My 91 4Runner 4WD - V6 - A30H (191,000) recently has been experiencing the following transmission behavior:

When cold (leaving for work or heading home after) it will skip over 2nd and shift straight into 3rd. Manually moving the shift lever has no effect. This will continue until (for lack of better description) it seems to have warmed up. Then will shift like a charm through all gears. Occasionally, maybe once or twice a week when I come to a stop it will not drop all the way down into 1st. This I can get around by dropping the shift lever into 1st. If parked for even as little as an hour it will revert back to skipping 2nd (again until it warms up, sometimes just a few miles)

Now, today, it did something new. Pulled out of my driveway and started down the street and it DID NOT skip 2nd but when I attempted to pull away from the 1st stop sign, it seemed to be still in 3rd and moving the shift lever to 2nd or first had no effect. Two blocks later at the next stop it seemed like it was totally disengaged. No forward or reverse, period. A neighbor who had pulled up behind me helped me push it to the side out of traffic and when I moved the shift lever I noticed that it was engaging in all gears. I pulled away and it was shifting smoothly through all gears.

Has it thrown codes?

Yes but very rarely. Did not this morning!

Have I had the codes checked?

No.

Talked to our mechanic who services our vehicles and he immediately leans towards a rebuild.

Hence my question to all of "Bad Solenoid(s)?"

I'm no mechanic, by all means, so correct me if I'm wrong but my thinking is that if it was something mechanical wouldn't it be doing it all of the time, even when it's warmed up.

Thank you!

 

Sounds like solenoids. You need to check the codes. This is done very easily with a bent paper clip.

Turn the ignition swith ON, but do not start the engine. In the diagnostic port in the engine bay, connect terminals TE1 and E1 with a bent paper clip. The OD light should flash a stored trouble code.

Code 42 = Defective No. 1 Vehicle Speed Sensor (in combination meter)
Code 61 = Defective No. 2 Vehicle Speed Sensor
Code 62 = No 1 Solenoid, Severed wire or short circuit
Code 63 = No 2 Solenoid, Severed wire or short circuit
Code 64 = Lockup Solenoid, Severed wire or short circuit

 

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I'm having almost the same issue. My O/D light is throwing a code 63, and I think I may have "severed" a wire while replacing my starter. My question is, how does one go about testing the wiring to that solenoid?

 

Before you go to extremes, try changing out the temp sensor on the back of the intake manifold. One of them controls the shift points on the transmission. My 88 did the same thing until I changed the right one out. A little Lucas tranny fluid or some B&M trickshift added wont hurt either. A little high or low levels will also affect the shifting.

 

Were you answering the hijacker, me or both?

 

I don't have any use for terrorists or hijackers, so yeah its for you! Just kidding. The temp sensors have everything to do with how the ECU controls the engine. If the ECU thinks the engine is too cold, it will affect the timing, fuel/air ratio, and the shifting of the transmission. TPS readings also will affect the transmission shifting. 1 pint high or low on fluid will affect my shifting, but my cooling lines have been altered, and I have a spin on filter, so I figure it will act differently. Mine set out in a field for at least a couple of years, and when I achieved a running status, I had hard shifts, and no 3rd or 4th gears. I changed the fluid to mostly B&M trickshift, with 2 pints of lucas, and a spin on FL1A motor craft filter, and within a few days I had 3 forward gears. I did some research, found the sensors(they all looked good), Got them from the Toy Stealership, installed, and walaah... Overdrive. I changed the filter once, added some fluid, and It still does great. Whew....that was long winded! :B