2004 tacoma double cab transmission questions

I have a 4 speed auto with 3.4L double cab. Ive notice that my transmission is shifting hard between neutral to 1st and 1st to 2nd. Also i noticed that when i come to a stop ill feel what i think is the down shift (delayed/Hard) this happens 35% of the time. I also feel the a abrupt grab when i release the brake quickly from a complete stop.

Anyone have similar experiences? or have insights as to what it might be or how to fix it?

I am thinking something with the cable or a sensor?

(truck has low miles 55k)

 

A few questions
Have you checked the condition and fluid level ?
Has the transmission ever been serviced ?
How long has this been happening ?
Did you replace the battery recently or have any engine work done ?
Any lights on the dash ?
Got some info here that may help https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...sions-write-up-your-4-speed-automatic.325531/

 

The abrupt grab may be axle wrap. Does it feel like a push from the rear end and shifter will move also? Idle speed normal?

 

Grease the splines on the rear driveshaft.

 

Actually grease all of the zerk fittings, but your thunk is likely the one I previously mentioned. Land Cruisers also have this thunk and 1991-current are coil sprung. This eliminates axle wrap as a possibility, at least on the cruisers. The taco driveshaft uses the same design. There is a felt seal between the two ends of the shaft and that seal ages ad gets hard, losing its ability to allow air to escape through the felt as new grease goes in. When driveshaft splines are not routinely serviced, this seal can harden and actually create a pressure block for the air to escape to create room for the new grease. Hydraulic pressure gets built up. At times I've had to remove and separate the shaft to be able to grease the splines by hand because of that hardened felt seal. To eliminate excessive pressure build up from new grease going in you can remove the zerk for the splines and drive over a curb or something to get the suspension to articulate a little bit, compressing the shaft and allowing any excessive pressure to escape. Put the zerk back in and your good for a year or until your thump comes back and then you can grease it again. Lexus actually put out a TSB for the GX470, (4runner drivetrain/similar to taco) because of this clunk. Their fix was to actually replace the driveline with new... Smh

 

Omg didn't realize how much I typed up, sorry man.

 

And if you have your driveshaft off , give some of this a try .
The driveshaft spline issue / clunk is common among all manufacturers , not just the Tacoma .
I agree that this is a lack of lubrication from the factory .
I believe Ford makes a special spline lubricant lube to assist . I havnt tried this stuff in the link below but I have used aftermarket lubricants that eliminate the clunks for long periods of time . Works much better than grease .
http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/ptfe...-ford-motorcraft-xg-8-ml1167-31508-42027.html

 

Gm had same issue with 90's model pickup with 1 piece drive shaft. They make a special lube also. I bet I did 10 of them TSB's a day for a year!

 

I did hundreds of those old GM tsb,s as well . I wish I could find some of that spline lube GM used . It was a grey lube and had the viscosity of never seize . Very expensive stuff in a small can . I believe it was full of graphite ?
Worked very well .

 

Toyota calls for a moly-fortified grease to be used on that zerk for the splines, because the movement is more of a back and forth shearing movement. The spline zerks though are the only places that get the moly grease, the u-joints get regular wheel bearing grease, (rotational movement, not shearing). Sorry if I used the incorrect terminology on those physics descriptions, lol. Been a while since I've been in school.

 

Interesting, had no idea other manufacturers besides Toyota ran into that same driveshaft clunk issue. That's funny.

 

And if somebody does find that 'spline lube', post it up! Most of us just deal with clunk.
Edit: just noticed link you provided. I'll check it out and see if something comparable exists or if it sells on Amazon. I'd love to use it on all the cruisers propeller shafts also.

 

Considering all manufacturers lately have been using Spicer drivelines , Toyota Ford and GM , I can see where the problem exists .
Not too sure about Chrysler mind you . I think Dana still has the contract for their driveshafts

 

Spicer doesn't make them for the Toyotas that are imported from Japan, do they? The Land Cruiser, the 4Runner(Land Cruiser Prado), etc.

 

Just the domestic toyota vehicles
Here is the synthetic grease I was talking about
http://paceperformance.com/i-782162...bricant-high-temperature-c1-2-w-a-t-1-lb.html

 

Hmmmm. Thread with great ACCURATE info regarding grease, it's additives and purposes. Sounds like Toyota knows what they're doing when they specify the type of grease for application regarding the prop shaft.

But in this case, if folks are holding back on lubing the SPLINES because they don't have moly grease at hand, MP grease(multi-purpose/wheel bearing) is still better on the splines instead of not greasing them at all.

 

yep that's the stuff

 

@gearcruncher
The fluid is fresh had a simple drain and flush recently along with a timing, belts and plugs serviced. Same battery but am gettting a new one in the next few days.

I am getting my 5100 struts installed and a complete tranny flush soon and I'll have them greas the drive shaft. Thanks for all the quick feed back. My friend work for Toyota and helps me out by working on my truck at his work station on his days off. Truck is crazy low miles but still from 2004 so I am slowly trying to service all of the neglected areas!

Thanks for all the great feedback guys! If you have any other insights please share for others that might have similar issues !

 

Also, how difficult is greasing up these parts? What's required, could it be done at my house with a solid set of tools?

Any videos or pictures of the process you can share! Cheers!