Toyota Tacoma/4Runner Auto Transmissions....

[Scenic WonderRunner]

A Toyota Automatic Transmission Thread............................


Since trouble seems to follow me.....

I need to start a new thread about Toyota Auto Transmissions and coolers.

Here is my recent story below.........

Feel free to tell us about your auto tranny....and how you Kewled it!

Or other situations you have had with it......helpful hints.



~~~~~~~~~~~

I need help from the auto tranny pros..........!

Yesterday I was heading up to Santa Rosa Mountain for a day trip.

While heading east up toward Anza I got stuck behind a slow dump truck going only 25mph. He finally found a turn out and I passed. Right after I passed him my A/T Tranny Temp. light came on. I had my O/D turned off.

I had to pull over and idle for 5 min. until the light went off.

It was only about 85* air temp outside.

Then later while heading up the trail to Santa Rosa Mtn. the tranny temp. light came on again. I was in 4x4 high.....and was using 2nd gear at times on the flat sections and 1st gear in the steeper spots.

This time it took 12 min. of idling for the auto tranny temp light to go off.

I'm very confused. I'm not lugging the engine or putting a strain on it.

In August I was in Panamint Valley and it was 115*.....and even going up the South Park side, my tranny temp light never came on.


I just changed my tranny fluid and it only has about 600 miles on it.

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Time to just get a tranny cooler anyway>?!!


.

 

[SOAZ]

Although some with tranny coolers swear by them, I've never had a tranny or engine tem gauge come on.
In my tacoma I regularly beat it up with 285/75 tires and it never showed any heat.
My 4runner gets loaded down on my offroad trips and never shows any temp issues either...
I would try a search on TTORA and see if there is a somewhat common problem that I've never run into regarding the light coming on...
I honestly didn't think my 4runner or tacoma had a tranny temp light!

 

[Westy]

I had a 94 4runner with the same auto as in yours.

Up until about 160k miles, the tranny never showed any signs of issues. I was heading up through the mountains on the highway - about 70 mile drive - then pulled off onto the dirt road, engaged 4HI and just a few miles down the road the tranny light came on. Let it sit awhile, no go. All high gears would not engage, only 4LO.

Towed it home. Next day and the following 20k miles of highway driving and light wheeling it was fine. The light never came on and it always engaged.

Earlier this summer, temps were hot and the tranny slipped alot. Finally it got to the point where occasionally it would not engage any HIGH gears, only 4LO. It was on and off, this mainly happened after driving for 20+ minutes, then put the truck in park, then back into drive and it would not engage. Tranny just slipped. 4Lo worked fine always, or if you let the truck sit several hours and then you could get it back into drive and go.

Good luck. They are great trucks and trans, but nothing lasts forever. I was happy to get a solid 180k out of mine without a rebuild. Oh yeah, and I flushed and refilled the trans hoping that would solve the problem. It did nothing...

My best recommendation would be to find a low mile trans to swap in, then put a cooler on that. You should be able to find one in good shape for $150-200. Check yotatech, pirate, mud, etc...

It may be pointless to put a cooler on yours if it is already damaged.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Thanks ......

SOAZ and Westy for your input!


For more info.........

My auto tranny has only 74,000 Original miles and works perfect.

Never slipped or skipped a beat.

Even still worked perfect after yesterday's temp light incident. As soon as the temp. light came on, I pulled over and idled as per my dash board info.

I think I also need to install a tranny temp. gauge. So I can really tell what's going on.

Who knows....maybe the temp light is even faulty.

.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Although some with tranny coolers swear by them, I've never had a tranny or engine tem gauge come on.
In my tacoma I regularly beat it up with 285/75 tires and it never showed any heat.
My 4runner gets loaded down on my offroad trips and never shows any temp issues either...
I would try a search on TTORA and see if there is a somewhat common problem that I've never run into regarding the light coming on...
I honestly didn't think my 4runner or tacoma had a tranny temp light!

SOAZ.........

Try turning your key to the ON position just before the starter clicks on and see ALL the lights on your dash.

Your tranny temp. light should show up then. Lit up to show you it's working.



.

 

[pray4surf]

I think I also need to install a tranny temp. gauge. So I can really tell what's going on..

In lieu of a tranny temp guage, you might be interested in the Scangauge. Per this thread over at TTORA, the newest versions include a transmission temperature readings...

http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75343

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Scangauge looks very Kewl!

I saw a guy in the Death Valley area that had one on his Jeep.

Unfortunately for me...........


Scangauge..........Works On 1996 or Newer Vehicles



.

 

[teotwaki]

Scangauge will be releasing new software that will allow access to tranny temps and other codes that are available. I called and they said to start watching their web site after Friday.

Upgrade cost will be about $25 for existing Scangauge IIs (I've had one for a while now and will upgrade when poss.)

 

[Grim Reaper]

I really hate to tell you this but it is probably on its way out. It is not really the miles it is the age and how hot it has run that kills them. They seals get hard and stop sealing. When that happens it looses clamping pressure and the clutches start to slip. That makes the heat.

