[Mistermike87]

2010 5AT Base 4WD 120k miles bone stock - for now.

Problem:
Getting on the freeway and getting up to speed, it hangs up around 2-3 or 3-4 (can't tell) for a second or two, hesitates, and then drops in to gear. It does not knock or jerk hard. Just .. slips in. This has happened twice now in the last week. And this is the first week out of 1k miles it has happened. ALL other speeds and scenarios (coming to stop, from a stop, slow street driving, etc.) it shifts smoothly and quietly. Honeslty shifts like a damn dream compared to my last ride.

What I know:
Goin through this forum inside and out, I have rarely seen anyone talk about a trans fail. This is great. However, I've read lots of talk about checking levels and checking them properly. I do not need knowledge on procedure , i've read up and have threads and videos saved. Thank you. However, I would like some feedback on anyones experience with a similar issue. If it sounds like the beginning of catastrophic failure, If this is cause of ATF being low, certain solenoids going out, etc. etc.

Background:
I bought this truck 1k miles ago and have a good idea of the service history of the vehicle. I haven't checked the trans level yet but only because I have records that the transmission was serviced 2 years ago. For what? That's the question I do not have an answer to. Was fluid exchanged? Was it flushed? Reman? I wish i knew.

I've had my fair share of trans problems with previous cars. So much so that I'm pretty sure I have PTSD from having to rebuild my last 2 rides:
02 Rav4 4wd - it was a long process that started with drain and fills, replacing solenoids, replacing ecu, and then finally emptied my pockets and rebuilt
99 Chevy S10 - I was a kid and made too many poor decisions; donuts, pedal to the metal, etc. Eventually blew it out on a long trip to Vegas.

Because of this I literally have money saved for big repairs, especially transmission issues up to a full rebuild if necessary. I bought the FJ knowing that this transmission is closer to bullet proof than most others, but knowing you're always rolling the dice on a used vehicle, I guess snake eyes may be on the horizon with this roll. LET'S HOPE IT'S SEVENS!!

 

[Iconic_]

I haven't checked the trans level yet but only because I have records that the transmission was serviced 2 years ago.

Do this and report back to us please.

 

[Mistermike87]

Do this and report back to us please.

Will do, gathering everything I need right now.

With your experience with this specific trans, and in the event that the fluid level is correct, what are the chances you think fluid drain and fills would help and how do you feel about adding in some Lucas ATF conditioner into the mix? With that hang up/slip i'm feeling, I'ma already imagining i'm going down that path of no return.

 

[iwashmycar]

My opinion, some drain + fills and PROPERLY setting the fluid level (right temp, ect) is a good remedy, and just good practice in general.

You might also unhook the battery for a bit and might reset the ECU....not really sure if there is anything stored for the trans, but it seems like everything sets data points in one way or another and is computer controlled so might not hurt!

 

[Mistermike87]

Do this and report back to us please.

OK. Brought the transmission up to temp, shifted through gears, as soon as it hit 115F I removed the check plug, and to my surprise, a steady stream of relatively clean ATF starting pouring out. It was definitely changed recently before I bought it. However, 2 things:

1. Just about a quart came out before it came to a slow trickle and I buttoned up
2. It looked slightly foamy as it was coming out. Light shade of pink. Once in my bucket, it settled to normal looking trans fluid. The picture makes it look darker than what it really is. I've seen motor oil looking trans fluid before and if put on a scale 1-10, 10 being brand new, this would be about a 7.

It didn't take long to get up to temp and I can't imagine temp was so off to soar over 130 degrees. 1qt seems like a lot to come out of the check plug. I have ATF on hand. Should I add more to be safe? Not sure of next steps other than pan drain and see how much i get out of that and replace.

 

[I-like-my-FJ]

It does sound like it was a bit high… when was the last time it was changed per your records? Sounds like they didn’t follow the full procedure properly

 

[Mistermike87]

It does sound like it was a bit high… when was the last time it was changed per your records? Sounds like they didn’t follow the full procedure properly

All I have to go off is ecu and transmission service within the last 5k miles. I can't find the carfax report at the moment, but other than oil changes every 5k miles at every dealer from CA to TX, that was the only thing that stood out to me.

 

[Mistermike87]

@FJtest I've read your responses on quite a few transmission threads. Any thoughts on this one?

 

[Iconic_]

I would change out as much ATF as you easily can, follow the level check procedure and make sure it is squared away. After that I'm betting your shifting issues will go away. I agree the fluid level was probably too high.

 

[Mistermike87]

I would change out as much ATF as you easily can, follow the level check procedure and make sure it is squared away. After that I'm betting your shifting issues will go away. I agree the fluid level was probably too high.

The pan gasket and pan look brand new so i'm going to assume that it was indeed dropped recently as well. Now i'm thinking since the fluid was overfilled, I wonder if they even used Toyota ATF WS... OR if they did a full flush instead of exchange and now I'm feeling the effects of loosened debris by the flush causing that hang up. Regardless, I'll drain the pan today and fill back some brand new ATF WS, which btw cost me $16 a qt... This stuff aint cheap! Still curious about the Lucas AT conditioner. Any thoughts on that?

 

[iwashmycar]

I always get a lot coming out during the check procedure as well. Maybe whoever it was didnt do that part right.

Id keep driving it to see if it helped, and maybe do a couple drains / fills / checks and then if for any reason still getting that odd shift, Lucas conditioner as last resort.

 

[Mistermike87]

Drained the pan. I let it sit for awhile until the pan was cool to the touch and got a whopping 4 quarts out. Since I do not have a lift, and sitting with the factory rake (and serious driver side lean which i'll be addressing soon), I put a level on the pan and jacked up the front slightly to get it dead even. All the fluid that came out was clean and red. I put 4 quarts back in, brought the trans up to operating temp, took out the check plug and about just over a 1/4 of fluid came out before coming to a trickle.

