frohbego

So i just bough the 02 4runner last week. 57k miles on it. The last 3 days its been downshifting into the lower gears real hard. Sometimes knocking into gear or a like thud. Also does this when i accelerate from a stop.

I have been reading alot of helpful things on the Message board. I took it down to the dealer where i bought it and they said it checks out fine. I do have a 3 month warranty. So they just might not wanna pay to do anything on it. Not sure if i trust the dealer

So i wanted to see if its wort getting my fluids changed.
1 - Flush transmission fluid
2 - Front and rear differential fluid
3 - oil change

Most likely 1 and 2 have never been done before... Is this a good idea? I hope it helps!

Thanks everyone.

fireteacher

lube the drive shaft and u joints.look in the tech section, bob has a write up in there and tells you what type of grease to use. i too had this problem, followed by an arguement with someone(bob) about searching that thread! it is fixed now and i lube everything while the oil is draining from the pan or as needed. i thnk the term for this is axle wrap

if you still need help, cant find the thread, repost and someone will help you find it!

WELCOME!

fireteacher

also, i am not sure about the tranny flush. i THINK your miles are low enough to do it with no harm (someone chime in on that one), but check the color of the fluid and the smell from the dip stick. if its not redish purple, needs a changin, smells burnt....cross your fingers! it is, however, easy to drain the tranny oil while your under there draining the engine oil. my 99 required 4 quarts to fill it back up and the haynes manual stated it needed 2.1, yours should be the same. you should try these things yourself if you have the time. labor at a dealer is like $90 per hour.
the diffs are also a super sinch but you need special type of "hex" wrench (not sure what they are called nor the proper size) just make sure you unbolt the fill first so your not stuck with no fluid if you cant get it out!!!!!
all of these topics are in the tech section under maintenance. a saturday turning some wrench (or weekday after work) is very satisfying!)

frohbego

I have a local honest shop that will do it... Do u think i should let the trans flush go and just try the fron and rear differential done

ebelen1

Do the trans flush; it's good preventative maintenance.

Firefightertaco

for the rear diff u need 24mm socket i belive and for the front i think its 10 or 12 mm hex some are diffent people claim, and u shoud go ahead and do the transfer case whall your at it.

This should help u. http://www.4runners.org/articles/difftsf/

fireteacher

START by LUBING the DRIVETRAIN yourself.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76371


needless to say, i believe the # for the diff change is 30k so i would do it also
or you can have them do it for you, pffff!

Chainlink

I did a flush on mine at about 55k and i noticed a medium to big difference....not life changing but it did shift alot smoother and I did not expect my milage to increase but results were almost 1 extra mpg.

And as for the other stuff yes those too.

Tanto

I would change the filter in your transmission since the dealer probably didn't do that and you're close to your 60k maintenance anyways. That'll put good fluid in your transmission and remove any obstructions in the fluid flow from having gunk in your filter.

As far as your diffs and oil change goes, you should probably do them too but it's not a cause of your problem.

frohbego

Tanto, any ideas what might be the problem?

thanks!

ebelen1

I didn't think we had a replaceable filter for the transmission. Do you mean dropping the pan and cleaning the magnets or am I missing something?

Tanto

There is a filter when you take the pan off. It's on the very bottom and held on by two long gray bolts in the front and two gold-colored bolts on the rear. You can get the kit from Autozone for about $30 bucks that has a new filter and gasket, although you may want to get some of the gunk sealant (can't remember the technical term for it) if you want to do it that way.

fireteacher

no need to buy a new filter. its a wire mesh. clean it with brake fluid if it needs to be cleaned. i dont think he'll be doing the maintenance himself though!

surf4runner

do it all. my tranny didnt get a (1st time???) until 103,000mi and replaced w/ synthetic, it looked clean so i was not worried about anything being fried inside. definetly made a noticeble diff in shifting. also did the diff at the same time, 2WD

then if there is a problem, have it checked out under the warranty before it expires. if you let them know there is an issue ahead of time, they may HAVE to honor it after the 3mos

frohbego

Got them all changed.. Still get the thud when it goes from 2 to 1st gear or from 1st to second...

WIll it take a few days to make a difference?

ebelen1

That's weird. When I did my tranny flush, it was instanteous that I felt an improvement (smoother shifting). Did you lube everything?

terryjmatthew

Probably a better idea to use brake cleaner, rather than brake fluid.

Localmotion

x2

fireteacher

my bad!! thats what i meant

fireteacher

did you have the drive train done? did you watch the work on your truck?

when mine does it, all i do is grease the drive train and its gone.

when you come to a stop and let off the brake to take off again, does it make a thud for a split second? if so, like i said before, its mostly a case of axle wrap!