i have a 1999 toyota 4runner. the problem i am having is with the transmission. the car slips in drive and when put in second gear and overdrive. when accelerating the car doesn’t move nearly as fast as it should with the rpms gettinng put out and it does shutter. i just totally changed the tranny fluid and their is a slight dribble of transmission fluid under the car. also, the car works fine in reverse. when in reverse the car accelerates smoothly with no shutter or pause… any ideas?
Details, details, details…
Is this an automatic?
How many miles on the car?
Has the tranny been serviced before (fluid changes, etc, etc, etc)?
Did the problems start AFTER you changed the fluid?
Did you yourself change the fluid?
How did you go about it?
Where exactly is the dribble originating from. You should get a flashlight and crawl under the car, and try to follow it.
Did you spill any fluid while filling it up?
Did you check the fluid level, just as the owners manual directs you to do it?
Do you realize that every time you drive this vehicle while the transmission is slipping, you are making the potential repair bill higher and higher?
Each time that you accelerate, you are wearing off more and more of the friction surfaces in the trans. The debris from the material that is worn off of the friction surfaces then circulates through the really small hydraulic passages of the transmission, where it does further damage.
What you are doing is like asking someone with serious heart problems to run a marathon. The person will make it for only a short distance, and then he will drop dead from the exertion. Similarly, the vehicle will crap out in an inconvenient place, at an inconvenient time, and you will have a much larger bill than if you take the car to a qualified trans shop right away.
My idea is that you should have your 4Runner towed to an independent trans shop for evaluation. Don’t drive it.
Do NOT take it to AAMCO, Lee Myles, Cottman, Mr. Transmission, or any other chain operation unless you want to be overcharged for more work than is necessary, and for the work to be of substandard quality. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by their “national warranty”. In many, many cases, they manage to weasel out of coverage for the next transmission problem.
sorrrrry, its an automatic. with 238k miles. changed fluid and filter. the fluid change was after the problem had occurred. the slip was the reason i changed the fluid and yes i changed it. i used the drain plug under the car and drained the transmission fluid there. then put about 7.5 quarts in and than had to flush the transmission fluid out of the radiator due to contamination. i ran the car and when the fluid became red, the desired color, i capped it so to speak.i than checked the level and yes it was almost empty from the recent drain so i refilled it to the desired level. come to think of it. the “dribble” has stopped. the new puddle is almost non existent. leading me to believe i could have spilled a tad bit when filling it up. and yes i went about checking the level the correct way and i did not see any flakes in the tranny fluid by the way
yes i understand that VDCdriver. i stopped using the car right when the slip occured. but for the record, settle down.
You’re welcome.
well, thanks for the tips on the chain shops. i make that out to be helpful information if the problem comes to it being towed. 
I do not see anything unsettled in VDC’s reply.
Due to your lack of details in the original post, he/she tried to cover as many bases for you as possible.
You did not answer Q # 3.
You mentioned having to flush the radiator to get rid of trans fluid because of “contamination”. If you have tranny fluid in your radiator you also have had anti-freeze in your transmission. The transmission cooler inside your radiator is leaking and likely the cause of your slipping transmission. You need a new radiator,transmission, and torque converter.
Actually the rebuild price is more or less the same at this mileage. No one with half a brain takes a AT out and decides whether the friction disks have another 10k miles of life. You tear it down and renew it all. Driving this not dead yet tranny is not a problem. It is dead it is just still working. That said godofwar this tranny is dead
Ditto.
While a partial repair on a very low miles transmission may be done under warranty (that’s all the car maker will pay for, depending) when it comes to a high mileage transmission there should be no piece work.
It needs a complete overhaul and to take care of that leaking radiator cooler permanently simply disconnect it and add on an aftermarket cooler.
The AM coolers are inexpensive, worth their weight in gold, and cool a lot better than the radiator unit anyway.
well, at this point i think you guys are right. the solution sucks but i don’t see an easy way out. thanks for the help all of you