This is a new one for me. Every-so-often, the transmission in my '89 1-ton w/ the 3VZ will "pop" out of gear. It's exactly like what happens in a manual transmission, it just jumps out-of-gear like it's in neutral. This happened first about a week ago. I pulled up to a stop sign, let off the brake and hit the gas, and the truck didn't go anywhere, just revved up really high - and then it "remembered" it was in drive and banged into gear. I thought maybe the shifter wasn't fully in drive, but it most definitely was.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was at a store with the truck on a slight incline trying to pull out of the parking lot and onto the road. I was waiting for traffic to pass, and when there was none I let off the brake. Truck didn't roll backwards but as soon as I hit the gas the engine revved up and the truck started rolling backwards!!! It scared THE CRAP out of me. I slammed on the brakes, and once again checked to make sure the shifter was in drive (which it was). While I was pressing the brakes, I pressed the gas and the truck wanted to move - so I let off the brakes and pulled away.

Fast forward a bit to 4 hours later. I'm on my way home driving through town... I'm going up a hill and an idiot dead stops in front of me to make a turn. I stop, and the idiot turns. I hit the gas and start to drive away, and within one second, I the engine revs up and the truck stops moving forward, but then jumps back into gear and drives normally.

This is pissing me off. Transmission shifts and acts normal, no issues other than this. After hour of searching all I can find is to replace the "shift lever bushing" but it only seems to apply to manual transmissions. My first thought was possibly the shift cable, because if I manually put the truck in 1st of 2n gear there doesn't seem to be any "slop" in the driveline - and it also doesn't seem to have this problem (although I haven't had the chance to test this theory TOO much - since this problem is random).

Anyone have any other things to look at? I'm going to look at the shift cable today if I get the chance, but it goes in PRN21 fine without jumping out of gear, so I dunno.

 

mine will do sorta the same thing but only in reverse if i gun it... i just have learned to hold the shifter when backing up... Interested in see what others say.

 

Sounds like your transmission might be slipping just a little bit,
A girl i know has a ford tauras and hers does that quiet often,
It will revv up like its in neutral and then kick in.
Now i know Fords and Chevrolets are COMPLETELY different from Yotas, But a lady i work with has a 2007 Suburban, and she came into work the other day and said that she stopped at the stop sign and when she tried to pull off it revved up really high but it was still in drive, she sat there for a second, put it in park, and back down in drive and it worked fine...
Not sure what to tell her i told her maybe she didn't have it completely in drive, but keep an eye on it, if it happens again get it checked out.
Well her husband dropped her off at work a couple days later and she told me her suburban was in the shop.
She proceeded to tell me...
Her transmission temperature light came on while she was driving the day before and told her to park and idle engine.
She did that then drove it home when it cooled down.
They towed it to the shop, and the mechanic told her it was the torque converter, and one of the solenoids in the transmission.
Now im not a transmission guy, but it seems like yall are having somewhat similar problems.
Maybe keep a close eye one it

 

Well, to ad to the bad news, now it's done it in reverse. I was backing up my driveway, and for about a whole second, I lost reverse and the engine revved up and it kicked back in. This is starting to become a real issue. I think I'm going to pick up some of the Lucas transmission stuff. I changed the filter about 3k ago and the fluid doesn't smell burnt or anything. I even make it a habit to check the oil and trans fluid every 500 miles or so.

 

doubt this will help you out much but dont pour a ton of the lucas stuff in there. if it's cold outside it makes it to thick and you'll be moving slower than 20mph till it warms up

 

....?

 

Yeah, I figured I'd be rebuilding/replacing the trans. Not good, this is currently the only vehicle I have. I'm going to throw some Lucas in there and see if that improves anything. I was really leaning towards the cable until it slipped out of reverse for a second. It just seems so random when it jumps out of gear. Doesn't matter if it's cold or warm. It sucks because I always let the truck warm up before driving it, and never beat on the thing. I'll never be able to find a used trans for this locally, and I don't have a few $$K to get it rebuilt.

 

Unsure what fluid is in the truck. The 1-ton has a remote trans filer, it's not a drop the pan and remove the filter job (although I'm sure there's probably one IN the pan also). I don't know if the filter could possibly be clogged already, I would think if it was clogged the truck would have trouble moving, not just jumping out-of-gear. Even then, the filter is a standard oil filter with a bypass valve, so that shouldn't be the issue. I was thinking of dropping the pan today to drain and replace some fluid when adding the Lucas (I'm thinking about two bottles of Lucas).

 

UPDATE:
So I checked the fluid last week, and it was at the right level. Well I looked today and there was a puddle underneath my truck after being in a store for a few minutes. It was transmission fluid. A LOT of transmission fluid. I checked my dipstick with the truck warm, on level ground, running in park - and it showed the level was OK. I waited a few minutes and checked it again, and it didn't even register on the dipstick. I waited a few more minutes again, and checked it - and it showed full.

VERY annoyed, when I got home I swapped the dipstick from the camper and the box truck. They're supposed to look the same, but the one from the box truck was screwed up. The zig-zags at the top were all sorts of messed up. I checked the fluid again after this, and it showed it was low. I added two quarts and it's at the level it's supposed to be when hot. I'll see if this fixes the problem (I'm hoping). I've fixed the leak already, it was where the rubber hose meats the metal line on the external transmission filter. I have this same leak on my car, where the rubber hose meets the metal line on the transmission cooler. I've had that car for 5 years and put 60,000 miles on it and no matter what I do I can't get it to stop leaking. I guess I'll need to be more religious on checking my fluids. Instead of every 500 miles I'm going to make a habit of checking every Sunday.

Wish me luck on that was the problem. Leaky transmission line and a messed up dipstick. It doesn't surprise me because I usually have to fight with that thing for 5 or 10 minutes to get it back into the transmission. Both dipsticks on the camper just slide right in. And both dipsticks on the box truck I have to fight with for 5 minutes. I think I need to find a new/used dipstick and tube.

I went to the autoparts store today to get a gasket and filter so I could drop the pan, and they didn't have any; and couldn't get one. It seems to be such a PITA to get parts for this truck. I'll have to go to UHAUL's website and see if they sell any type of transmission service kits. I need to get order myself some tires from UHAUL, possibly some pads, rotors, drums and shoes while I'm at it... Brakes are getting kinda shaky.

 

Well, I found my problem: