no gears in auto trans, 4whl low only
 

Hey all, I have a '93 forerunner 4wd, 3.0 auto trans. Got off the freeway last night and had no gears, everything acted like neutral. limped home in 4wheel low, only gear that would work. No loud noise before this happened, no whine, nothing. Any thoughts before it goes to the tranny shop? thanx in advance

Hey, if you figure this out let us know. I'm having the exact same problem and haven't had anytime to do any troubleshooting.

So 4 hi didn't work either?

No 4 hi, just 4 low and reverse while in 4 low. Tranny guy said its transfer case, possibly clutches, waiting to hear now, will post when I find out.

sounds like transfercase. Usually is when 4hi is gone and 4 lo still works. stupid built in transfercase. Why toyota didn't make them seperate like on the manuals is beyond me.

from what i have heard our auto trans solenoids are crap. i had a problem with my trans and thought it was going out on me. try manually shifting the trans down to first gear and see if it will move. i know when mine when i could mash it in drive and not go anywhere just alot of noise, but when i shifted down to 1st manually and shifted through the gears on my own it was fine. try that out unless you have already tried it.

Already been through that with solenoids. Changed them all out 6 mnths ago, trans shifted perfect. Can't go through any gears manually, all act like neutral. This is definitely in transfer case.

Any luck on your problem??

was it intermittent before it completely went? Mine does that intermittently. Like if I wheel, the next week I will have that problem but then it goes away for months.

Mines not intermittent, its exactly like mkoz's

Transfer case rebuild done
 

Ok, guys, just got my truck back from tranny shop. No, the problem was never intermittent. Got off the freeway and just went all at once. Mechanic showed me parts that failed. Basically bearing wore out and finally sliced an o-ring seal. That caused no fluid pressure for coupling the tranny to the driveshaft. Replaced all clutch plates also although they weren't that bad, just a little glazed. I agree, poor design with transfer case between tranny and driveshaft.

this. i had this exact same problem 7 or 8 years ago with my 93 auto 3.0.

Another reason why autos suck. :great: Glad ya got it fixed.

If you don't mind me asking, how much was parts and labor?

Thanks Bill

transfer case rebuild price
 

The parts ran about $500.00. (can't find my receipt right now or I would give ya a parts breakdown) Labor ran $800.00. Basically did a complete rebuild with new seals, bearings, clutch packs, etc., not cheap but hopefully won't have to do it again! Thanx everyone for the input, hope this helps the next guy...

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, my truck has 266,00 miles on it. Been back and forth between Socal, Oregon and Washington a few times without any problems, original motor and trans, usual timing belt, water pump, idler pulleys, etc. and maintenance. Guess it was about due!

For less than 1300, you could have swapped in a 5 speed transmission and never had this problem again.

Woww!!!!! That more than I have in the purchase of the 4runner. LOL sounds like i'll be doing an inchworm or marlin conversion.

Thanks to bynder for letting me in on this thread. I'm also seeing this issue with my '95 Auto.

Assuming I do all the work myself, what's the cheapest solution to this? I just need it to get me through summer. The damn truck was $2k to begin with, meaning it's not worth a heck of a lot of extra time/expense.


Thanks!

Is this at a shop, or doing all the work yourself? When my auto fails, if the truck is still worth keeping, I'm going to swap in a 5 speed.