93 Es 300 Stuck In 2nd Gear!

[berry]

hello i just purchsed a 93 lex and my problem is that when a put it in drive it does not go in first gear it feels like its in second and when i accelerate all the other gears work fine, i tried putting it in low gear and it works but the acceleration is still slow. what do you guys think is the problem?this week im going to get an engine flush and a major tune up but if the problem still persists do you think it might be the senors?

[Toysrme]

Drive the car around for 5-10 min, park and check the fluid level with the enigne idling.

Shift lever connections are worn out, solenoid for first gear is malfunctioning

If it *does* actually get into first gear, the torque convertor may be locked up when it shouldn't be.

[berry]

Drive the car around for 5-10 min, park and check the fluid level with the enigne idling.

Shift lever connections are worn out, solenoid for first gear is malfunctioning

If it *does* actually get into first gear, the torque convertor may be locked up when it shouldn't be.

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Hello Toysrme,

Yes it does shift into first gear, ONLY when i put the gear shifter into "L" or into 1st gear, and when i press on the gas, yes i feel a strong pull, BUT when i go back to "D" it feels like its taking off in Second gear very slow acceleration.

Today im going to drive it around for 10 minutes and check the ATF, with the engine idling.

So if this problem persists, the torque converter needs to be unlocked? and the ATF seems kinda black ?? I really need to flush it out.

[Toysrme]

If the fluid is that blackish, always start with the fluid! If it's really, really dark, and you're not comfortable flushing it out, drain the pan & refill (dip-stick) drive around the block. Drain the pan again & refill. That changes (statistically) more than half the fluid out. Dump in a $5 can of Seafoam Trans-Tune. That'll help clean the crap stuck in the restof the old fluid.

It may fix it, it may not. You amy do it and the entire things falls out of the car the next day. But you can't diagnose much on an A/T if the fluid is worn out. (Or it's not an obvious problem/TCCU code)

Speaking of which. All the ECU's they used on 3vz-fe's... are about the most tolerant things of all time. They hardly ever throw a code. Open either of the diagnostic ports. Take something (wire, paperclip) andbridge E1 and TE1. Make sure the O/D light flashes on/off quickly and never changes speed. If there is a tranny code, it will show up then.

The torque convertor lock-up may, or may not be the problem. I was just throwing ideas out there.

[berry]

Hello Toysrme,

I will do what you said in your first advice, I'll drain out the ATF fluid, then refill it again, then drain out the ATF again then refill it with the "SeaFoam" you mentioned. I never heard of this product? ill check if they have it at kmart or any other auto store maybe NAPA? Ill do that first and ill tell you what is the results thanks so much for helping me out.

I dont thik ill do that bridge E1 and TE1 right now thats kinda advance for me.

Also, on my gauges the OD lights doenst even show at all? even if i turn the OD off it doesnt even turn on? and my Fuel Gauge is blinking alot, and sometimes the gauges of the RPM or the Speedometer dont work, and sometimes it works nicely? i think my cluster is going out?? lol

[berry]

Hey whats up well I did what you said about the trans and the sea foam and the trans is smooth except that it is still stuck in 2nd gear when I put it in drive. so what what do you think I should do now?

[Toysrme]

Wire, paperclip, anything conductive and bent...

And here you see how the CEL and O/D flashes on and off (among other things)

Flip the black plastic cover up, shove something between E1 and TE1, and make sure the O/D light is flashing on/off at the same speed. You just tchanged transmission fluid man. This is not advanced LoL!

Something is not right... I think it might be the way you are describing being "stuck in second gear" like you're skipping first gear completely.

From a dead stop put it in drive and start accelerating like normal, to say 55mph. Roughly how many rpm are you turning when you hit 25mph?

[steviej]

rather than put it in D, why not try 1 and see if it will start to move from there.

steviej

[Toysrme]

He did. It's hidding in the information somewhere.

[berry]

Hello Toysrme,

Thanks so much for the pics... yeah i knew that wasnt advanced what i did.. haha.. first i drained the trans fluid, then i added about 4 quarts, but man 4 quarts was above the FULL line???

then i drove the car for it to heat up, then i added the SeaFoam Trans Tune at my local PostOffice parking lot, then i drove it again for about 5-10 miles.

My friends and i drained the fluid again, then put about 3 and a half quarts of trans fluid in the tranny again, the shifting is pretty smooth now.

I can take off in 1st gear just fine, i just put it in "L" and it takes off good! alot of torque man.

So ill try what you put in the pics, the fluid of the trans is nice and red now :)

[berry]

also my OD light doesnt show up at all even if i put overdrive off? the light for the temperature on the way left , the needle doesnt light at all.. and my gas gauge is flickering.. i think my cluster is dying out...

[berry]

Well we did that tonight, I dont know if we did it correctly? I got my lower control arms installed by my friend, after that we took a paperclip, and jumped the E1 and TE1, while the car was in ACC, is this correct?

I saw the engine light blink steadily, but i cant see the OD light, i think the lamp might be burned out.

But the car still takes off in 2nd gear. It seems more powerful now in "L" first gear.

The car around 55mph i believe is around 2-3,000 RPM ill see again tonight, thanks for all the help.

[steviej]

He did. It's hidding in the information somewhere.

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Sorry, my bad, missed that line. tends to happen when you read >25 threads a night.

steviej

[Toysrme]

Just pointing it out steve. ;)

Berry you did great! The temp light is off, but as long as the needle moves into the range it's OK.

I think you can access the O/D light in one of the diagnostic ports. I forget which, but I think the one under the dash in the driver's foot well. Sitting in the driver's seat, kick straight up with your left foot. Where your shin hits there is a second little white Diagnostic's port. I think it's in that one. Look for (obviously) something like O/D, or ETC.

If you have a volt meter, you can plug into it (and E1 - ground) and watch for a voltage. It'll probably be something like 0 volts for O/D on, and 12v for O/D off. Some kind of pattenr like that. (I'm guessing, never played with it)

Here's what I think happened. I bet it had been a problem for while, and the transmission stored the code. Tripping the O/D light for a long time and burning the light out.

I'm guessing it's a malfunctioning #1 shift solenoid valve. If you have a volt meter (or multi meter) you can test it through the diangostics port.

From the OBD-I Toyota transmission repair/diagnostics manual:

In L, obviously you will read 0-1v.

In D, you ought to read 0-1 volts, then swap to 2 volts when it changes to second gear.

From the Toyota A540-E A541-E repair manual: See if your shifting follows the #1 shift solenoid malfunction colum in this table:

If it looks like a solenoid is dead, I would take it to a mechanic and tell them you think X is dead. Saving a bunch of money VS a rebuild, new unit, or hours of diagnostic fees. They're a pain in the !Removed! to change out (unless it's a simple bad electrical connection), so I'll forgo the repair directions for now unless you think that's the problem & wanna give it a go.

Anyways, I think that may be the problem, but I wouldn't rule anything else out yet. Just me "thinking out loud".

[berry]

oh ok, yes i have a Digital MultiMeter, ill check it out soon. my brother has a friend that used to work at Nissan for many years, now he is at another shop. Ill have my brother talk to him about it and what you said about the solenoid.

Ill post my results soon when i check the voltage when it is in "D", thanks for the help.

J Berry