KU_MechE

I usually search and do my own troubleshooting, but I'm at a loss this time. This winter, since it has been below freezing, my car/transmission has been problematic. Basically, at 7:00am when it's freezing cold outside, I'll start the car and let it idle for a couple minutes. It idles near 1200-1300RPM while cold then drops to the normal 600-650RPM when warm. I'll put the automatic tranny in reverse and back out of my parking spot and the car moves great; plenty of power at 0% throttle just whatever the engine is idling at moves the car great in reverse. Next, I'll drop the transmission into Drive and the car won't move. The transmission doesn't have that normal bump like it's engaging Drive and it won't move forward under idle and 0% throttle. I have to open the throttle to 15-20% to get the car to move and it feels like there's a slight resistance the car has to overcome just to get going. The transmission isn't slipping and the revs don't climb. There's just a load on the engine and the RPMs stay steady. Lately, i have to open the throttle to 25% to get going and once the car overcomes the resistance, there's a severe thud or clunk coming from the drivetrain. It really feels like the car is engaging drive and reverse at the same time, providing resistance, then popping into drive under light throttle. Once I get going, the car drives just fine and I don't have any problems. Any ideas???

Vehicle details:
'99 4Runner 5VZ-FE 185K Miles Auto Transmission

Recently Installed:
-New Spark plugs (NGK)
-New Plug wires (NGK)
-New Front swaybar bushings
-New rear shocks (Rancho RS5000)
-New front swaybar endlinks
-New front upper ball joints
-New front lower ball joints
-New front brake hoses
-New front brake rotors
-New front brake pads (Hawk HPS)
-New front brake caliper rebuild kits
-New front brake caliper slide pins
-New front outer tie-rod ends
-New tie-rod end jam nuts
-New front driveshaft boots w/ new grease
-New engine coolant temp sensor
-New air filter
-Fresh Mobil1 synthetic front diff oil
-Fresh Mobil1 synthetic rear diff oil
-Fresh Mobil1 synthetic engine oil
-Fresh Valvoline Dot 4 Synthetic brake fluid
-New Wix fuel filter
-New steering rack bushing kit (Wheeler's Offroad)
-New steering rack guide parts (TOYOTA OEM!!!!)
-1 new Toyota Fuel Injector and 5 Rebuilt/flowtested by WitchHunter
-All new vacuum lines in engine bay
-New Intake manifold gaskets

Purchased and will be installed shortly:
-New rear coil springs (OME 906 Coils)
-New rear swaybar endlinks (rockauto)
-New front shocks (Rancho RS5000 from Streetside Auto w/ pricematch & free shipping)
-New front upper shock mounts
-Fresh Mobil1 synthetic transfer case oil

Obviously none of this is related to the transmission, but i just wanted to list my lengthy repair list.

maxspeed96ct

The one thing I dont see on your list , and think you should try is a trans filter change , followed but a atf fluid flush. (not just a 2qt drain im talkin the 16 bottle flush )

J2F42C

So just for clarification, you give the car gas but the RPM's stay the same to a certain point under load and then it moves?

Any codes?

To add to the list, when is the last time you have greased your drivetrain? How well do the bellcranks for the ebrake move?

I hope you did all or most of the work on that list yourself or have a mechanic who works for peanuts and beer, its lenghty....

KU_MechE

Correct. I slightly open the throttle and the car seems to beardown as the engine take a load and the RPMs don't by more than a couple hundred RPM. It's not like it's a slipping transmission and RPMs skyrocket to 3500 before anything catches. I grease the driveshaft zerks every time I change the oil with Moly. The eBrake was one of my first thoughts since it's a little cruddy, but it's currently not engaging. If the eBrake was providing resistance, wouldn't the car also not want to reverse well? The car always reverses great with no resistance, so I kinda ruled out the eBrake because of that.


Yea, all items were installed by me. The only issues I had were with the upper balljoints (PITA). The car only sees a shop for alignments and tires.

J2F42C

I'd look at the bellcranks while the drums are off just to see if the ebrake cable is binding or such.

If you have never drained the tranny fluid via the pan bolt, do such and see if new ATF helps any. But I'd be betting on something in the rear brake area.

That is quite a list to tackle. If the upper BJ replacement was as easy as the lower, life would be good. Not the case though.....

BigBallsMcFalls

was gonna say e-brake binding
easy to go in reverse, won't go fwd at idle. classic e-brake seized pivots symptom

KU_MechE

Allright, ill crawl under there and give it hell. Thanks for the tips

maxspeed96ct

Put the rear in the air, choke the front wheels. And check if the rear wheels spin freely or not.

And go from there my man, g/luck

RickC

How do you choke the front wheels? :-)

Ohio4R

I think he meant wheel chucks, so the front doesn't move.

Erich_870

It's your shift solenoids. My transmission has done the exact same thing. There are 2 of them and they control what gear you're in. If one sticks open or shut, you will start off in 3rd or 4th gear. Whatever was causing the fault in my solenoid has subsided and I haven't had any troubles this winter, but it was almost a daily occurrence the previous two winters. Try shifting in to 1st instead of "D" and drive for ~100' then shift up to "D". This is what I did to get around the lack of power and the "thud". You are hurting your transmission by driving your rig in 3rd or 4th gear from a stand still!

Erich

badattitude

I had a very simalar issue. For me, it was rear axle seals. Diff fluid was leaking on the drums and sticking like glue. It happened more in the cold and, like you, reverse was fine for some reason, but I had to "break-free" when shifting into drive. Once I got going the first time it wasn't an issue until the truck sat again for several hours.

Seriously, if you haven't changed your rear axle seals lately just do it.

mt_goat

Sounds like you have a couple possibilities to check out, let us know what you find.

My first thought was the solenoids, but the easier fix would probably be the rear brake issue unless you have the tranny pan off already. Definitely try the "putting it in low gear trick" too.

1997toyota4runner

I had the same prob that i just fixed it was the linnings soaked in gear oil machined drums fixed seal and replaced linnings about $150 problem solved. If it was a shift solenoid you would have most likely gotten a cel

mt_goat

IIRC the CEL is thrown if the solenoid has an electrical failure but not with mechanical failures like clogging or sticking.

Erich_870

It will be easy to tell if it's the solenoids. If shifting to 1st works every time, then you know it's not a sticking break caliper. A correctly operating transmission will be in 1st from the beginning.

Erich

KU_MechE

Well, I think you've called it. On the driver's side, the parking brake bellcrank axis pin was totally corroded and seized. I disassembled it, sanded all corrosion off, greased everything up, and re-installed and everything works perfectly now. I'll need to wait until we have really cold weather to determine if the bellcrank really was the culprit, but I am pretty sure everything will will work great now. I'm going to order a new bellcrank and pivot pin from Toyota and replace both sides. Thanks for the help guys.

YodasYota

On a side note, I noticed you replaced your steering rack bushings, did you do that your self? How hard was it if you did? Also do you need an alignment after this is done, if this is the only thing you were to do? Hope you got your problem fixed!

jbudhram015

Is there an update for this? Mine is doing the same thing and it seems to have started when the weather turned cold.

KU_MechE

This turned out to be my e-brake. The clevis pin had completely corroded and seized causing the e-brake to be slightly on most of the time. The problem compounded when I had a leaking rear axle seal and that axle fluid caused the brakes to stick even more. Since i've replaced the e-brake clevis parts, clevis pins, rear bearings, and rear axle seals, I have no sticking in any weather. The rest of the drivetrain is great!