silent57

So I recently got done changing the ATF and filter. For some reason now my 4runner is having trouble taking off. Not all of the time, but most time when taking off from a stop sign or light it does not want to shift into gear. Eventually it goes but I have 10 angry people behind me because of it. After I get going it shifts into all of the other gears fine. I don't understand because sometimes it will take off just fine. It doesn't matter if the engine is cold or hot, it will do it either way. I've also made sure of my fluid levels by checking when the engine is running and hot.

Any help on this would be great.

A2B in a TLC

Did you change the ATF yourself? Were there problems before you did the change? When finished, did you run through each gear and reverse very slowly so that the ATF could properly circulate through the valve body?

Bruce in Tsawwassen

bootown

You sure you have the fluid level right? Toyota shorted me 3 quarts after a flush once and I had the same problem you are having.

logsurfer

Sounds like you need more atf. it usually takes me a mile to get my transmission to operating temp. That's when you should pull out your tranny disptick and check your atf level. If you use the search toolbar you'll find a guy who had the same problem. use "one pint" for keyword

silent57

That's what I had innitially thought. I've checked the levels over and over thinking maybe I made a mistake the time before. Every time I check it, it's after my drive from the college which is about 40 min. So the engine is good and hot. I've even tried adding more than what the dipstick says, but it didn't make a difference. I did change the fluid myself. I didn't flush it though, only got out what was in the pan and the filter. Maybe it's the clutches? I'm just dreading taking it apart and trying to see if it's a simple solution first. I have a feeling it wont be simple though because the fluid that came out was pretty dark.

Oh yea, one more thing that I noticed... It has problems taking off in D, 2, 1, and 4 high, but for some reason it works fine in 4 low.

brian2sun

What kind of ATF did you use?

silent57

Just Carquest dex/merc for automatic transmissions. It said it is qualified for dexron 2 and 3 which my manual calls for. Is there another type or brand that I should've used that I'm oblivious about?

silent57

will it hurt anything if I overfill the transmission with fluid? I've tried to read up on that, but I have gotten many different answers from many people.

ISFast

I know that it is not good either way low or high.

Kerby J

hey when i changed my ATF i just drained the pan and added back the 2.2 quarts that the manual said and that was like 6 months agao and i havent ever had any problems so is this just an issue when you replace the filter or is my fluid level low too and needing more ATF?

silent57

Yours may be low. I've read that some people say the manual is wrong. When I drained my pan I got about 4 or 5 quarts out of it.

Kerby J

hmm i didnt get that much i know i gut just over 2 quarts bc i drained it in a 5 gallon bucket and it was about an 8th of the way from the bottom which would b about right i was just wondering because i havent had any problems since i did it and the truck seemed to be handling better drivetrain wise i will check again though tonight

brian2sun

Kerby J,
The manual is wrong. 4-5 quarts is about the norm for a dropping the pan and refilling. Check your level on your dipstick after about 15-20 minutes of driving, with it in "P", with the engine running. Then you can be sure.

brian2sun

That ATF should be just fine. Overfilling more than a qt. or so can cause damage.

ISFast

This is a thought but on the filter there is an rubber o-ring make sure you got all that off the filter and did not double the ring or not put another one back in. Also, if you didnt get the ring then it could be clogging your tranny fluid from getting to the right parts and making the trany slip like there wasn't enough oil in it.

silent57

good thought isfast. I'll double check that again this weekend when I get time and post my findings.

silent57

So this is odd. The past two days my transmission has been working fine. I did nothing to solve this. It just started working again. I'm confused as to what the problem was, or if there still is a problem but now it's not showing signs. Any thoughts?