Transmission gone bad need advice

Guys, unfortunately it appears my 2001 needs the transmission to be rebuilt. All of this is kind of sudden so I am still processing everything since there were no indications of any issues leading up to this point. Its fair to say I am dealing with a bit of sticker shock at the repair bill as its higher than what I paid for the truck a couple of years ago.

For those who have gone through this already what is the best option? I was quoted a remanufactured transmission, I called around and found that it would be about half the cost to get it rebuilt instead. However, most of the shops I spoke with have a 4+ week waiting list.

Is there a good source for transmissions for our first gens? I am just trying to wrap my head around the various options out there and wanted to see if there is anything I am not actively considering.

Thanks!

 

We can't accept "appears to need rebuild".

What are the symptoms, who told you replacement/rebuild is imminent, and have you gotten a 2nd opinion?

We could gladly answer your questions. But wouldn't you feel better running symptoms and details by the community before hopping on that?

 

I would buy a quality reman and install it myself, but agree with @shifty` , put the parts cannon down and work through the problem first.

 

Okay sorry, didnt want my post to turn into a novel. Here is exactly what happened:


About a 4-6 weeks ago the truck randomly shuttered when coming to a stop light. When I went to accelerate there was no power. I immediately pulled over and the engine died. At that time I could start it back up without any issues, but anytime I put the truck in D or R the engine would just shut off. From my Google searches I assumed it was a torque converter issue. I had the truck towed to the shop and they had it for a week and they were not able to find anything wrong with it. They said their mechanics have been driving the truck all week and were not able to replicate the issue at all. So they told me to pick it back up and bring it back if the issue came back.

So I drove it for 3 weeks without any issues. Then one day the truck started acting up on my way to my son's baseball game. The engine would act like it wanted to stall when breaking and almost coming to a complete stop. So I would have to put it in N keep one foot on the gas and was able to put it into D and drive off. When moving the transmission would shift smoothly. After my son's game the truck ran completely normal. Flash forward another week or so the truck started doing the same issues on the way home to work, but was able to make it home without it dying on me. It almost seemed like an idling issue, so I clean the MAF, throttle body, and replaced some vacuum lines, which obviously did not solve the issue. So last week I had the truck towed back into the same shop. After a couple of days they came back with the diagnosis that the transmission needs to be replaced.

I would like to mention at no point has the truck thrown any codes at all. Even when it was shutting off. I would scan my truck while the issues were occurring and there were no codes. So I called around to some local transmission shops and most feel that the truck will probably need the transmission rebuilt or replaced. So now I guess I am at the point of trying to figure out where I should send it for a second opinion and in the end, what to do with the truck. I am still trying to decide if I should pour the money into it or perhaps sell it as is. Which would kill me a bit, because I love this truck.

 

“Transmission needs to be replaced” is not a diagnosis.

Solenoid failure, low fluid, torque converter clutches worn out, transmission pump failure, broken transmission gears etc. those are diagnoses.

 

I agree with @KNABORES , My first inclination when reading what you have is a possible Solenoid.

At any time did it drop into limp mode?

Any overheating on the Tran Temp (If you could tell)?

Did you take it to a real Transmission shop? Sometimes mechanics would rather just replace the whole transmission than fix the parts. A true transmission place will actually look at the transmission.

Perhaps someone smarter here can answer this: Would those symptoms be a fuel problem? Not getting enough fuel? Fuel injector? Just a guess on my part here.

 

At any point have you actually checked to see if it has fluid, and if so the condition of the fluid? I didn't see it mentioned.

 

It has never gone into limp mode, besides the issue I described above.

As far as I am aware the transmission has never overheated (I do not do any towing FWIW).

Fluid color is good. When I purchased the truck the color was a little darker, but not really bad. Since I have owed the truck I have done for drain and fills so the color looks very good.

 

Exactly this.

After doing that, did you pull the negative battery cable for 10mins to force the ECU into re-learn, since you made changes that would impact your air/fuel ratio?

Ok, that was my next Q: Did you verify that with a scan tool, or are you going by the dash light, whose bulb can blow out on the 2000-2004 trucks?

It sounds like you did. Good man.

Couple of things here.

I'm not convinced it's the transmission. Torque converter I could understand to a degree. I'm not buying it's the transmission.

Does the truck currently start and run without problems while in Park or Neutral?

