trans jerk going into gear

[Jackthewack]

hey all so ive owned my second 4runner for a year and a half now, its a 98 sr5 v6 4wd with 255k on the clock. i have a 3inch suspension lift no body lift and i have 35s. i recently added a trany cooler its the b&m don't remember the number off hand but it was highly recommended so i installed it. i don't drive it much because i was in an accident and i have been working on it for alittle over a month now. i drive it around the block once a week to keep it moving but that's it. i noticed last night that the trans fluid was low and it had shifted alittle harder than normal ( that's why i checked) i added a quart of dex 6 because that's what i have and it supersedes dex 3. i drove it around 3 miles and it shifted great and accelerated really well. this morning i started it and after a few seconds i shift it into revers and it jerks really hard! i still need to move it so i pull it out and put it in drive and it jerks but not as hard as reverse. i shift back into reverse to see what it will do and it jerks again! fluid is not low lines are all good looking no kinks. its around 80F outside so not cold. I'm thinking about flushing the fluid with all dex 6 maybe it didn't mix well with old stuff. any input would be appreciated
thanks guys

 

[Silver Supra]

I’d do a flush and fill so you aren’t mixing fluids. It has to be related to that since it’s all that you’ve changed.

 

[Jackthewack]

that's what I'm thinking ill flush it tonight after work and see how it does

 

[subiedrewbie]

I have Icon suspension and a Marlin locker on my 2wd and it jerks when I'm im going into reverse or drive. Mine has OEM fluid and looks clean. Not sure what causes it but it drives great. Let me know if you find anything out

 

[MSRP.]

3rd gen auto's are not as picky for fluid as the 4th gens right?
Or is OEM still preferred?

 

[muellernautique]

i'd go with toyota's unless it's too expensive. just easy for me to get and i know it's fine.

also op, mine jerks a lot unless i REALLY push the brake down hard putting it into gear. drives great and haven't had problems so i dont worry about it. the jerk lessened some after i greased all the drivetrain zerks.

 

[4Runner99Tundra01]

Sorry for reviving an older thread; I'm a new member and I searched the forum but I couldn't find my specific idle rpm issue. I've only owned my T4R for several months.

On my 99 SR5 3.4 automatic, I watched how long it takes the rpms to drop from fast idle (cold start) to normal idle (after warm up). It takes it 5 minutes to go from 1400 rpms to just below 1000 rpms, when it's 84 degrees F outside. It takes about 2 more minutes before it settles at 700 rpms. Check engine light stays off.

My question is, at what rpm would it be safe to shift from Park to Drive? The owner's manual says it can be driven in 10 seconds after startup, but is it ok to shift from Park to Drive when the engine is running at 1350 rpm? Is that too fast of an rpm to shift into Drive? In general, I usually like to drive off after about a minute of warmup, but it's still around 1300 to 1350 rpms after a minute. I'm hoping to avoid transmission damage over the long run. Thanks!

 

[alumarine]

It should be fine, just make sure your foot is firmly on the brake.

Sorry for reviving an older thread; I'm a new member and I searched the forum but I couldn't find my specific idle rpm issue. I've only owned my T4R for several months.

On my 99 SR5 3.4 automatic, I watched how long it takes the rpms to drop from fast idle (cold start) to normal idle (after warm up). It takes it 5 minutes to go from 1400 rpms to just below 1000 rpms, when it's 84 degrees F outside. It takes about 2 more minutes before it settles at 700 rpms. Check engine light stays off.

My question is, at what rpm would it be safe to shift from Park to Drive? The owner's manual says it can be driven in 10 seconds after startup, but is it ok to shift from Park to Drive when the engine is running at 1350 rpm? Is that too fast of an rpm to shift into Drive? In general, I usually like to drive off after about a minute of warmup, but it's still around 1300 to 1350 rpms after a minute. I'm hoping to avoid transmission damage over the long run. Thanks!

 

[BoomerBob]

I've seen this kind of idle problem on other makes/models that turned out to be the Idle Air Valve (IAV). Is that much of an issue on these 3rd gen's?

 

[4Runner99Tundra01]

It should be fine, just make sure your foot is firmly on the brake.

Thanks, I think I'll let it warm up for around two minutes, then shift into Drive, when it's idling between 1200 to 1300 RPM. How high will the idle RPM's be, when first started, with outside temps below freezing? I'll be keeping the T4R outdoors, and it sometimes drops to negative single digits outdoors (in degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter. It's set up to do neighborhood snow plowing (using a 2" front receiver hitch, pushing a SnowSport HD manual 7-foot snow plow).

 

[alumarine]

At -30 it will rev to about the same, 1200 to maybe 1500.

Thanks, I think I'll let it warm up for around two minutes, then shift into Drive, when it's idling between 1200 to 1300 RPM. How high will the idle RPM's be, when first started, with outside temps below freezing? I'll be keeping the T4R outdoors, and it sometimes drops to negative single digits outdoors (in degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter. It's set up to do neighborhood snow plowing (using a 2" front receiver hitch, pushing a SnowSport HD manual 7-foot snow plow).

 

[Huskyrun]

Hey I just got a 98 4runner and mines doing the same thing, when I shift into reverse or drive it jerks the car very hard. Going to flush transmission fluid tomorrow to see if that helps. If it still continues is there anything else I can do to prevent/ fix that? Is this damaging my transmission?

 

[GupsT4R]

I've seen this kind of idle problem on other makes/models that turned out to be the Idle Air Valve (IAV). Is that much of an issue on these 3rd gen's?

ive also seen this in other models of toyota but the rpms do a bit of searching\ sweep with a faulty IAV

 

[gamefreakgc]

Hey I just got a 98 4runner and mines doing the same thing, when I shift into reverse or drive it jerks the car very hard. Going to flush transmission fluid tomorrow to see if that helps. If it still continues is there anything else I can do to prevent/ fix that? Is this damaging my transmission?

No, some shift pretty hard but it does not harm the transmission. I'll take a stab and guess that your 1-2 shift is pretty sharp when cold as well. It can be exacerbated by having worn bushings or a worn rear (transmission) motor mount. Replacing the bushings helped a bit but didn't change the fact that it shifts hard when cold into R. What did help was switching to a full synthetic transmission fluid. It is pricey but it lasts longer and shifts much smoother.

 

[Huskyrun]

Thanks for the response, I switched over to full synthetic automatic transmission fluid dex 6 and mixed a bottle of Lucas transmission fluid in there. It shifts a lot smoother now. If it starts to shift rough again I’ll change the motor mount and bushings.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Thanks for the response, I switched over to full synthetic automatic transmission fluid dex 6 and mixed a bottle of Lucas transmission fluid in there. It shifts a lot smoother now. If it starts to shift rough again I’ll change the motor mount and bushings.

Glad to hear! I know it's always a little unnerving when you get transmission issues, you never know if it's going to be a simple fix or a $2000 repair bill!