanufactured transmission provides much more piece of mind vs an unknown off an LKQ lot. Not that I'm against pulling parts. that kind of job would need , I think, a thorough teardown of the tranny before installing it. Otherwise you risk some other failure and have to all that work twice.

But, even if you have the dealer do it for 5k. That seems decent. It ought to give you some kind of warranty on their work and the tranny. With the costs of new these days (50k+ with "market pricing"... Blah blah) and the overall reliability of 4runners, I would do the tranny swap without a second thought. You'll pay that in interest easy over 6+ years, or however long car loans are now. Even buying new to you, used are commanding top dollar and would likely need a loan. IDK, I guess I view the economics of it differently. I can't stand car loans.

But after saying all that. Have you gotten a second opinion? Does it really need a new transmission? Dealers aren't known to ever upsell.... ��