What cab type, engine type (V8/V6) and drivetrain (2WD/4WD) is your truck? I'm going to guess it's automatic, if not, that's important info.

If it's a V8, when was the last time the timing belt was changed? It's due every 9yr/90k miles, per Toyota, although plenty of people have made it to 10yr/100k without realizing that.

If the timing belt has been changed, did you already check its wire harness to make sure it's not getting clipped. It's pretty typical for it to get mis-routed, at which point it starts to make contact with a belt. When the wires get nicked through, the ECU will shut the fuel pump down and kill the truck.

Any other maintenance (or lack thereof) we should know about?

 

1) Yes I did pull the negative battery cable once I cleaned the MAF and Throttle Body.
2) I am using a scan tool. Plus, I confirmed that my dash light does work as well.
3) The truck does start and run in Park and Neutral.
4) Its an access cab, v8, 4wd.
5) The timing belt was replaced 1 year and about 15k ago.
6) I have not checked the wiring harness. I will try to run by the shop tonight to take a look and report back.
7) Maintenance wise the vehicle is almost 100% baselined. I have replaced all the fluids, brakes, rotors, T-belt, water pump, all belts and pulleys (only use Toyota parts). The only known issue I have is a small crack in my drivers side exhaust manifold that at some point will need to be replaced.

 

Ok. Then that is about as far as I can go and agree with @KNABORES. It might be a Solenoid. There are others posting on this thread that have much better questions.

 

Lately, there’s been a noticeable uptick in threads about transmission concerns (or maybe I’m just starting to notice them more). One common thing I’ve seen: almost no of these posters—aside from maybe FiatDriver—has taken the time to download, let alone read, the Factory Service Manual (FSM) before asking for help.

Instead, many seem to rely on Reddit posts or hope for a silver bullet answer here that will magically solve their issue. But if you're serious about diagnosing your vehicle properly, do yourself a favor: download the FSM. You can find it linked in the sticky megathread.

The manual is packed with diagnostic flowcharts, troubleshooting tips, and helpful insights. Don’t just guess—take the time to learn how to troubleshoot your vehicle the right way. You'll not only get better results, but you’ll also be more empowered as a vehicle owner.

 

Agreed.

@LockednLoaded stuff like this diagnostic chart for transmission issues are what you'll find in the FSM: https://www.tundras.com/threads/2001-tundra-2wd-transmission-issue.157616/#post-3907485

If you have the A340(E or F), @The Black Mamba has posted a freaking gaggle of info here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/a340e-f-info-dump.151751/

FSM can be downloaded from the ~6th(ish) in the 1st reply of this thread: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Not gonna sit here and beat you up over missing this stuff, we have a shitload of diagnostic info in this forum, and tons of folks knowledgable in the 1st gen Tundras.

The lack of exact reason why the shop is recommending to replace the transmission is suspicious to me, honestly a big red flag. I'd want to know exactly why they feel the transmission is bad. And if they're not a well-known/well-respected transmission shop, I frankly wouldn't trust them with this diagnostic.

 

Here are a few examples I've dug up real quick based on your information

EDIT: For future searches, the FSM sections are alphabetized. So AT-xxx will be long before DI-xxx when reading and searching.

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the insight and assistance. I just got off the phone with the shop and they are listing it as "internal transmission failure." Apparently, the shop owner DD's a 2002 Tundra and he said the same thing happened to him 2 years ago. Interestingly enough he also said the remanufactured unit would take 3-4 weeks to be delivered. At this point, I think its best for me to take it to a transmission shop to get a second opinion. The other shop I am considering only rebuilds transmissions, but they do have a 4 week wait. However, they said they can take a look to see if it's something else like a solenoid failure or faulty ECM.

 

Back to the original question... How are they verifying this? An internal fault doesn't describe the concern. I'm not saying they are wrong, but what you described doesn't match that recommendation.

 

I would definitely take the other shop up on that offer.

There are lots of known reasons for transmission failure in the '00-'02. They had a weak planetary gear. Your symptoms don't match, to my knowledge, whatsoever. Additionally, either one or two of the solenoids may go bad, which your symptoms may match. But I think a TC failure is more inline with what you're experiencing, and a "proper" (dedicated) transmission shop should be able to diagnose that pretty easily.

 

As opposed to an external transmission failure? If it was external we wouldn't be having this conversation.

If they can't tell you exactly what's broken, they can't guarantee that the work they're proposing will fix it.