[Chaotic Neutral]

My poor 1989 NA (auto) is back on the road after waiting 2 years for me to fix her.

I've posted about this before, but to save you guys from searching for it, the problems are:

1. Won't shift into D, without shift lock.
2. Must shift through gears manually (no overdrive)
3. NA jokes aside, total lack of power going up hills. Just feels like it's not trying. Even on a flat, it just feels like it barely wants to move. This is my 4th NA, so I know the difference between a slow car, and a not functioning car.
4. Antilock light is on.
5. Brake light not on, engine light not on.


I've taken it into Toyota twice, and had several others look at it. Results have ranged from bad ECU, bad tranny, to "it needs a tune up".

Swapped the ecu, no change. Guy that recommended that (Toyota), was fired that week. Go figure. Replacement guy said my transmission was completely shot. Car was smoking on startup, charged me $800+ to replace valves. Still smokes on startup......

Paid someone (ase mechanic, been in tranny business for 12 years) to work on car. He decided to go through the tranny: No metal shavings found. He says he replaced the torque converter, filter, seal, new fluid. According to him, it ran great after that. On the day he brought it back, light came back, back to square one. Looking at negotiating a refund or something....I feel I paid for a service that didn't fix anything....let me know if you guys feel that I'm right or wrong on this.

If it's an ABS problem, is there any reason to take the trans apart?

Going to take it into another shop today, but thought I'd get opinions/suggestions from you folks.

And/or if there's anyone in the Woodstock/Canton GA area that would like to help.....I have plenty of beer to bribe people with.

Good news is the car passed emissions with amazing numbers. But there's a strange noise in the engine bay, and the exhaust smells funny. Sounds like it's misfiring, too. All are new symptoms since the trans guy worked on the car.

I just can't win. :rant2:

 

[DegreE]

Do a 5sp swap.

That auto tranny is shot.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Do a 5sp swap.

That auto tranny is shot.

So the verdict would be....the guy who worked on it: didn't look hard enough, doesn't know what he's talking about, or just lied?

 

[Hitman]

I have a like new auto tranny sitting out in my garage, its still connected to my N/A engine, 100 bucks+shipping and its yours.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

I have a like new auto tranny sitting out in my garage, its still connected to my N/A engine, 100 bucks+shipping and its yours.

I appreciate that. The car is at the shop as we speak, so we'll see what the verdict is. I did have an extra transmission, but found metal shavings in that one...decided not to use it. I'll keep you in mind. :wavey:

As one would expect: No antilock light, and it shifted into Drive just fine, when I took it over there. Much more power, but did kick a bit when going through the gears. particularly when it down shifted.

Huge difference from this morning.

If I had to gauge it, I'd say this morning was around 40% of what it should drive like. With the light off, it was closer to 80%.

 

[Hitman]

1. Won't shift into D, without shift lock.
Bad Tranny

2. Must shift through gears manually (no overdrive)
Bad bands in the transmission, most likely

3. NA jokes aside, total lack of power going up hills. Just feels like it's not trying. Even on a flat, it just feels like it barely wants to move. This is my 4th NA, so I know the difference between a slow car, and a not functioning car.
Torque Converter sounds shot

4. Antilock light is on.
fussnuggets, idk

5. Brake light not on, engine light not on.
fussnuggets, idk

.

 

[dck1ng69]

I just had like basically the same problem in my turbo auto tranny, you can 5 speed swap if you want,but it'll be more expensive and more work. My car when it was fucked up everytime I came to a stop I had to put it in L then 2 then D once it was up to speed, annoying as shit. What I ended up doing was I found a trans from some guy that owned a car shop in Sacramento, it was $200. Then I bought like 8 quarts of automatic trans fluid only ended up using 6 which was $50, if you plan on putting in the auto trans USE THE RIGHT FLUID! It says on the dipstick. I also got a new trans filter and gasket $20 then I payed a friend to do most of the work because it was a bit to much for my skills and that was $160, now my car drives fantastic. Also I'm not sure if the car has abs if you have to put a trans from a car that had abs into your car, my car has abs so I was a little paranoid about it so I made sure that the donor trans had the same setup that my car has. Whatever you end up doing good luck, just that you should hear from someone who has an auto and has had auto problems a lot of people on this forum aren't really helpful when it comes to this subject.

