Ok, heres the deal. I was driving home tonight, I was driving through my neighborhood at very slow speeds(speed bumps), when I noticed my car seemed to be acting funny. I would give the car gas and it seemed as though it wasnt really going anywhere for a minute. I took it out to a back road to get into it a few times, just to see if it was my imagination. The first time I gunned it the car went to redline and I was going like 30 mph. I gunned it a few more times and it seemed to repsond a little better, but something is definitely slipping, and the shifts felt very off. When I parked it something was burning like a ******..... It was one of those buring smells that was unique, like a clutch slipping, or brakes burning. I let the car cool off and ran it again, normal driving, it is definitely not responding right.

Im having a hard time believing that a Lexus with 38k miles on it, driven pretty damn modestly, is having tranny issues already(out of warranty of course). I do have the RMM limited slip and TQ, could this be the issue, im just grasping at this point. Its been so long since I had a car with an auto tranny, Im not even sure of the dynamics of it. Would an auto tranny have parts that would be burning. like a clutch plate, etc...?

I am pissed off at the moment!

 

Sorry to hear that.

Make sure you check the transmission fluid level. If it is low, you won't develop enough pressure and your torque convertor will not engage. Make sure you add the Toyota type IV fluid. Don't add any other type of tranny fluid.

hope this helps

ricky

 

Jeff,

Sorry to hear about your tranny problem. About 2 years ago I killed my tranny with just over 50k miles. Somehow the fluid got low (tranny shop blamed the pump) and my T/C (PI purchased from RMM) got killed - metal all thru the tranny. Lexus denied the warranty claim due to the after market T/C. I ended up having Level 10 rebuild it for just north of $3k.

If you definitely think you're having tranny problems, put back your stock converter before you take it to the dealer. If you bought the car new, your tranny warranty is good for 70k miles.

Good luck

Kenny

 

It sounds like is the low fluid issue. Also make sure you remove the after market TC before you go to the dealer and ask for tranny warranty

 

My car is a 98, so its out of warranty already, unless they have a different warranty for dirve line. I checked the fluid today, i was crossing my fingers hoping for low fluid as an easy solution, no such luck, the fluid was at the full mark and clean as can be. Would there be a possibility of the problem being the RMM T/C? I have noticed in the past there have been a few times where the car slipped for a breif minute after not running the car for a few days. This always seemed to correct itself after about 25 to 30 feets of driving.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the warranty on the drivetrain is 6yr/70k. So you should be covered as long as the stock parts are back in there.

 

Same thing happened to me...and it was the low tranny fluid.

 

HMMMM, maybe I will re check the tranny fluid again tomorrow just to be sure. If its not that, its good to know that the tranny has a longer warranty on it, thank god!!

 

If it's not the low fluid, it might be the clutch plates. What is the stall on the RMM TC? ALso, do you have a tranny cooler? Having the TC will generate a lot of extra heat which in turn is not a good thing.

 

For those who had this problem and discovered it was the tranny fluid level to be low - I am a bit confused here.

I am assuming you have all religiously followed your factory recommended maintenance schedule (I am pretty sure all of us that modify our cars so much, pay more importance to the maintenance schedule than your typical owner). So I don't understand why this should ever become an issue.

I mean between service intervals when fluid levels are checked, surely this would have been discovered way before it ever became a problem........................ ?

What am I missing here? Enlighten me bro's..................

 

Hameed, actually I have never checked the tranny fluid level since I have owned the car, about 8 or 9 months!! Its just one of those things I didnt expect to have issues with I geuss.

Mariusz, Im not sure what the stall is, I bought the car with it on already. If Im not mistaken, RMM carries different TC with different stall #'s. I do not have a tranny cooler though, maybe I should look into getting one.

 

An Aux tranny cooler is cheap insurance for a modified TC. A handful here have done install, with write ups. They can be had on the order of <$50 from all the major parts suppliers.

My PCTC Install Page

Off the top of my head, PearlPower, tomtnc, DaveGS4, banannaGS, and myself have all added aux coolers.

Good Luck

 

And me. I added PearlPower's great kit with custom pre-bent pipes / fittings.

 

Yeah!

Here is his sweet install:

PP's Polished Tranny Cooler Install Thread

Edit: Also tinygs's Install Thread