Engine Damage or Transmission?

No I haven’t. TBH I’m unfamiliar with the computer. I believe it’s located behind the glove box. I don’t know how it works in terms of being able to “unplug” it. But I’m not turning away any ideas

 

Went through and double checked all the lines. Everything is good.

 

As far as I know it’s just one unit. I could be wrong. Again, totally unfamiliar

 

Can anyone confirm?

 

Need OP to postively identify his transmission https://atsgmembers.com/transtype/
Once he has identified his transmission , we can start a diagnostic .

At this point I am confused . You took your truck to the trans shop , the technician experienced the same symptoms you described but could not tell you if it was a transmission issue ? Is this the same tech that replaced the converter and the lock up solenoid ?
Why was the torque converter replaced ? The converter in a 2002 Tacoma does not apply the lock up clutch in the lower gears
As transmissions shift from 1st gear up to 4th gear , they will not surge . They will slip at the shift points but they do not surge .
My next step would be a pressure guage connected to the trans to see how the transmission holds pressure after it warms up

 

1. will get trans info and post when im with the truck next
2.technician said he couldnt "find" anything wrong with the transmission (both after he scanned it for codes while driving and opening up the trans on a bench)
3.same tech replaced solenoids and TC
4.replaced the solenoids and TC by my request while he had it open as a safe measure

he mentioned the possibility of it being a pressure issue after the initial road test before dropping the trans but it never went any further than that. will look into getting a gauge reading to access pressure when hot.

thanks. OP

 

according to the link you sent my transmission is A340E

which rings a bell but will confirm when under truck.

 

I’ve got a question regarding A Toyota dealerships diagnostic. Do they have special equipment that does more than your average OBDII scanner? Would they be able to get into the ECU and diagnose that with the equipment they have?

I literally have no experience with the dealership. I’ve always bought used and done the majority of the maintenance myself and when I did have to go somewhere else I avoided this stealership like a plague. But I’m willing to pay to have them hook up if they have Toyota specific equipment that can dig deeper into the computer and possibly give me some ideas.

Anyone know?

 

Toyota has specific scanners dedicated to Toyota products . The scanner is called Techstream .
As far as an in depth diagnostic ? I beleive any known reputable shop can diagnose your problem if they are fully up to date with their diagnostic equiptment and software . Your truck is a 2002 . This gives the aftermarket 16 years of known issues and how to diagnose them
Taking the truck to a dealership is something I would do for late model trucks like a 2018 or 2019 Tacoma $$$$$$$$$$
The aftermarket is always a year or two late with their diagnostics as they have to purchase the diagnostic software from Toyota in order to fix our trucks .Toyota does not release diagnostic information to the aftermarket for at least a year . The aftermarket pays a hefty price to Toyota to get this information .
Do you have a reputable transmission shop in your area where you could take the truck for a " FREE " test drive .
It would be nice to hear a second opinion regarding your problem .
It doesnt cost any money to make some phone calls and book an appointment for a free test drive . A good drivetrain technician can usually tell you exactly whats going on just by road testing your truck .
Test drives are free .

 

Thank you for the in depth response. Greatly appreciated. I was thinking perhaps the dealership would be the one who would be able to best diagnose their own product but being a later model makes sense in terms of being able to take it somewhere else for cheaper .

As far as the transmission shop I’ve already had the transmission test driven AND rebuilt. the transmission mechanic has said the problem is not IN the transmission. So I’m looking for external issues that could cause the transmission to behave the way it is.
Which brings me to the ECU possibility.

 

Okay, here’s an update in case anyone still gives a shit...

I dropped my truck off at a reputable automotive and transmission shop in hopes of getting a second opinion. They are known for being Expensive but everybody says they do top-notch work. They offer a complementary inspection to start the process which included a scan and a road test. They called me back the next day and confirmed the details of my novel entry regarding the worsening symptoms as the truck got hotter. They then told me they wanted to drop the pan do some pressure test and check the fluid as well as take a look around the inside with some tools and microscope for $190.

I gave them the green light.

After about five hours they called me back and said the fluid looked like metallic red paint. They were able to search around with their tools and they discovered that the clutch plate materials were “falling apart”.

Problem area confirmed. Check.

He said that if I hadn’t already paid somebody to fix it that he would suggest buying a whole new transmission. But since I paid somebody who wasn’t able to complete the task he’s going to button it back up and give me a print out of everything they discovered for me to take back to the original guy. The dude swore the problem wasn’t in the transmission but this place has located an isolated problem area, either charge me for the clutch plate parts, reinstall and give me a flush for free or give me all my money back (minus solenoid rebuild kit and torque converter) and I’ll take it somewhere else and have it done.

For a full rebuild there’s no reason why he shouldn’t have checked the clutch plates and replaced them.

I’m starting to think this guy did a half assed job or he doesn’t know wtf he’s doing.

The only thing that might hang me up now is a clog from the contaminated fluid after the clutch plates are replaced and the transmission is flushed. If that happens the first dude I paid the money to for the rebuild his pretty much washed his hands of me at that point. It’s out of his hands, at that point he did what he was supposed to do.

So I guess the plan is to try and get him to replace the clutch plates and flush my transmission and see what happens.

Would you guys recommend getting an additional flush after 100 miles?

if all of this falls through and the contaminated fluid ends up being the death of my transmission I suppose the next indicated step would be looking into total replacement but I’m going to try to exhaust all my options with this idiot that I paid to fix it already before I consider a swap.


Thoughts?

 

I think he will. I don’t know if it was him or the dude he’s got working for him that actually did the work on my transmission but somebody should feel stupid. I’m going to try to get the 190 taken out of the cost for the clutch plates as well

 

I'm a little surprised, but that makes sense.
Imo your first guy did a half-assed job, a standard rebuild includes all new clutch-plates.
Could be that he missed a damaged hard-part(not typically replaced part) that immediately re-damaged a clutch plate.
If you trust the first guy at all, you could ask him if he replaced all the clutch plates, and if there was a damaged one when he did?

 

If the guy bristles at doing the work or giving you your money back you can file a grievance with the BAR. I normally hate this advice but the guy pretty much boned you - probably not out of dishonesty but at least out of incompetence. Obviously you want to start off respectfully but if the things go sideways you can respond in kind.

 

After talking to some people my plan is to cash out on the rebuild shop and use the money towards a complete swap.
I don’t wanna risk using my “credit” with this guy on a ruined transmission. I think I’m gunna just buy a used one and take my chances there

 

Yeah that is definitely an option. I’m going to get some kick back one way or the other.

 

I know for a fact he didn’t replace anything other than the Solenoids and torque converter. He claimed there was nothing wrong from the transmission from the start. I told him to replace the solenoid’s and torque converter as a safety precaution

 

I’m open to any recommendations. Last one I got was used that got delivered on a crate to my work. I think I payed 1100 or something

 

Okay thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.

 

I'm going to head over and talk to this guy today after work and see what he has to say about my new findings