Winding Noise When Accelerating

Hello all,
Just joined the Tacoma World. I find this forum really helpful and was wondering if you all could help me out troubleshooting this winding noise on my 2003 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4x4 when I accelerate. All fluids checked and look good.

- Automatic transmission
- 172k miles
- 3.4L V6

The noise is only heard when accelerating in drive or reverse and not heard in P and N. The noise seems to be coming from right underneath but kind of difficult to pinpoint exactly. Noise seems to be related to shifting. I suspect the transmission but wanted to hear if you all had any similar issues.


https://youtu.be/e-lorm5TpPY

Thanks in advance.

 

Transmission fluid or worn gear I would suspect. Changed fluid/filter recently?

 

I just had the transmission serviced (transmission fluid and filter) due to the noise by a local repair shop. Afterwards the noise is still there and hasn't changed. They did notice the transmission fluid color did not look so good. Seems to be pointing to an issue in the transmission. I will try to get it checked by a transmission shop if I can get out of work early today. I will keep you guys posted. Thanks!

 

That is rather interesting. I wouldn't of guessed the sparkplugs. Was it only whining in reverse or did it whine in drive also?

 

Hi did you ever find out what’s wrong my 04 is doing the exact same thing

 

Hey there @potatotaco7 !

I just bought an '03 3.7 TRD that is doing the same exact thing. Just got back from a transmission shop and he suggested that it could be a restricted/clogged filter. He ruled out the tranny pump since it wouldn't whine when in Park.

Did you ever get to the bottom of this? Any advice would be immensely appreciated!!!

Thank you!

 

Hey there. The issue turned out to be the torque converter going out. I had the transmission rebuilt and everything was resolved. Has been running fine for the past 2 years.

 

Thank you for the response @potatotaco7!!

I just saw another transmission technician, and he thought it might be the torque converter. So did you just replace the converter, or did you have anything else done to your transmission?

Thank you again. It feels good getting closer to the bottom of this thing.

Cheers

 

I went ahead and had the transmission rebuilt since the cost to replace + labor was close to rebuilt costs. And with +200k it was more of a peace of mind. But who knows you might have better luck. I’m here in California.

 

Gotcha. I had a gut feeling that it was going to come down to that... I agree though. That peace of mind will be nice. Would love to see this truck go 300k and beyond, so best I squash this now before its too late. Thanks again for the advice!

 

No worries man and best of luck!

 

Hey @potatotaco7! So I dropped my pan the other weekend and im 99% the issue is my TC. Shop quoted me 2500 to replace the TC or 4000-4500 for a full rebuild. I think i'm going to go the full rebuild route for peace of mind as well. Rebuild comes with a 2 year 50,000 mile warranty.

When you shop rebuilt yours, were you lucky enough to out an OEM TC back in or did you go the aftermarket route? I would love to put an OEM one in, however they are no longer available anywhere in the US.

Do you have any sort of documentation on the work that they did that you would be willing to share with me?

It's definitely a serious investment in this truck and i'm just trying to wrap my head around it as much as possible. Thank you brother!

 

Damn for 4-4.5k I would just rebuild it myself. The rebuild parts and TC is about a grand.