Transmission won't shift after DIY Transmission service

Hi all, I went from a 2010 prerunner to this 1997 Deluxe 4wd access cab with the 2.7 and auto tranny. 215k hard miles. Bought it cheap and decided to drain all fluids and start fresh. I just changed the tranny filter and oil (did not flush) and it won't come out of my garage. I can move the shifter but when it tries to change gear nothing happens. Engine revs a little more for a second and then nothing. Dipstick is reading perfect on the "cold" part of the dipstick. Transmission shifted perfectly before I did this...I read in other forums that this thing could happen if you flush the tranny, but I didn't think it would do it if I just drained and refilled. Worried I destroyed it somehow.

 

how much did you drain and how much did you fill & what transmission fluid did you use?

 

When you drained the transmission fluid, you removed all of the friction material that was suspended in the fluid.
The only fix is to replace the transmission, or have it rebuilt.

Was the fluid really dirty?

 

Probably not enough fluid. How much did you put in with a Drain and Fill?

 

yikes

 

I caught a gallon and then I guessed about a quart came out when I removed the filter. Added as close as I could the amount that I changed. Yes all the fluid was disgusting and black. Idiot who had it before me didn't take care of it at all. I've added another quart just to see, same thing. Valvoline full synthetic Dex II/III approved. Not Toyota but correct fluid.

 

i had no idea something like that could happen with a simple drain and fill and filter change!

 

really? by draining the fluid, you now have to repair the transmission?? That must apply to engine oil change too then....

 

So vehicle shift into R N D etc but wont move? Is that the issue?

Did you happen to unplug any harness/pigtail from the multiple solenoid by accident when removing filter for better access? If so, that might be your problem.

Another thing to consider is, did you by chance move/adjust or take off the shifter rod attachment to the neutral safety switch. Highly unlikely cause, but a slightly off-alignment to the switch can cause your issue as well.

One more thing and I seen it happen before many time. You didn't drain the ATF fluid and accidentally top off your motor oil instead right?

 

It does happen but not that often. Happened to me once. Was doing a service on a car at work which included a drain and fill of the transmission. The fluid was beyond black, who knows if it was ever changed. The car had well over 100K on it.
I finished the service, put the car in reverse and it didn't want to move (it had the correct amount of fluid). From that day we tell customers with high mileage cars and lack of maintenance that it could happen.

 

True but usually they fail in a couple hundred miles. Not much better but still.

 

I would let it sit for a couple days but only start it up.Dont try to move it until the third day just to make sure the fluid has lubricated everything.Sounds stupid but we had issues after a fluid change where it had bad shifting and letting it sit worked.

 

Customer paid for labor and Lexus paid for the transmission.

 

Which one was more?

 

The customer portion, haha

 

Transmission.

 

You need to go by the actual fluid capacity when you fill it instead of just adding however much you think came out.

As mentioned, the black particulates were suspended friction materials from deterioted clutches. Sounds like it's time for a rebuild

 

This is the correct assessment. When a transmission is abused and the fluid is never changed, excessive wears happens. The black nasty ATF is holding suspended clutch material in it and keeping the transmission shifting properly. As soon as you drain out that old fluid and replace it with new fluid, you lost that friction material. Also, an abused transmission will have sludge build up in it. ATF has detergents in it. When you introduce new fluid with fresh detergents in it, it can break loose some of that sludge and then it can potentially cause problems like blocking passages in the valve body causing the transmission to be starved of fluid.

 

the big question is... since you replaced the filter are the little gaskets on the filter missing or possibly double gasketed. if theyre not there or double gasketed the transmission fluid wont get pumped into the transmission valve body

basically the pump wont create suction to pull the fluid into the valve body