benjanet

Greetings all,

There is a noise that is gradually worsening in my car, the transmission sounds like a noisy PS pump (or one that is low on fluid). Disconnected accessory drive belt and still get noise, worse when cold and diminishes when hot. Transmission performs perfectly though while driving.

Just have a rough D-R transition with a heavy wump! But have always had that.

Any ideas what would cause that in the transmission?

I am going to change the fluid soon. Its clean but looks like it is getting ready for a change.

Banshee365

You need to drop the pan and clean it along with the magnets. More importantaly, you need to either clean your strainer or replace it. Your trans pump is starving for fluid due to a partially clogged strainer. Don't clean or replace the strainer and soon you will be stranded as the pump will not be able to pump enough fluid to go into gear.

Advance auto parts sells a couple brands of strainer that is the same as OEM. They run just over $30. Make sure you only use Toyota Type-IV fluid.

A bit of a tip. Remove the dipstick first. Then with a 12mm wrench remove the upper dipstick tube. This makes the pan much easier to drop. The upper tube and bolt is tough to install but it much easier than trying to get the pan out and around the transmission brace. It's also a ton easier to install.

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

the nasty sound ur getting from the PS Pump is from the reservoir believe. i just replaced mine today and its still making that same sound. worse when cold and semi quiet when warm.

the abrupt rock from D-R is the transmission mount. i have a OEM toyota one for sale if ur interested, pm me.

Banshee365

LiCelsior, he said removing the accesory belt doesn't change the noise. It is from his transmission pump. But I agree the mount is a pretty common wear item and it's replacement generally helps the car's ride and Lexus-esque qualities.

benjanet

Excellent advice Banshee. I dropped the pan and replaced the pickup screen, which was pretty well blocked.

I looked for a T-IV rated fluid but could not find one. My owners manual specifies a T-II rated fluid and Dextron-III is compatible.

The whine went away and my transmission sounds and feels great.

Thank you again for the advice... You might have just saved my transmission, which is a good thing because I hear it is quite a bit of work to put my R154 tranny in the car :-)

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

Type-II was replaced with Type-IV but you can NOT USE Dexron/Mercon spec fluid in place of them in the transmission.

benjanet

So now that I have verified that my transmission is OK - I will go get T-IV from my local dealer and do a flush.

I have a new transmission mount, but the R-N-D "wham" is still there.

Banshee365

Did you disconnect the negative battery cable to reset the adaptive learning strategy? If no, do that. If you did give it a little while. The transmission strategy starts out in a default mode that has some less than comfortable qualities. Once it learns your driving style it will really smooth out.

Lastly, how high is your idle when warmed up? If you're idling over 800 you'll get a firm engagement. You should be around 650 when warm at idle. If your closer to 1,000 you have other issues I may be able to help you on. The idle starts high when cold and starts to go down as it warms up. Be sure that you are letting your car warm up for a few minutes before you even touch the brake pedal, especially in this cold weather.

benjanet

I replaced the Dexron III quickly enough that I consider it a flush. Used Type IIII toyota fluid.

It ran really nice for thousands of miles, but now it is getting bad again. Transmission makes some whining sounds on a cold start, and it has a hard time shifting out of first when cold. Once warm it feels great. I suspect that the pickup screen is plugging up again, which means something must be breaking down in the transmission.

I do think my idle is high, but my tachometer doesn't work so its hard to tell. What causes a high idle? Engagement is usually pretty harsh warm or cold.