Feeling confident about the drain and fill, and everything torqued down, I took it for a spin (about 20 miles home) and.. well... can't really tell. I was expecting this as I know not to get my hopes up when it comes to transmissions. However, a new symptom came up and I want to be clear this also happened once before I drained the pan today, but AFTER I checked the overflow plug yesterday when nearly 1qt came out before coming to a trickle:

When accelerating from a stop, it's as if I lost some power. It shifted through a few gears as normal, but half the power was gone. Let off the gas, put my foot back on it, and everything was normal. And it drove normal about 10 miles to where I was going to do the pan drain. Pan drain done, driving back home, at a stop light, step on the gas, and it does it again... It felt like I lost some torque (torque converter??) and I had to step on the gas a little more to get more speed. Let off the gas, step on it and everything is fine. And everything was fine for the remainder of the trip home.

Next thoughts are closely monitor over the weekend and then call my mechanic on Monday for advice.

 

[Mistermike87]

Went to local yota stealership yesterday to grab some crush washers. I was talking to the parts guy for awhile about my issue. He seemed pretty shocked. He said, "in my 18 years working here, I've never seen anyone buy a reman transmission for the FJ." and so I thought to myself, well the FJ isn't the only platform the A750F trans was used on, but hey.. I'll take that as a good sign?

For what it's worth, this guy is extremely knowledgable and helped me a ton with my 02 Rav4 a few years ago. Some other dealerships I've been to have parts guys that have no clue what you're talking about. I went to pick up some hardware for a previous trans awhile ago and the parts guy was looking at a blown up diagram of the transfer case and not the transmission. And I'm like, let me see your screen man.. yah that's not the transmission ... "ohhh yah you're right". lol

 

[mrmike7189]

Went to local yota stealership yesterday to grab some crush washers. I was talking to the parts guy for awhile about my issue. He seemed pretty shocked. He said, "in my 18 years working here, I've never seen anyone buy a reman transmission for the FJ." and so I thought to myself, well the FJ isn't the only platform the A750F trans was used on, but hey.. I'll take that as a good sign?

For what it's worth, this guy is extremely knowledgable and helped me a ton with my 02 Rav4 a few years ago. Some other dealerships I've been to have parts guys that have no clue what you're talking about. I went to pick up some hardware for a previous trans awhile ago and the parts guy was looking at a blown up diagram of the transfer case and not the transmission. And I'm like, let me see your screen man.. yah that's not the transmission ... "ohhh yah you're right". lol

The same transmission is/was used in the 4 runner as well? I dont' hear about trans. issues in them either

 

[Mistermike87]

The same transmission is/was used in the 4 runner as well? I dont' hear about trans. issues in them either

Yes I've read in another post the 2008 V8 4runner is a direct swap I believe.

 

[Mistermike87]

Update: I had a conversation with my mechanic yesterday over the phone and he was pretty dead set on the fact that there is nothing wrong with the transmission without him even taking it for a test drive. Since the pan drain and fill, it has noticeably improved but there are still what i'd call some minor "blips" at the top of 3rd or 4th gear, very intermittently. The main issue i'm feeling now, however, is a loss of torque/power coming from a stop and stepping on the gas. This comes and goes and when it happens, it shifts through gears normal, but at a slightly higher RPM range. So for example normally, shifts would top out at 2k RPM, but every now and then shifts top out around 2.8-3k RPM with the same amount of throttle applied.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have yet to clean MAF sensor and throttle body. Also, what are the chances the ecu is getting used to my driving habits as the previous owner rarely drove this car over the last 2 years? Lastly, I've read about doing 2-3 drain and fills when potentially having issues like this. How long in between should I wait to drain and fill the transmission. Every few hundred miles?

 

[Sparky of NWO]

Update: I had a conversation with my mechanic yesterday over the phone and he was pretty dead set on the fact that there is nothing wrong with the transmission without him even taking it for a test drive. Since the pan drain and fill, it has noticeably improved but there are still what i'd call some minor "blips" at the top of 3rd or 4th gear, very intermittently. The main issue i'm feeling now, however, is a loss of torque/power coming from a stop and stepping on the gas. This comes and goes and when it happens, it shifts through gears normal, but at a slightly higher RPM range. So for example normally, shifts would top out at 2k RPM, but every now and then shifts top out around 2.8-3k RPM with the same amount of throttle applied.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have yet to clean MAF sensor and throttle body. Also, what are the chances the ecu is getting used to my driving habits as the previous owner rarely drove this car over the last 2 years? Lastly, I've read about doing 2-3 drain and fills when potentially having issues like this. How long in between should I wait to drain and fill the transmission. Every few hundred miles?

How long has it been since the battery was last disconnected?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mistermike87]

How long has it been since the battery was last disconnected?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am not sure, but not since I've had it. I've had it for 1 month and ~800 miles.

 

[Mistermike87]

Ok it’s been a few weeks now since the pan drain and fill. Fluid is at correct level and the noticeable “slips” have disappeared. The one thing that remains is when I accelerate from a complete stop, RPM’s are abnormally high. Shifts are normal but it’s like it starts out in a higher gear and torque is cut in half. This only happens once in a drive cycle and has only happened within the first 10min of driving from a cold start so the trans isn’t up to full operating temp yet. Any ideas?

 

[norm356]

Sounds like your one drain and refill has helped a lot. Next step is to repeat it a few more times until all of the fluid is changed (note that only a portion will drain as most is sitting in the torque converter, so these several steps will be required to change all of it).