 

[DegreE]

1. Won't shift into D, without shift lock.
Bad Tranny

Wrong. That is a faulty shift lock release solenoid. A solenoid that engages when the brake pedal is pressed in.

2. Must shift through gears manually (no overdrive)
Bad bands in the transmission, most likely

3. NA jokes aside, total lack of power going up hills. Just feels like it's not trying. Even on a flat, it just feels like it barely wants to move. This is my 4th NA, so I know the difference between a slow car, and a not functioning car.

Simplest thing: Transmission filter clogged
Biggest issue: Transmission is bad

4. Antilock light is on.
fussnuggets, idk

http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/TechTips/abs_error_codes.aspx

 

[Nocheez]

I just had like basically the same problem in my turbo auto tranny, you can 5 speed swap if you want,but it'll be more expensive and more work. My car when it was fucked up everytime I came to a stop I had to put it in L then 2 then D once it was up to speed, annoying as shit. What I ended up doing was I found a trans from some guy that owned a car shop in Sacramento, it was $200. Then I bought like 8 quarts of automatic trans fluid only ended up using 6 which was $50, if you plan on putting in the auto trans USE THE RIGHT FLUID! It says on the dipstick. I also got a new trans filter and gasket $20 then I payed a friend to do most of the work because it was a bit to much for my skills and that was $160, now my car drives fantastic. Also I'm not sure if the car has abs if you have to put a trans from a car that had abs into your car, my car has abs so I was a little paranoid about it so I made sure that the donor trans had the same setup that my car has. Whatever you end up doing good luck, just that you should hear from someone who has an auto and has had auto problems a lot of people on this forum aren't really helpful when it comes to this subject.

First gear no longer moved my car without major slippage, so I replaced it with another auto. That auto made very interesting noises (clanging, etc) about 4K miles later. I replaced it with a 5-speed and have had no issues since. It would have been easier to just go 5-speed from the start.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Quick update:

Diagnosis from the mechanic is: Total confusion.

The light was off when I took it over, and the car was actually running very well. Went through the gears, even overdrive. Felt like it had decent power.

Now the light is back on, and the car is back in castration mode.

Problem is, it's giving ZERO error codes. They've checked for error codes several times, and it comes back as operating fine. And yet, the light is on.

They also did a stall test, and it failed that. 2200rpm on drive, 2000rpm on reverse, before the wheels moved. Apparently 1600-1800 was the goal. Might have heard wrong on that part, but it definitely failed.

More tests tomorrow.

So, this doesn't look good for the trans guy who said it was fine......

Sorry, but 5 speed is somewhat out of the question, unless it can be done for cheaper than fixing the auto tranny. I'm getting let go from my work at the end of the month, and just can't manage any large expenses.

 

[7M-GTE_kid_1]

Mine was doing this and I just relized 2 days ago, after driving shifting gears manually for two weeks, that i blew the ECU-IG fuse. Its a 15A fuse. im pissed because i checked all the fuses already. and sure enough when i changed it, the antilock brake went off and i was able to dpress the brake to get it out off park. i was so happy and felt a little acomplished over this little thing. But yea do the manually tranny swap and NA-T swap. O and let me guess. U have no power steering eithe right? Dont manually shift the trans because you will fuck it up.

Let me know how this goes,
best of Luck!

P.S. Sorry about u losing the job and if this is the issue then its the cheapest fix for our Money pits...i mean beloved supras.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Mine was doing this and I just relized 2 days ago, after driving shifting gears manually for two weeks, that i blew the ECU-IG fuse. Its a 15A fuse. im pissed because i checked all the fuses already. and sure enough when i changed it, the antilock brake went off and i was able to dpress the brake to get it out off park. i was so happy and felt a little acomplished over this little thing. But yea do the manually tranny swap and NA-T swap. O and let me guess. U have no power steering eithe right? Dont manually shift the trans because you will fuck it up.

Let me know how this goes,
best of Luck!

Actually, I do have power steering. Steering was just fine.

Na-T swap? I never mentioned messing with the engine. Car's fine the way it is, I just want it to run properly, lol.

Also...just curious....what's wrong with manually shifting the tranny, as long as I shift at proper rpm?

