Sekishiro

This has been a long journey so far and I'm out of ideas.

1998 4runner sr5 auto 260k miles

Started with the big Texas freeze. I snapped a rear axle. Replaced it with one from a junkyard.

Then transmission wasn't shifting into 1st. Shifting manually from L to D worked. Cool, replace some shifter solonoids.

Drop the pan, no milkshake. Some metal on the magnets, atf is red but clear. Replace the filter and test solonoids. One doesn't click when given 12v. Replace it. Re-assemble.

Rumbles in drive like I'm starting in 2nd.

Pull everything apart, replace another solonoid. Re-assemble.

Same issue. Drive or L rumbles when I give it gas from a complete stop.

Replace another solonoid. Reset ecu by disconnecting battery and discharging capacitors. Same issue. No code yet.

Best I can tell, the trans is starting in 2nd at under 1k rpm. Then shifts to 1st and stays there until I hit 4k rpm. Then it shifts to 3rd and boggs down at 1k rpm going 30-40 mph. Then shifts to 2nd and stays there.

If I leave it in drive and come to a complete stop the transmission stalls the engine and it dies.

There is no discernable difference between D and L from a complete stop.

ECU replacement? Torque converter? New transmission? New 4Runner?

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fierohink

New 4Runner is always an option if you can swing it. (Personally there is a reason I’m driving a rig that’s old enough to drink when we hit the trails... turns pockets inside out)

Shifting to L versus driving in D doesn’t give you a gear that isn’t available to you in D. It just prevents the transmission from up shifting into 2nd gear.

Are you getting any CEL codes? If the torque converter was going bad you should throw a vehicle speed mismatch code. Zuk has a thread on here somewhere about his TC going bad.

Metal shavings in your pan and on your magnet are never a good sign. It could be normal wear or it could be more, without seeing it it’s hard to say. You can try a full flush. I’ve done a shade tree version where you disconnect the cooler line, pump dirty fluid into a container, then refill with clean ATF the amount that came out, and repeat until you have clean red fluid coming out of the cooler hose. Usually takes about 4-5 gallons.

Sekishiro

So before I opened up the trans pan and replaced the solenoids, the transmission fell similar to how it does now in D. It bogged down shook and barely moved but if I shifted to L I was fine. Now with all the solenoids replaced, L, D and 2nd all feel the same pulling out from a complete stop.

The difference now is, L isn't L. D starts in 2nd then down shifts to 1st, revs to 4-4.5k then goes into 3rd (or OD, I can't tell)

I still don't have a CEL code.

I'll search out the TQ thread thanks.