Honestly the parts are not horribly expensive and a detail oriented person with a Manual, some creativity (to figure out how to make a spring compressor) and a press could put fresh seals, clutches and steels in it and make it happy again.

Cooler is never a bad thing in the summer but if you are dealing with any extended cold then you may want to invest in a thermostatic by pass so it only runs the AUX cooler when fully warm.

ALWAYS use low with 4wd if it is at all technical. If you will not be exceeding 25mph then no need to be in high.

PS get under there and make sure the shop that did your engine repairs didn't kink the cooler lines.

 

[slosurfer]

One reason you may have overheated even with OD off is that IIRC OD off only locks up the TC in 3rd gear. If it dropped into second, and stayed there for quite some time while you were behind the truck, your temps will quickly skyrocket.

I have learned quite a bit since installing my tranny cooler and temp gauge. I know what makes mine heat up and what makes it cool off. Sometimes on long grades, I have to manually shift between 2nd and Drive with OD off.
2nd keeps my momentum going and gets my rpms up and I keep and eye on the temp gauge. It starts getting up there and then I shift to drive with OD off for a little while. Temp levels off and then starts to fall. I keep this till the rpms start getting too low and then manually shift back to second.

My temp gauge is in the line coming right out of the tranny before any of the coolers. I am basically reading the hottest temp right out of the TC.

My tranny cooler is mounted behind my grill in front of the radiator and ac compressor. I shoehorned the biggest one I could get in there (I even had to trim the back of my grill). It gets max airflow there and when going slow it has your fan pulling in air through it. This is the reason why on slow wheeling you should be in 4lo, your rpms stay up which in turn keeps your fan spinning faster sucking in air since you aren't going fast and pushing air through it. Some of my coolest temps are seen when I am putting around all day in 4lo.

Also, someone mentioned about bypasses for when the fluid is cold. The cooler I have has bypasses built in for when the fluid is thick, it isn't trying to push it through the smaller passages.

Here is a good thread that shows different mounting spots and coolers. It is for 2nd gen. 4runners, you may or may not have more room for yours.

http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=216.msg6010

Mine is in there (same username as here)
The model of cooler I got was the True-Cool LPD4454 which is 7 1/4" x 11", I forget what it is rated for but it is big and the hardware that comes with it is awsome. I got it from ipttrans.com

 

[slosurfer]

Scangauge looks very Kewl!

I saw a guy in the Death Valley area that had one on his Jeep.

Unfortunately for me...........


Scangauge..........Works On 1996 or Newer Vehicles



.

Haha, yep our scangauges cost just a few pennies or free if you have a desk. One paperclip, oh and a piece of paper to decode the flashes.

 

[slosurfer]

Although some with tranny coolers swear by them, I've never had a tranny or engine tem gauge come on.
In my tacoma I regularly beat it up with 285/75 tires and it never showed any heat.
My 4runner gets loaded down on my offroad trips and never shows any temp issues either...
I would try a search on TTORA and see if there is a somewhat common problem that I've never run into regarding the light coming on...
I honestly didn't think my 4runner or tacoma had a tranny temp light!

That's the problem, you get no warning that anything is wrong. I think one guy with a tranny temp gauge, said that his dummy light didn't go on till he hit 280 degrees. By that time it is almost too late and you hope you didn't do any damage. Without the temp gauge you are driving blind when it comes to your tranny.

 

[Nullifier]

Hence all the reasons I hate an auto tranny. My advice would be to get an infrared thermometer and take few reading from the side of the case and pan on the tranny. Next time the temp guage goes off on the dash stop immediately and take a reading from the same spots. Although not a perfect rading if your tranny is really overheating you should read a noticable difference in case and pan temps from the infrared thermometer.

I have rading of m whole rig written down under various driving conditions so at anytime I can get out the infrared and check op temps for diffs, tranny, rotors, drums, engine, radiator power steering box etc.

THis will help eliminat ethe possability that the sending unit for the temp guage is going screwy which can happen.

Another thing to do is drain you tranny fluid. catch it all and then filter it with a coffee filter. see what particulats you have after you filter the entire drain pan and that will give you a clue if things are coming apart. Also smell it and see it it smells burnt or looks severely discolored.

 

[Schattenjager]

:iagree:
Along the lines of faulty lights - perhaps your SENSOR is bad??? i had a Buick Grand National that did just as you described - I chased that all over the place with time and $ - new cooler - two fluid swaps, the last being Red Line synthetic and nothing was wrong with the fluid. It was towed three times. Then a careful hand at the shop thought of testing the sensor - sure nuff! It was sending a bad signal to the computer which then regulated the tranny to a "limp home" mode. Wish I had explored this first as it was very inexpensive to fix and the limp home mode forced me into first gear only and really raised the temps.

Just some food for thought.
:rappel:

 

[7wt]

My suddestion would be to replace that gear selector with a gear shifter! All kidding asside, sorry to hear about your problems. Hopefulle you can get it sorte out. Nullifier's idea about the infrared temp gauge is a good one and wouldn't cost a whole bunch. You can pick one up for about $30 or so at Hobby People on Convoy.