Hesitation or slipping from a stop or below 10 mph

thanks. I was starting to read some of the same things so that helps confirm. My local Toyota dealership changed ownership a few years back and they are totally worthless now. Good luck ever getting somebody in parts within a reasonable time or especially in their service dept. But I'm checking with a few other shops

 

Waiting to hear back from the transmission shop since I did not have the pump to add more fluid, if needed.

I rechecked my parking spot, and to my surprise there is a 10" diameter stain from what I'm sure is transmission fluid.

this is the only drip or leak I've ever seen from this truck and this is within the last day. Just one circle so it seems to be a one time occurrence (thus far). it appears to favor the passenger side and in the spot where the transmission would have been

 

you dont need a pump. Just a long hose with a 3/8" inner diameter and a funnel. Go from the top. Passenger side. Snake the hose down to the fill port. Get underneath and put the hose into the fill port. Go back up and fill accordingly.

 

Well, that's just too damn much common sense for me today obviously.

but in my defense before I dropped it off at the transmission shop, I had never seen any leak stain where I park and when I glanced this morning, the only thing I noticed was from the air-conditioner's condensation. so I was really not thinking it was low fluid

thanks

I guess I'll just leave it at the shop for now so they can find the source of the leak

I also just read on another forum where someone with a 2000 Toyota 4runner triggered a P0751 after they did a transmission fluid service and had a brain fart and did not get it up to the correct level. They filled it up, cleared the code, and it never came up again. They said they posted it just in case anyone else has that issue Hopefully this is not false hope

different Toyota different transmission but hopefully same issue and it is just low fluid with a leak that needs to be fixed

 

Getting more than a bit frustrated


The best rated transmission shop in the area has told me yes I need a new transmission. However, right now he is swamped and hasn't been able to talk to me and it will be in the morning. However, I looked at the report and there is that same code P0751

I've already confirmed from other tundra owners that code can be caused from low fluid
if it needs to be rebuilt or major maintenance fine. I don't have a problem with that.

however the report did not mention where the transmission fluid leak originated. When their office called they said there were other codes, so I just went up there to read the report myself. The other codes were all from the TPMS, which I already know the sensors are bad and need to be replaced

I'll be damned if I'm authorizing work without, #1 knowing where the leak is located and #2 if any attempt was made to check the fluid or add fluid since I already let them know there is a fluid leak

there is a waiting list so they can't repair the transmission until next week. In the meantime I was going to take it myself and add fluid and test however, I'm sure the two test drives the two different shops took and me driving it from the shop 2 miles home is doing the transmission no favors whatsoever since it is low on fluid

am I best to just wait and insist he does this?

Is driving it two more miles a huge risk? I'm pretty sure the answer is yes.

I guess my only other option is to do it in their parking lot tonight with some of my bright shop lights Seems a bit extreme

 

In my experience, if the shop is too busy to talk to you, they probably didn't even look at it and just said it needed a new trans. Communication will probably be awful through the service and you are low on their priority list.

 

and I think this is why many of us came to this forum and why we started doing a lot of the work ourselves

I saw what the first shop did:
Test drive
check code
noted the mileage and the model year and concluded it needed a new transmission

I assumed this highly rated transmission shop did better but I've not heard or read anything thus far to conclude they did. I'm hoping he didn't even take it on a test drive since I made sure they knew it was low on fluid

at this point trying to decide the best way to fill fluid to the appropriate level so I can test drive it. The transmission showed no signs of trouble until it got low on fluid

Is driving it 2-3 more miles a huge risk? I'm pretty sure the answer is yes

 

Update

I just spoke with my regular shop that has been doing all of the maintenance before I started doing some late last year

He confirmed my transmission fluid looked great when they changed it last year and that it is extremely unlikely it needs to be rebuilt and that that code is likely from low fluid since that is exactly when the symptoms surfaced. he was familiar with tundras and that particular code. This is assuming of course it has not been damaged with the test drives because it got quickly worse when I took it to the second shop.

i'm gonna have it towed there tomorrow so I don't risk further damage and only because I am uncertain of the location of the leak and don't have time if it is something that may take more time than say a transmission pan gasket

 

Hopefully it's an easy fix. These transmissions are really tough and don't fail often. Keep us posted.

 

Certainly will do.

 

Initial report is that there is apparently some sort of issue with the valve body

 

Here's how it stands now

a reputable transmission shop says the valve body needs to be rebuilt. Cost: $2800-$3200.

