230k Taco 4.0 torque converter shudder & fluid loss?

I have a 2008 taco, i bought the truck at 216k 4 years ago. A Shudder wasn't present then but it is more than ever last 5k miles or so. So here is the deal when going from somewhere around 35-45 mph under light throttle during torque converter lockup it will act like im running over rumble strips (vibrates like crazy), until i either put my foot on the gas to downshift it or slow down, 98% of the time it rumbles is light throttle going into to lockup.

I noticed that if i kept it in gear selection 4 on the shifter (where is stays in high gear #4 only at speed) it doesn't do it, but then one time I accidentally left it in '4' & drove 60-65 miles an hour & when i came to a stop red tranny fluid was under my truck & a big woof of smoke came out when i stopped.. I assume some tranny fluid got on the exhaust to cause the smoke. Can anyone with a best guess tell me what i am dealing with here?

 

2008? It could be anything, a cracked steel tranny line, a bad flexible line hose, or a bad clamp. What part of the country are you from? How much rust is on the underside? Crawl under it, take a look, and post some photos.

 

Hasn't leak any in over a year of course I don't put it in gear 4 anymore and just deal with the shutter and minimize it anyway i can. no rust underneath really clean truck for it's age, zero rust. texas truck. I was thinking along the lines of 'overfilled tranny & leaking under pressure from increased rpm running it in gear 4 or cracked torque converter or cracked pump housing or just plain ole torque converter failer.

 

I don’t think 60-65 in 4 would cause a leak, you’re at 2500ish rpms. Did you check the steel cooler lines going into the trans? They tend to corrode and get pin holes in them. I’ve been dealing with this as well and utilize 4 until around 60 mph then shift into D, been doing so for the last 60k miles to avoid the annoying shutter.

 

At 216k with a leak. You need a converter.
You could fix the leak and add LubeGuard.
And hope the shudder “gets better”.

But the fact is, it needs a converter.
Sorry man.

 

Yep at that mileage a tranny rebuild is not unusual. And really we don't know how the truck was treated for the first 216k miles.

 

I have exactly the same problem, in 4th gear it's fine. In drive I get the rumble strip at around 25 and 35mph. I have done everything possible to fix it and no joy! I had a new tranny/torque converter put in and a tranny flush. Still does it! It didn't do it before. Anyone figured this out yet?

 

See post#5

 

I tried LubeGuard before and after the new transmission and torque converter, it helped a little. However, the rumble strip/hard shift is still severe. My mechanic who changed the tranny said he used idemitsu atf, so I figured maybe going back to toyota ws atf would help. That's why I did the tranny flush, nothing worked. I guess I can give the lubeguard another shot since it's not that expensive. I've changed so many parts on this truck trying to figure it out, nothing worked. I even tried a new computer. Someone said maybe a tune would work to change the shift points but it's hard living on an island in Hawaii. The closest guy is on the next island (overland tune) and expensive.

 

Try maxlife full synthetic. Idemitsu and Toyota WS ATF are going to be so similar that there won't be a difference.

 

Maybe off the wall but are your tires balanced? Checked u joints & carrier bearing?

 

Not off the wall at all. When I first started to figure out what was going on, I noticed I had axel wrap. I changed my springs to OME, put my stocks on and no change, decides the axel wrap was gone. Carrier bearing and u-joints are new but I took my drive shaft off and ran it in 4 high. Still had the rumble strip. I changed my front diff clamshell bearing, fuel pump, vvt solenoids, ignition coils, spark plugs, upgraded my valve body, lubegard, checked for exhaust leaks, new computer, checked the radiator for exhaust, new transmission/torque converter, trans flush and now just for fun I ordered a brake switch. Just for reference when the new trans/torque went in, is when I noticed it wouldn't do it in 4th gear. The brake switch is because, my cruise control is kind of spotty and I thought there was a couple of times I had a hard time taking it out of park. My truck sat at my mechanic for a year and a half, so my memory about the p to d is a little hazy. Also people said that if you manipulate the brake switch when it does the rumble strip when driving....so I figured it's cheap enough and I'm outta ideas! I order lubegard shudder fix and the 2 in one again. Also it's been a week since the flush and the shutter is kind of gone but it does that hard shift. Instead of hunting, it shifts hard back and forth. Kind of the step before it would shudder.