Transmission Issue After Service (4-speed 2.7l)

Hi Taco heads,

So I just serviced my transmission at my father-in-laws shop. We drained the pan, cleaned the magnets and pan, replaced the filter, new gasket, and then refilled it with 5 qts of fluid. When I started it up and tried driving it, 1st gear didn't want to engage, the engine would rev but it felt like I was in neutral. We figured one of the valves must be stuck, so I dumped a thing of Lucas Oil stop slip conditioner in there and it was much better but still not great. It's been about two weeks now and 1st gear is still an issue. It will engage right off the bat and then lag before shifting or make a super hard shift into 2nd.

Does anyone know what I should do or help me diagnose the issue? I didn't have any transmission issues before the service and my 06 taco only has 62,000 miles - 42,000 when i bought it.

 

Not a transmission expert, but I do know they are sensitive to fluid level. Did you check the level to make sure it is in the right spot? If it is, my next questions is what kind of fluid did you put in there?

 

I originally filled it to the ideal line on my dipstick, but it was very jerky and unresponsive at times - mainly engaging into 1st from an idle position and going from 1st to 2nd. I got the opinion of a nearby transmission shop, they said to use the Lucas anti-slip treatment, which helped a little bit but now the level is above the high line.

 

Since your truck is low mileage and you had no previous trouble with the transmission, most of the time, this typically means something happened along the way that is causing your problem.

5 qts of fluid is a bit excessive if all you did was drop the pan, clean the filter, etc. 4 qts is a more normal starting point so the tranny may be overfull.

Start the truck up, put your foot on the brake and try all the gears while sitting still. Put the lever back into Park and LEAVE the engine running and check the fluid on the TRANSMISSION dipstick. My transmission dipstick is on the drivers side. Not certain where yours is. With the engine running, the fluid level should show full. Check it a couple of times to make sure you are getting consistent readings. Pull the dipstick out all the way, put it fully back in and then immediately pull it right back out. The 2nd time you do this is typically more accurate.

If the fluid is low or not even touching the stick, add 1 PINT of transmission fluid at a time until it is almost full.

If the fluid is overfull, drain the excessive fluid out using the drain plug on the bottom of the trans and then properly refill to the correct level.

Be sure the engine is running while adding/checking the fluid. You can't get an accurate fluid level if the engine is off.

Not sure what fluid you are using but many of the foreign cars work best with the OEM fluid which is most often found at the dealer.

Try not to drive this vehicle until you have the problem fixed. Incorrect fluid level can really self destruct things in a short time.

Based on your description, it sounds like the transmission engages and you move forward when putting the trans into drive but the trans stays in 1st too long before shifting into 2nd and sometimes when it does shift into 2nd, it's a hard shift. I might be reading that wrong but let me know.

Get the fluid level correct first thing and then drive it to see how it does and we'll go from there.

 

Welp...I have an embarrassing end to this story/problem.

When I replaced the transmission filter a few weeks ago, I apparently didn't tighten the bolts enough. A local transmission shop mentioned that some of the trans filters these days have been coming cracked from O'Reilly's, after he drove the car he told me it wasn't a solenoid or torque converter issue. I drained and took the pan off, the filter was sitting in the bottom of the pan. I tighten those bolts pretty hard the first time but I guess it wasn't enough. I played it safe, bought a new filter from Toyota, and tightened that bad boy real good - she's running perfectly now. The woes of trying to be your own mechanic...

Hopefully this lesson helps someone in the future.

 

Glad to hear it was something easy and relatively cheap to resolve. And thanks for the "lesson". It's always good to hear what the solution to a problem is.

 

Just curious - is there a torque spec for the filter bolts ? If so would it make the filter change safe ? Thanks for any reply. Happy 4 U it was an easy fix. Apparently you have a good guy there that told you it wasn't a solenoid or torque converter issue.

 

Good question about the filter bolts, I have no idea. There are four bolts total, two are about 3 threads longer than the other two. I'm thinking I might have mixed them up originially? Let me know if you find out the torque spec!

 

Just for future reference - it's a good idea to stick bolts in sequence into cardboard and take pics with your phone if the bolts are not all the same.