Car has run just fine up until a few days ago. Put it in gear and I get nothing. No movement or engagement of any kind in forward gears or reverse. ATF level is good. Someone suggested linkage which I know nothing about. Can't afford towing and/or mechanic so I'd like to check it out myself. Car rolls easily when not in park.

I think I just need to know how to access the linkage to make sure something isn't disconnected. I presume it's a steel rod and not cables but readily welcome your educating me.

Suggestions?
ThreePutt2

 

What exactly did it do leading up to this point?
How many miles?
What type of fluid is being used in it and what color/condition is it in?

More info would help narrow the problems down some.

 

Nothing of significance to describe leading up to this point. The car has been garaged for about 2 years and I'm now trying to get it back on the road. I started the car less than two weeks ago (after draining and refilling P/S system) and drove it around my parking lot. Everything worked great.



134,661 miles.



Type T-IV ATF fluid straight from the local Toyota dealer yesterday. I added one quart to whatever was in the system. Can't swear that the appropriate ATF was being used before. I assumed the mechanic (whoever he was) used whatever should have been used. Actually, I doubt that it's ever been changed. I'm pretty sure I never paid to have it changed. And I'm just an old accountant who is trying to do things now myself because I can't afford to pay a mechanic. Living on SS.



So, I presume you're going to suggest that I drain the system (9 quarts or so of fluid?) and refill with new stuff? I’m not opposed to doing that. $65-$70 for fluid beats the cost of a replacement transmission and the labor to have it installed.



Was hoping it might be something simple that I just don’t know anything about – like checking the linkage. I might as well be asked to do brain surgery as to check the linkage. I can follow directions and pictures certainly help - but I haven’t found a DIY for linkage access and diagnosis.



Thanks for your response. If you have any more thoughts, please share them with me.



My best,

ThreePutt2

 

Well it honestly sounds like more than a linkage problem but you can feel the linkage working through the shifter as without it it has a "dead" feel to it.

I honestly think if the trans is indeed dead then changing fluid and filter is too late however I am suspecting that the wrong fluid was put in at some point and maybe before you owned it and that could be what killed the trans but the good news is that you can buy good replacement transmissions for 150.00 or less on here as everyone swaps to the turbo set ups.

It could also be a tq converter but has the trans given you any troubles or signs such as shudder or hard shifts etc leading up to the problem?

Were you driving when this happened or was it fine and when you went to drive it again then it would not move?

 

so this problem happened after you added a quart of fluid?

Dont mean to be insulting but did you maked sure to check the fluid leveel when the car was running? perhaps youve overfilled your fluids.

 

The transmission has never given me any problems whatsoever. And the problem DID NOT happen after I added the fluid. I added the fluid because of the problem in that the car would not go into gear.

I checked the fluid level without the car running. I just went and checked it again and the engine is as cold as my ex-wife. The dip stick barely registers the fluid level. The dip stick shows about 1/4 inch of fluid. So, there's absolutely no way the fluid is "over-filled."

The car drove just fine a week ago. The failure DID NOT happen while I was driving it. It drove perfectly one day and the next day it wouldn't do anything. And I didn't do anything to it (the car). It was parked in the garage one day and the next day when I went to drive it, it would not go into gear.

 

Ok that info helps a little so that tells me that it is not a problem with hard parts or a trans overheat issue so I would say start looking at electronics and unhook the batt for a few mins to do a reset then let us know how that goes.

 

It's about 12:30 a.m. on Friday and I've just read your message. Heading down to the garage after sending this message to disconnect the battery which I'll leave disconnected until sometime tomorrow.

As for checking the electronics - any chance you can be a bit more specific other than the battery disconnect? If there's something else electronic that can be checked, I don't have a clue what that might be. Remember - I'm a dumb accountant - not a learned mechanic.

ThreePutt2

 

About five mins will do a master reset/relearn of the ecu no need to do it for longer.
If that makes no difference I would look at connectors on the transmission itself as there are only a handful so un hook them one by one and look for corrosion or broken wires but that will have to be done from under the car and the first place I would look is the selector switch on the side of the trans and which has the main wires running to it that control these functions.
This is an odd problem for sure but I will await the status of the reset and go from there.

 

Any luck???

 

Fluid level will look very low if the engine is not running and the fluid warm. Don't use that as a guide to filling! It sounds more like an electronics issue though as stated above.

 

Hey, guys.

I've been away for a few days dealing with family matters. Today it's back to dealing with the transmission problems of my '97 SC400. I really appreciate all of the input from other members. I'm hoping the problem is electrical and that I can locate that problem and fix it. I'd like to begin by checking fuse #14 which is located behind the driver's side kick panel. I wonder why they didn't locate it somewhere that would be impossible to reach? Geez, what a PITA.

Anyway, enough of my whining.

Does anyone know of a reasonably painless way to access that fuse "box?" Right now I'm ready to take a razor blade to it.

My best to all,
ThreePutt2

 

Ok try to unplug the mass air flow sensor and see if that makes it go in to gear?
This will throw a cel but it will go away after some time or a batt reset.

 

The "mass air flow sensor?" Man, I know you're trying to help me and I really appreciate that - but keep in mind that you're dealing with a stupid accountant who wouldn't know an air flow sensor from a "dinky donk happel sunker whatcha digger."

Duh!?

 

Oh sorry, That would be in the intake tube off of the throttle body so between that and the airbox that houses the air filter.
Its the only plug there and I believe the sensor has a silver tag on it that says toyota along with some numbers so unplug that and start it up however you will have to most likely control the throttle with the gas pedal as it won't idle properly but that will correct it self after you plug it back in.