Is my transmission going out?

My 01 automatic transmission has been acting a bit different lately, such as not shifting until higher rpms when cold. I checked the fluid today and its brown with a strange smell. Not exactly a burnt smell but smells exactly like crayons. Thats the only thing I could think of to compare it too. The tranny was serviced around 115k miles which i believe was a flush or drain and refill. It was unspecific on the toyota website and it was when the previous owner had it. Now im pushing 177k miles. Should I go ahead and do a full flush or drain and refill. Worst case scenario if I need a new tyranny or a rebuild can you guys give me some estimates on how much that would cost. Thanks in advance. First picture is with flash.

 

When the fluid is cold it will affect shit points. How high are the rpms before it will shift to 2nd? Is it the first shift of the day only or is it all shifts all day long?

Do you have the ECT button in the on or off position?

 

The transmission shifts at higher RPMs to warm the fluid faster. For me it stays in 2nd until ~35 when cold.

As for the change, yes. I believe every 30k miles is advised.

 

Around 2500 rpm which doesnt seem like alot but Its not normal. It will only do it once in the morning after the truck has been sitting all night but it hasent done it in a while. No the ect button is not on.

 

With all that being said do you think its a good idea to change the fluid? I dont want the tranny to crap out on me right after the change. If so should I just do a full flush to get all the old fluid out?

 

2500 is about what mine does when the fluid is cold. This more of an issue during the winter. I don't notice it much during the summer/warmer months. Fluid temp also affects when it will shift to 3rd. Once I see 90 degrees or higher on the scangauge, it will shift to 3rd normally, meaning any rpm if there is no or minimal load.

I would do the full flush to get rid of as much of the old fluid if possible. Then decide if you have a problem or not.

 

To the OP, from what you are saying everything seems normal. I have an 2004 V6 auto with 70K miles. The fluid looked good but I had a full flush at ~68K miles. After every startup 2nd gear runs a bit high before shifting- almsot to 3K RPM. After it shifts into 3rd gear or a few minutes of driving (whichever is first) it shifts perfectly smooth. As someone else has said before, when the tranny is cold it will shift higher (2nd gear just seems to be most noticeable to me). If it shifts hard all of the time, cold and hot, then you potentially may have a problem.

 

This is just to throw it out there as I realize not many want to tackle it.....but I've bought and flipped a lot of older Camrys and Corrolas with transmissions that I'm sure have never been serviced. I take off the gear selector cable and drop the valve body. Pull it apart and clean, clean, clean the passages and pistons. I'm not sure if the Taco. has any ball switches but I doubt it. Most of the time they have another 50K in them. People (I've been able to track) usually have ditched the cars as they got up there in mileage so I can't vouch for more than that and of course if it's slipping the next gear the clutches are toast but varnished pistons and dirt are a big cause of holding a gear. (except for some cases where it's a worn load surface, usually a lot of alum. in pan from that)

 

That sounds like good advice. Any thoughts on rebuild/new transmission prices though?

 

No it usually only does it once and thats when its cold. So yea I need to just get a full flush done soon. Should I stick with the toyota dealership? Is this something I should try and tackle myself?

 

Thanks for the input. Thats probably not something I want to tackle.

 

Prices are going to be all over the place and it will depend on how many new parts you need/want to buy. For instance most shops will reuse your old steels (clutch parts), it's normal practice and prob. even your fibers if they look good. A good guy deal could be $500-800 if you pull it, + parts. A shop will prob. gouge you for 2-4K if they pull and install.

 

I can tell you first hand that , yes get it serviced ASAP, has it been upshifting unusually hard at all ?/ If so it may be too late & you'll be looking to rebuild &/or replace, either way you're talking big $$$ I had quotes up to $3400.00 with the lowest being around $2800.00 but thank God for you good folks on this forum for rallying & helping my old tired ass out..... (its still working great !!)

 

It doesn't shift as smooth as it used to but I figured that's just due to the old fluid and I think it only does it when its cold. I was planning on selling the truck in the next couple months.

 

Cold will affect it. After a 8 hour over night park, even in the summer of Az, I've purposely turned the truck off and taken off right away and it shift's a bit harder and at higher rpms. Then I've allowed it to warm up for 3-5 minutes before take off and it drives just fine, smooth and on point shift. With each test I drive the same way, as if there is an egg under the pedal.
It makes sense, gravity takes over and the longer it has to sit the more oil and lubricants will settle. Just because we turn our cars on doesn't mean everything is lubed up and ready to be driven at high rpms.
I heard an old wise man say "let your car warm up before you drive it and it will make all the difference in the long run." What could it hurt, 5 minutes to sit in the truck, sip some coffee, and eat a little something. Perhaps he was talking about the psychological affect also. Whatever though, give it a try see what happens.

 

If you do need a new tranny I have one sitting in my garage. I took it off my old 2WD 2002 tacoma. I had flipped it less than a month of having a toyota rebuilt transmission put on. So it is basically brand new. Just PM me if you are interested.

 

Mine doesn't like to shift into 3rd when its cold either, get a transmission flush while it still looks good and you should be fine. Mines been doing it since i can remember around 60k now at 230k