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Thread: A/T Oil Temp Light after climbing steep grade (1989 Toyota TownAce)

  1. #1
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    A/T Oil Temp Light after climbing steep grade (1989 Toyota TownAce)

    Just to start I am a 17 year old kid with little to no knowledge of anything mechanical. I recently decided to fulfill my dream of fixing up and working with cars by buying a 1989 Toyota TownAce SuperDuty 4x4 Automatic Transmission (right side drive) van. I have absolutely loved this thing, I just need some help getting started, and this is the perfect place!

    So, this post got erased so I'm going to cut out the story. But basically today was the first day I've used my van on a steep grade. On the highway the van is awesome, never breaking halfway on the engines thermometer (which i have read on this forum already that I should replace, thank you) and really never passing 4k rpm's. Today while bringing it up the canyon it immediately began to slow, to a whopping 40-50kph, basically 30mph and slower. I initially thought that this must be normal, just an old van, slow speeds, I'll have to get used to cars passing me going double my speed, haha. It wasn't until the A/T Oil Temp Light came on that I understood something wasn't quite right. Knowing I needed to stop and let it cool down, but not yet experiencing any mechanical problems of my knowledge, I began to look for a place to safely stop which I decided was just probably 5ishmiles up/down the canyon at a nearby town. After climbing slowly I began to head downhill which is when I realized the transmission clearly wasn't shifting correctly. The rpm's were fluttering all over the place, and for lack of a better term, the engine sounded bad. I popped it into neutral and coasted down the canyon until it flattened out and the I drove on fluttery rpm's until I stopped to let it cool. Once starting it back up the A/T Light was gone, but It still sounded, weird (Sorry for my terminology) and the rpm's were still fluttering. I decided to rev it to 5000rpm which is when it finally switched and it fixed it. This same problem happened going back home up the same canyon, but resolved itself once getting back to flat ground/the highway, and acted normal after that and was fine for a 1 1/2 hour freeway drive home, with no ntoicable issues or changes from day to day driving.

    So, here are my questions.
    Was the transmissions oil temp the cause of the fluttering rpms and trouble switching gears? Does my A/T Oil need immediate replacement? Is it possible I have any major mechanical issues with my tranny? Will the van always struggle with steep grades? How should I handle this situation if it happens again? Based on my very mechanically uneducated description, how would you proceed in fixing this problem? If nothing is wrong and it is just slow, is there anything I can do to increase speeds uphill?

    Like I said, I have super limited knowledge of this stuff, but, I deeply desire to learn to maintain this vehicle through hard work and love. I'm going to need some help if i want to learn this kind of stuff because sadly my dad did not grow up around engines and cars in general. If any of you have any tips or suggestions for me as a new van owner, or any curated threads that you would link me to, I'd definitely appreciate it, as I want to make this bad boy run as smooth as possible.

    I understand that I know nothing about this stuff, but with some feedback and suggestions I think I'll slowly start to figure out what I'm doing I truly hope this doesn't come across as wishing to waste anyone's time, I just genuinely need some fingers pointing me in the right direction to help me figure this out.

    Thank you to anyone who reads this or even responds, I truly appreciate it.

    -Kaden and Miyagi, my 1989 Toyota TownAce.

  2. #2
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    Re: A/T Oil Temp Light after climbing steep grade (1989 Toyota TownAce)

    I got this same description of symptoms from a guy I recently bought a classic 1978 26' Winnebago from. "It worked fine most of the trip from Denver to Seattle but slipped when going up or down hills. Then it got worse and barely made it to where it's parked. I'll sell it to you cheap because I think it needs a new transmission and will need to be towed. " he says. 5 quarts of fluid later and it shifted flawlessly on the 1 1/2 hr drive home including up and down hills.

    Your first check should be fluid level and condition. With the transmission at normal operating temp check the fluid level parked on flat ground with the engine running. It should be bright red and not smell burnt and most importantly, full. Some models of transmissions are VERY finicky about fluid level and even a pint low will cause erratic shifting. If it's low, top it up and try a hill again. If it works better then find the leak(The fluid went somewhere). At that point, a full fluid change would probably be a good idea.

  3. #3
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    Re: A/T Oil Temp Light after climbing steep grade (1989 Toyota TownAce)

    Quote Originally Posted by originalkwyjibo View Post
    I got this same description of symptoms from a guy I recently bought a classic 1978 26' Winnebago from. "It worked fine most of the trip from Denver to Seattle but slipped when going up or down hills. Then it got worse and barely made it to where it's parked. I'll sell it to you cheap because I think it needs a new transmission and will need to be towed. " he says. 5 quarts of fluid later and it shifted flawlessly on the 1 1/2 hr drive home including up and down hills.

