First time posting, need some help!
97' LX450 starting "slipping gear" on a large uphill, coming off of a rocky pass out in Moab. Drove back to Denver no problem. The next morning I had the following symptoms:
- *only* when the engine/tranny warmed up, the truck would try start in 2nd or 3rd gear and lurch for about what felt like 3 revolutions of the drivetrain before scooting off no problem.
- Toyota/Lexus guys here said bad transmission (without even dropping the pan, of course)
- two tranny mechanics (one a 35yr GM guy, and legit) said tranny was doing exactly what it was supposed to do, and suggested valve body reman / new solenoid
So...
Valve body reman + new solenoid... great pressures internally, but same problem overall. Truck lurches between gears when going from dead stop to start, or, on a very steep hill where it drops a gear.
- Shifting from L-2-D and she shifts/runs beautifully. Driving it that way now with zero problems.
- transmission guy says that even when the rig is in manual L, he's reading his scope on the ECU telling the tranny the wrong/incorrect gear assignment (i have no idea what code or what this looks like)
- he states tranny is just fine and that it is an ECU problem (95% sure it's fried to be exact, his words)
Toyota / Lexus guys only state how rare it is for an ECU to be fried, and just continue to talk about redundant grounds in the engine compartment meaning it's almost impossible to have a poor connection... they're officially zero help at this point (Toy Car care in Centennial, CO, to be exact)
I've heard too many stories (and read on these forums) about bad earth/ground connections or dirty/loose electrical connections causing transmission nightmares. I read on a forum (Apr 3rd, 2012) about a transmission problem regarding the two wires running above the starter... I started there and cleaned those, but does anyone else have any ideas or know any other specific connections to check before sending this back in for another $450 diagnosis?
Thanks in advance!!
97' LX450 starting "slipping gear" on a large uphill, coming off of a rocky pass out in Moab. Drove back to Denver no problem. The next morning I had the following symptoms:
- *only* when the engine/tranny warmed up, the truck would try start in 2nd or 3rd gear and lurch for about what felt like 3 revolutions of the drivetrain before scooting off no problem.
- Toyota/Lexus guys here said bad transmission (without even dropping the pan, of course)
- two tranny mechanics (one a 35yr GM guy, and legit) said tranny was doing exactly what it was supposed to do, and suggested valve body reman / new solenoid
So...
Valve body reman + new solenoid... great pressures internally, but same problem overall. Truck lurches between gears when going from dead stop to start, or, on a very steep hill where it drops a gear.
- Shifting from L-2-D and she shifts/runs beautifully. Driving it that way now with zero problems.
- transmission guy says that even when the rig is in manual L, he's reading his scope on the ECU telling the tranny the wrong/incorrect gear assignment (i have no idea what code or what this looks like)
- he states tranny is just fine and that it is an ECU problem (95% sure it's fried to be exact, his words)
Toyota / Lexus guys only state how rare it is for an ECU to be fried, and just continue to talk about redundant grounds in the engine compartment meaning it's almost impossible to have a poor connection... they're officially zero help at this point (Toy Car care in Centennial, CO, to be exact)
I've heard too many stories (and read on these forums) about bad earth/ground connections or dirty/loose electrical connections causing transmission nightmares. I read on a forum (Apr 3rd, 2012) about a transmission problem regarding the two wires running above the starter... I started there and cleaned those, but does anyone else have any ideas or know any other specific connections to check before sending this back in for another $450 diagnosis?
Thanks in advance!!
