Tacoma break down...details below...lots of questions...ideas??

My GF borrows my 2007 Tacoma with 99,xxx miles. Calls me on her way to work, says the truck was shifting funny and now it won't move. She's stuck in the middle of an intersection and called the police for help. I grab her car and see a huge puddle in the driveway where my Taco was parked overnight. FUCK! I show up before the cop, and try to drive it out of the intersection. Barely barely moves when i give it gas. Limp mode? Check engine light on. Fluid ALL OVER the ground below it and all over the undercarriage. Red in color. Tow truck shows up and takes it to my Toyota dealership I've used many time and trust. Service advisor calls today to say "Your transmission cooler line is cut." "Did you run over something perhaps?" I said "No!" $550 for parts and labor. We'll call you when it's fixed.

How the FUCK does just that line get cut? Did she damage it further by driving it from the house leaking about 4 miles? Could this have to do with my frame swap a few months ago? Perhaps something got pinched or cut then and the extreme 100 degree heat this week did the rest?? BTW I'm NOT mechanical at all and I don't have any tools, so yea I"m paying someone to fix it.

 

Go look at the line. It should be easy to tell if it was "cut" by a person or if it got pinched and ripped apart. Also, yea your trans prob got screwed up.

 

Don't say that....I already feel sick...I can't deal with a busted transmission...

 

I guess it's possible that its fine...but there is really no way to be sure without tearing it apart and looking...I'd definitely look at that hose, its very possible they could have caused the issue when they did the frame swap.

 

I'm hoping it put itself in limp mode when it ran out of coolant, so that it would not fuck up any further. SHe stopped as soon as it started shifting funny, so guess we'll see after they get it replaced and filled back up. Thanks for the input!

 

If the transmission had no fluid it had no lubrication to shift safely. It likely seized up. What the hell costs $550 and why did you agree to it if you don't know what they're doing beyond a $500 hose and $50 worth of tranny fluid?

 

Coolant. Not transmission fluid. I haven't agreed to it yet. It's just at the shop awaiting my decision.

 

Oh cooler line I missed that like a retard.

Could have cooked off the transmission fluid still... no lube means no shifty shifty.

 

... ^^*... My thoughts too ... Repair bill should he a couple of hundred or a couple of thousand $$$.

$550.00 is a weird repair price for what was described ... but who knows what evils lurks in the hearts of dealerships.

 

Yeah yeah I know who I'm getting in bed with by going to the dealership. SATAN! I'm sure it would be half that price if I knew another mechanic in town that I trusted. Like I said I'm not mechanical I have no tools no where to lift it. I have to trust someone else a little bit. That's why I'm getting advice from you guys.

 

My plan is to call them back and inquire about the chances of this having to do with my recent frame swap. Try to get them to take the blame or at least pay for part of it.

 

its likely one of the softlines on the tranmission fluid cooler lines that go up to the radiator.... about 3 bucks in a double barbed fitting and 2 hose clamps to fix the hose... then refill the trans. Its likely not damaged to the point of failure. Seriously do it yourself it could save you hundreds to thousands of dollars.

 

Why not all? I would get my butt down there and look at the line or have an independent mechanic look at it.

 

I think I would do this too. I have no issues with the work, having already done a full fluid flush myself a few years ago. However, I don't know enough about the transmission internals to know what happens when it goes dry inside. Planetary gears, clutch packs and all. From what I remember, when the trans cooler return line is disconnected, the trans pump would pump about 3 qt before going dry... Bottom line, a lot of fluid was still in the tranny, so probably no damage for the OP. Very speculative though...

 

Good ideas. Thanks.

 

That says you dumped enough trans fluid that the trans quit functioning.

No 'limp mode' for the trans, just dumped enough trans fluid to stop working. It's not coolant, it's trans fluid.

Make up your mind.

If the trans cooler line was cut as your service advisor said, that means trans fluid was what was lost. There is no coolant that goes to the transmission. There is transmission fluid that goes to a heat ex-changer in the bottom of the radiator to cool the transmission fluid. With that line cut or broken, the pump in the transmission literately pumped fluid out until the transmission was low enough it no longer had enough pressure to run.

Now. If she stopped as soon as the weird shifting started, you *may* be ok. It's possible it's not cooked, and buttoning up what is broken and refilling will take care of it. You won't know till you try. OTOH, I have no clue what the $550 is for. Seems about double for what is described, including a 100% part markup, assuming some proprietary hard line is involved. But I'll bet it's not.

The bad news is the clutch packs *may* be cooked, depending on exactly what transpired and how long it took to happen and how hot it got. Again, you won't know until it's buttoned up, refilled and driven.

Get a look at the line. 'Cut' should have somewhat smooth edges, like cut with a side cutter. Vandalism style. Easy way to cost you a bundle if someone has it in for you. Like if they think the girl is theirs.

It's not easy to tear or break such a line, but of course it can be done. If it looks more broken than cut, the positioning of where the break is in relation to the underside of the truck will give hints if it could be related to the frame replacement.

Best of luck.

 

Had a line going to the radiator come loose a few years ago. Sprayed fluid on everything under the hood. The vehicle just slowed down and came to a stop. I was on the Interstate in CA at the time. Put on new line, refilled the transmission and no harm was done. Was traveling at about 70 mph at the time of the incident.

 

It won't be busted, just most everything on the inside burnt up.

 

That's very useful info to know. Thanks.