    Your first check should be fluid level and condition. With the transmission at normal operating temp check the fluid level parked on flat ground with the engine running. It should be bright red and not smell burnt and most importantly, full. Some models of transmissions are VERY finicky about fluid level and even a pint low will cause erratic shifting. If it's low, top it up and try a hill again. If it works better then find the leak(The fluid went somewhere). At that point, a full fluid change would probably be a good idea.
    First of all thanks for the reply! I've checked the fluid level and condition and I would describe it as, okay. The fluid is not bright red in color, but still resembles a pink hue. The fluid has a slightly burnt smell to it but the coloring isn't horrible. I'm not sure if I left the van idling and in park/n/d/2/l for long enough, but it did seem to be at the right level at the hot line after letting it run. I'm thinking at this point I should do a refill by draining the pan and inserting 2.6 qts into the tranny, (what the owners manual suggests.) Would this be your logical next step as well, or would you suggest something else? I've attached an image below that shows the coloring, the photo makes it look slightly more brown than it appears in person, I'd describe it as a pink color with small brown tint.

    Thanks again,

    Name:  ATOil.jpg
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    "Just a young man and his van. I may be tan, but how the hell am I gonna fix this van?" -myself 2k19

  4. #4
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    Re: A/T Oil Temp Light after climbing steep grade (1989 Toyota TownAce)

    That fluid is bad. Change it... AND search kickdown cable. Also some things to look at. Factory service manual: https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/...-engine-manual

    Browse through similar transmission articles... could be as simple as a solenoid or something else....

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    Re: A/T Oil Temp Light after climbing steep grade (1989 Toyota TownAce)

    Thanks for the insight! I’ll check out some more articles and download that service manual. You guys are lifesavers, thanks so much!
    "Just a young man and his van. I may be tan, but how the hell am I gonna fix this van?" -myself 2k19

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    Re: A/T Oil Temp Light after climbing steep grade (1989 Toyota TownAce)

    It's good to see a younger guy trying to learn about this stuff! To be fair and honest, I don't know much about the Van manual trans, but have messed around plenty with A340's and others out of the pickups. Top problems were bad shift solenoid, fouled filter and old burnt atf.

    Your van more than likely has a dedicated cooling bank in the Radiator. The atf is routed through it to help cool, air is pulled through cooling fins to aid in this process...

    Single best addition I did to any auto was add an after market cooler for the trans... Problem with this on the Vans is, WHERE?

    There is one decent spot... but it's quite a ways away from the trans... directly behind the front bumper.

    The manual will have a troubleshooting section for the auto trans... skim through that first.

    Some quick things that come to mind are the valve body, torque converter, throttle cable out of whack and believe it or not the TPS (Totally unrelated to the transmission).

    First swap the fluid and get some fresh stuff in there. Then go from there.

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    Re: A/T Oil Temp Light after climbing steep grade (1989 Toyota TownAce)

    Just a quick question before I buy the fluid. I’ve read that I should keep it OEM and go with Toyota’s atf type T-IV and I’ve also read to use Dexron VI, anyone have any further insight or preferences? Maybe something I haven’t seen yet? I didn’t find an answer on the forum and it doesn’t specify in my service/repair manual, hopefully this hasn’t been answered already! For anyone that is searching the forum with this same question: What transmission fluid should I use?
    "Just a young man and his van. I may be tan, but how the hell am I gonna fix this van?" -myself 2k19

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    Re: A/T Oil Temp Light after climbing steep grade (1989 Toyota TownAce)

    Quote Originally Posted by kadenhart View Post
    Just a quick question before I buy the fluid. I’ve read that I should keep it OEM and go with Toyota’s atf type T-IV and I’ve also read to use Dexron VI, anyone have any further insight or preferences? Maybe something I haven’t seen yet? I didn’t find an answer on the forum and it doesn’t specify in my service/repair manual, hopefully this hasn’t been answered already! For anyone that is searching the forum with this same question: What transmission fluid should I use?
    Everything I have read said to use:

    Auto Trans Fluid
    Toyota T-IV

    It's the default option for your ride... I also see it listed for about 5-6 bucks a quart everywhere. Not sure what your capacity is on that trans.

    Both of these would be good options.

    https://www.amazon.com/Idemitsu-3004...NsaWNrPXRydWU=
    https://www.amazon.com/Toyota-00279-...s%2C198&sr=8-4

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