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Forgot to mention, the trans guy didn't just put a new torque converter in, but according to him, he tore down the whole trans and rebuilt it.

So...if there's a problem in the trans, it's going to be his problem very quickly. :madf:

 

[7M-GTE_kid_1]

...Oh and if you say it was back on again, then maybe the sneaky mechanic did replace the fuse but also got as much money ass he could out of you. if so then try using a bigger fuse...?

Again i really hope this helps.

did you check that fuse???? Im telling you it may be worth your while. idk how the fuse played into the tranny but my car shifts now.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

...Oh and if you say it was back on again, then maybe the sneaky mechanic did replace the fuse but also got as much money ass he could out of you. if so then try using a bigger fuse...?

Again i really hope this helps.

did you check that fuse???? Im telling you it may be worth your while. idk how the fuse played into the tranny but my car shifts now.

You might be onto something there. When I talked with the new shop, they mentioned that I had a blown turn signal fuse.

Except, that my turn signals work fine. And after looking at the diagram for the fuse panel, the turn signal fuse is directly above the ECU-1G fuse.

http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Library/TSRM/MK3/manual.aspx?Section=BE&Page=13

I wonder if they got them mixed up, and I actually do have a blown ECU-IG. I'll swing by tomorrow morning, before they get too far into anything else, and have them check that.

Be great if it's something as simple as a short....

 

[7M-GTE_kid_1]

You might be onto something there. When I talked with the new shop, they mentioned that I had a blown turn signal fuse.

Except, that my turn signals work fine. And after looking at the diagram for the fuse panel, the turn signal fuse is directly above the ECU-1G fuse.

http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Library/TSRM/MK3/manual.aspx?Section=BE&Page=13

I wonder if they got them mixed up, and I actually do have a blown ECU-IG. I'll swing by tomorrow morning, before they get too far into anything else, and have them check that.

Be great if it's something as simple as a short....

You'd be surprised. I was upset when i found out. i actually laughed to when it was something that simple. Best of luck to you though. and if they did kno it was the fuse then you better get all your money back my man, or else they just took advantage of you.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

You'd be surprised. I was upset when i found out. i actually laughed to when it was something that simple. Best of luck to you though. and if they did kno it was the fuse then you better get all your money back my man, or else they just took advantage of you.

Well, looks like that was a bust. The ecu fuse was fine. All the electrical checks out. Only fuse that was blown was my turn signals. Which still strikes me as odd, as the turn signals worked just fine.....unless I've misunderstood how a fuse works.

Now they're testing the solenoids in the tranny.

Or rather, they will tomorrow morning. Which seems to be when they test most things....They seem pissed off when I call, too. Not exactly getting a good vibe from them; but they have a good reputation.

 

[7M-GTE_kid_1]

OOUCH!!! i was sure that was the issue, im sorry man. It sucks that you couldnt have checked the fuses yourself. they may have just lied to you about which fuse was blown, especially seeing how the turn signals were working. They had no need to replace the turn signal fuse if they were working, its all just a little to fishy. i would ask them to show you the blown fuse and to make sure it in fact was a 7.5A fuse fot the turns. I wouldnt care if they seemed pissed, customer satisfaction is also one of their priorities that they need to pay more attention to. I wouldnt sleep until i had gotten to the bottom of this because it all seem to cost a hell of a lot of money. This is why i hate anyone else to do the work on my car.

 

[7M-GTE_kid_1]

anymore news on this?

 

[davedub]

I have an auto that is f'in up big time and is driving me crazy but am working through it. One way to tell if the trans is bad or the ecu is to unplug the ect ecu and shift it normally(as per the tsrm) or when you are driving just start in L and go through the gears. You will feel it shift and how it shifts. If it is quick and gives a jolt, if the kickdown cable is tight and full throttle or close to it, then it isn't slipping. If there is a lag, more than a second, or a raised rpm, then the gear it is going into is shot. This is hard to explain but you will know it when you feel it. I have blown the trans in my old camaro twice and know it very well. 700r suck if you throw any power at them,:gtfoslap: I know my trans isn't bad as it shifts fine when going through the gears but every once in a while the trans "thinks" too much and does what it wants. The ony reason something could be wrong other than the ect ecu is that it will shift to third while the gear selector is in second. It will catch itself and shift back to second after a few moments. Drives me crazy.