My local reputable shop, non-Toyota specific, also confirmed it is a valve body issue, but they don't do that work

the Toyota shop I used for years does not do that work, but he said he would be very skeptical of putting money in that transmission with that many miles (307,000). he also gave me another shop that does specialize in transmissions, and he said that guy is a straight shooter but from his experience, he thought he would be on the same page about putting money into the existing transmission

i've not had much luck finding information on first GEN valve body issues. However I did find this thread, which sounds similar on a second GEN

https://www.tundras.com/threads/transmission-troubles.44507/

here is an image of his final result from that thread. $1700 and some change.
(EDIT: that price was from 5 years ago - 2019, 5 years ago).
They replaced it with an OEM valve body as you can see. And he said the problem was resolved


I will be talking to the transmission man tomorrow morning that quoted me the roughly $3000 to go over the specifics of his quote

I guess my first thought is, if you can replace it with a new OEM valve body then why would you go about a rebuild for more? Unless that includes more parts than just the valve body itself. Does it include solenoids, etc? I'm thinking no


Any personal experience, or knowledge of others with a similar experience or any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated.

I'm ok with $1800ish for a new valve body. I don't mind spending the roughly 3000 for a rebuilt valve body if I am confident this is the route to go

i've already spent a good amount of money getting this truck back in good shape. So this is a bit sickening, but I still think overall refreshing, rejuvenating this truck is not a bad investment. I went into this knowing that there were several potential expensive repairs ahead

 

I would be inclined to look for a used low mileage tranny from the junk yard. (car-part.com)

Meanwhile, here's an interesting view about the valve body failure:

 

Thanks I'm watching that now. Interesting that some of the first things they said was this is very common or at least not uncommon for these transmissions and they said in the low to mid 200,000 mile range

that seems to support what my Japanese auto/tundra specialist was telling me about putting money into fixing this transmission with that many miles on it

OK editing now that I finished watching the automatic transmission valve body redo from that video. That makes me a little more comfortable about rebuilding the valve body. Assuming this is what the transmission shop will also be doing i.e. replacing some of the aluminum parts with steel parts that the ladies in the video said would make it last much longer than the original

But that begs the question what else could then go wrong with the transmission, or is the valve body one of the biggest problem areas?

 

What I would do when if my transmission fails.

https://www.importperformancetrans.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4341

 

Ask specifically what is wrong with the transmission. Not “valve body issue”, or “needs to be rebuilt”, etc.

Here’s what specifically I’d want to know if I was in your situation:
-What specifically Shift solenoid A controls
-Why is solenoid A stuck? (debris in the line? worn out solenoid/valve? broken seal?)
-Is solenoid A’s malfunction causing the slipping?
-Why does this issue require a complete rebuild to fix?

In the automatic transmission world, one issue often constitutes a complete rebuild. This is common because the rebuilder/shop often can’t provide a warranty on their work if they don’t do a rebuild.

Since the issue is valve body related, it makes me wonder if a new/rebuilt valve body can be put in it for less than a full rebuild cost, without warranty. Again, I am not a trans tech. But if the mechanic is able to tell you if the rest of the transmission is in good shape then it might be worth looking into replacing only the valve body, if it was significantly cheaper. But still, I'd be worried about putting any amount of money in a 300k mile transmission.

 

There is zero chance I would spend $3,000 on a transmission with 300k miles. Just find a low mileage used transmission and pay a shop to swap it.

 

they made that rebuild of the valve body look relatively easily. Interesting about replacing the aluminum parts with steel. I will have to ask the transmission shop in the morning if that's what they do

I did look and found a grade "A" used one with only about 120,000 miles for $1,200 about an hour away. Assuming that is a reputable auto-parts shop (my local shop said he knew the ones that are reputable so I will have to ask) then that is an extremely intriguing option.

I would think with shipping, tax, labor, etc. you're looking at between $1900 and 2500? That's versus 3000 for a rebuilt valve body

 

What I feel like I know at this point, but still researching:


Although that first shop handled it extremely poorly, didn't really take much time to explain it, and what he did explain he did very minimally, and since that was out of left field and contrary to what I believed at that point it understandably made me doubt what he said very much. And that's really the right way to be. Be skeptical until you've got facts and knowledge to back it up

however looking back on what he told me it now makes sense. It appears the valve body is the weak link in these transmissions and normally you're gonna have problems by the time you hit 250,000 miles. The fact that I got over 307,000 shows that I did take good care of it and had some good fortune. And that's pretty much what the guy said but he just didn't go into enough detail. For your average customer that's probably understandable. But that's why he said with 307,000 miles it's just better to replace.

you don't have to pull the transmission to work on the valve body. That makes it much easier. If I was to go back, I probably would have paid to have one of these upgrade kits put in it. That's where they replace the aluminum parts inside the valve body that are moving with hardened steel parts. as the Toyota enthusiast stated inthe video in this thread, this does nearly make the transmission bulletproof, and you are very unlikely to have any further problems I wouldguess other than solenoids, and possibly wiring, which is relatively easy to access and not major transmission work

i've still got more information and fact gathering but right now the most attractive option is getting that grade A condition used transmission with 120,000 miles and possibly having that valve body upgrade kit installed

if the "reputable" transmission shop feels the gears and other parts of the transmission are very likely to still be in great shape, and he is essentially rebuilding the entire valve
body, solenoids, etc. and possibly putting in the upgrade kit, I might stick with that

so still on an educational and fact gathering quest today.

 

That link I sent for the IPT transmission for $3400 is a rebuilt OEM trans with the upgraded parts.

 

I didn't touch on that but I did look at it and that's what I suspected. I just couldn't see where they mentioned the specific parts but that seem to be the case


Your option was one I was also going to explore today

thanks much. So much great information in here and I appreciate your help

 

Can we even say it's a weak link? 300k miles for any transmission is pretty damn good. You're the first member I can recall having issues with their valve body. It's not a common issue at all.

I'd throw a used one in and not worry about the valve body upgrade unless you can find someone to install it for a reasonable price. Sounds expensive.

 

yes. Good points. Which is why I couldn't find but one post on valve body failures in this forum. Of course, there may be more but not many

I would say the most likely failure point when you get into extremely high mileage with this very reliable engine and trans. I'm sure there's a more eloquent way to say that. The Toyota enthusiasts in that video said that installing this kit makes the engine and transmission essentially bulletproof or more bulletproof. It is after all aluminum on aluminum

there are several kits out there for the valve body for this reason. It addresses the aluminum on aluminum moving parts replacing them with hardened steel

from what I saw in the video this is not an extremely expensive modification. You can do it with the transmission in place. You just drop the pan remove the strainer and then several bolts to take out the valve body after disconnecting the solenoids. You're not having to touch the gears, etc. they remain in place. Definitely not hard or very time-consuming if you're already removing the valve body. I think most everyone is scared of digging into a transmission. But this is not getting into the drivetrain/gear portion of it, this is just the part that directs and controls the fluid and allows the torque converter, etc to do its job and it is relatively easily accessible to be inside the transmission.

Knowing what I know now, I would've considered doing this modification a year or two ago. And if I do replace/rebuild this valve body, then I want that modification done before hand. But if it's a new valve body, then maybe it's not worth it because I would probably get 250-400,000 plus miles out of it.

And the option @KNABORES linked is to me the ultimate and most ideal solution but would be cost prohibitive to some

 

@KNABORES I just spoke with John with the company at the link you shared.

I do feel like that is the ideal and ultimate solution The price does jump up to $4100-$4200 with the torque converter You do have to ship in your core for them to rebuild it. So you're talking about probably four weeks

my uneducated guess is you're probably talking 5000 if you pay to have the transmission taken out and the new one put in. Obviously you do that part yourself that saves a few hundred dollars

he did think that 3000 to rebuild the valve body was very high. He said you can do that for barely over $1000 (he thinks).

it is definitely the ultimate solution. It is doable but would be stretching it for me right now. I'm still giving it some thought

 

Did seem like a pretty smoking deal @ $3400

 

Still better than replacing it with an OEM transmission

 

The more I research this unless that transmission shop is doing a lot more than what he indicated on the write up, you can get a valve body from a reputable shop online that includes the upgrades and all new solenoids for about $605

to swap it out with the transmission in place, you merely drop the pan, remove the strainer, disconnect the wire/connectors to the solenoids, and then remove what looks to be about 10 or 12 bolts that hold the valve body in place

Insert the new valve body and reverse that process above

I would be willing to do it myself if I had a lift where you could stand under the truck. Pretty hesitant to do it laying on your back from the ground

then I believe you clear the memory on the truck by disconnecting the battery for 10 or 15 minutes. The computer will relearn with the new solenoids as you drive it

it is supposed to be a great upgrade for the shifting.

 

On a lift wouldn't be much better honestly. Just need room to comfortably work. I dropped the pan and filter when I bought mine and the valve body was easily accessed. I put in a new filter (wholly unnecessary at the time) and refilled the fluid. I would put a new filter in while you were in there for sure.

 

yeah, I may end up doing it myself. I'm trying to talk my regular shop into doing it. He looked it up and said it would be three hours shop time which isn't bad at all. Multiply that x5 for me

then fluid, filter, crush washers that kind of stuff

and the more I've talked to them, I'm satisfied the rest of the transmission is OK. Worst case is I have to also get a torque converter and they would definitely do that for me. I suspect that is why the transmission shop said 2800 to 3200 in case they had to replace the torque converter

 

FWIW, I used a transmission pan gasket when I did mine and it leaked like hell. Went back in and used RTV to make my own gasket and it's never leaked a drop since.