Transmission issues 2005 lx470 (1 Viewer)

[shassibi]

Hi all,also new to the forum and reposting in the right place(I think). Sorry if this is redundant.

2005 Lx470 with 2 in Ironman lift, bumper and Rhino Rack roof rack, only 143K miles

On a road trip recently, when pulling over to get gas, started shifting funny and figured out trans cooler hose was busted and all the fluid had leaked out. h knows how long I drove with low fluid. Possibly a long time. Immediately had it towed and had my local Cruiser guy look at it. He refilled the fluid properly, and it was shifting terribly so he had to then do a flush, and it got better. BUT, the truck will still buck on downshifts every couple days. I don’t have much confidence in this transmission now. There are no error codes or anything else I can think of. My mechanic things clutch or valve body. Looking for advice on choices here:

1. Keep driving it and see if it gets better
2. Find someone to rebuild it
3. Find a reman or used tranny to have installed for about 5K
4. Take it to a Toyota dealer and see what they say

My local cruiser guy thinks drive it a while longer and in the mean time see if we can find a good used or reman trans. He feels like a rebuild would be “throwing money” at it.

I have owned this truck for 17 yrs, never had problems, well maintained and I drive it less than 5K/year, so I would strongly prefer to keep rather than sell it. Hoping to get another 150k miles out of it(which would be 30 yrs for me).

Any experiences/thought would be welcome and appreciated, and thank you in advance.

 

[jsloden]

I would just drive it until it quits. I would not rebuild it or get a "rebuilt" one. A rebuilt anything is only as good as the person that rebuilt it. There's not really any reason to have a 100 series transmission rebuilt. The 5 speeds never had any problems. You'd be better off just purchasing a used trans when yours quits. I would much rather trust a used transmission than I would a "rebuilt" one.

 

[SteveH]

In the meantime, pull the pan and check the filter and then replace the fluid.

 

[DBULL]

Did he put WS fluid back in? I would try another flush with Toyota or RockAuto

WS fluid.

 

[DBULL]

The filter is just a screen.No need to replace or drop the pan.

 

[Malleus]

You should check out the automatic transmission troubleshooting section of the FSM. It has a complete list of diagnostic tests to conduct when you have transmission problems, but no DTCs. All these can be done before you turn any wrenches.

A simple, if not easy, solution is to drop the pan and valve body. Check the valve body spool valves for function (they should all slide in and out of their respective spool guides easily.

While you have the valve body off, you can visually inspect the clutches/steels for damage. You can't see all of them, but I assume it's the overdrive and first clutches that are giving you problems, since you said "downshifting". If it's all the downshifts (every gear), then you have multiple problems.

 

[shassibi]

You should check out the automatic transmission troubleshooting section of the FSM. It has a complete list of diagnostic tests to conduct when you have transmission problems, but no DTCs. All these can be done before you turn any wrenches.

A simple, if not easy, solution is to drop the pan and valve body. Check the valve body spool valves for function (they should all slide in and out of their respective spool guides easily.

While you have the valve body off, you can visually inspect the clutches/steels for damage. You can't see all of them, but I assume it's the overdrive and first clutches that are giving you problems, since you said "downshifting". If it's all the downshifts (every gear), then you have multiple problems.

Thanks all. Unfortunately not at a point in my life where I have the time to mess with it myself so relying on tips and my local cruiser guy to get this figured out. To reiterate , it has already had fluid filled once, then flush, then refilled to proper level. No error codes.

 

[Malleus]

Thanks all. Unfortunately not at a point in my life where I have the time to mess with it myself so relying on tips and my local cruiser guy to get this figured out. To reiterate , it has already had fluid filled once, then flush, then refilled to proper level. No error codes.

You could pass this along to him, then. It's not something anyone can do from memory. And if he doesn't have the FSM, make him get one, or go elsewhere. These aren't 80s Chevy trucks.

 

[shassibi]

You could pass this along to him, then. It's not something anyone can do from memory. And if he doesn't have the FSM, make him get one, or go elsewhere. These aren't 80s Chevy trucks.

Thanks I’ll double check but I’m pretty sure he has done all the troubleshooting. He only works on cruisers so lots of experience

 

[chrisbruck]

Did you scan for actual codes or just looking for a CEL? Mine had very similar issues and would never turn on the CEL but would throw a transmission solenoid code.

Search my name / posts and you can read my story. I had pretty much the same experience you did.

 

[shassibi]

Thanks for all the various responses. I am in Austin Tx and wanted to get an opinion from a transmission shop as well. None of the Landcruiser specialty shops will deal with transmission issues/potential replacement. Only the Toyota Dealers will do that at a heavy premium. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[shassibi]

Did you scan for actual codes or just looking for a CEL? Mine had very similar issues and would never turn on the CEL but would throw a transmission solenoid code.

Search my name / posts and you can read my story. I had pretty much the same experience you did.

Just wanted to follow up. Kept driving my truck and over time the shifting problems have pretty much resolved. I’m assuming it was due to the fluid swap which I was forced to do from the hose failure and fluid loss. One thing that may have helped-I disconnected the battery overnight and reconnected it in the morning. Did that a few weeks in a row once a week. Don’t know if it helped but certainly did not hurt. Knock on wood this transmission take me up to 300k and has suffered no permanent damage.