1986 Toyota Automatic Transmission Problem?

53flattie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2006
Location
Easley, SC
A friend of a friend asked me to take a look at his 86 Toyota 4WD, automatic. He said it was bogging really bad when driving it, and that it would cut off randomly when he stopped. He though it was a fuel delivery problem and that it might need a fuel pump. I don’t really think so, after driving it.

My observation - it doesn’t shift right. It jumps from first gear to third gear when you try to accelerate. This causes the “bogging down” he was talking about. I mean, it totally falls on its face when it shifts from first to third at 20mph on a 4cyl with 220k miles and 32” tires. If you shift it manually from 1st to 2nd to 3rd it will go into all three gears.

The other issue - it idles nice and smooth when it’s in park or neutral. But when you put it in reverse or drive, it idles way down and almost shuts off or does shut off.

And, when I checked the trans fluid, it’s black and it stinks pretty bad.

I’m thinking the transmission needs to be rebuilt. That’s why it doesn’t shift right unless you do it manually (shift solenoids?) And maybe the torque converter is bad and that’s why it shutters and dies when it’s in gear, but does fine in neutral and park.

Am I sending him in the right direction?


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If it manually goes in 3rd, and automatically goes 1-3... Does it go into 4th? If it doesn't it's got a bad shift solenoid. If you can manually get it into 2nd, the transmission isn't mechanically bad, it's just control of the transmission... In other words, manual 2nd would not work if the 2nd gear elements were damaged.... II have had the same problem with the same generation truck. I can check tomorrow as to which solenoid and where it's located. If I remember right, they're between 70-100$.
 
a_kelley said:
If it manually goes in 3rd, and automatically goes 1-3... Does it go into 4th? If it doesn't it's got a bad shift solenoid. If you can manually get it into 2nd, the transmission isn't mechanically bad, it's just control of the transmission... In other words, manual 2nd would not work if the 2nd gear elements were damaged.... II have had the same problem with the same generation truck. I can check tomorrow as to which solenoid and where it's located. If I remember right, they're between 70-100$.
Click to expand...

I wasn't completely sure if it was a 3spd or 4spd transmission, so I said 3rd. Truth is, it might be going from 1st to 4th. It definitely only hits two gears when you select "drive".

Any thoughts on why the engine bogs down so bad when it's in gear?


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53flattie said:
I wasn't completely sure if it was a 3spd or 4spd transmission, so I said 3rd. Truth is, it might be going from 1st to 4th. It definitely only hits two gears when you select "drive".

Any thoughts on why the engine bogs down so bad when it's in gear?


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Click to expand...
Missed the fluid being black & it bogging in gear... It probably does need a rebuild, and there may be a hard issue with the transmission.. fused clutches could cause the same issue
 
Might have a vacuum leak. That could cause the poor idle, especially if it gets worse after warm up. Depending where it is, it might not be bad enough to have any effect during idle-up in neutral. Likely independent of the trans shifting issue.
 
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