From: petekbuys on
On Feb 23, 3:19 pm, harley.chapp...(a)gmail.com wrote:
> I have a 95Toyota4Runner4x4 V6 with 137k and an automatic
> transmission. Today the transmission got stuck in 2nd and wouldn't
> upshift any further. I was about an hour from home so I just kept it
> slow, about 25-30 mph for a mile or so and then the trans upshifted
> but would not stay inoverdriveat highway speeds 65-70; it kind of
> "bounced" back and forth from drive andoverdrive. It has fluid and
> hadn't shown any problems till today. Any advice is greetly
> appreciated. Thanks.


From: petekbuys on
On Feb 23, 3:19 pm, harley.chapp...(a)gmail.com wrote:
> I have a 95Toyota4Runner4x4 V6 with 137k and an automatic
> transmission. Today the transmission got stuck in 2nd and wouldn't
> upshift any further. I was about an hour from home so I just kept it
> slow, about 25-30 mph for a mile or so and then the trans upshifted
> but would not stay inoverdriveat highway speeds 65-70; it kind of
> "bounced" back and forth from drive andoverdrive. It has fluid and
> hadn't shown any problems till today. Any advice is greetly
> appreciated. Thanks.

The V6 4runners won't go into overdive unless the ECT (tramsmission
control) computer is receiving a signal telling it that the engine has
reached operating temperature. If your thermostat is OK, and the
temperature gauge reads about midway, then try this: locate the engine
coolant temperature sensor. It's on the top of the engine, drivers
side, up near the firewall, it's the sensor with a 2 wire plug, next
to the single wire (gauge) sender. After the engine has warmed up,
shut off the engine, pull the connector off the sensor, and fit a 150
ohm (brown-green-brown) resistor, any rating, across the two
connections.You can just stick the resistor leads into the connector.
This will "trick" the ECU into thinking that the engine has reached
operating temperature. You can tape up the resistor/ connector so it
doesn't short out against anything, then restart the car. If the trans
now shifts OK, then the problem is the coolant temperature sensor. You
can actually drive the car like this without any problem, although it
might be a llittle difficult to start when dead cold. The sensor is
about $30 at NAPA. I started experiencing this problem when the
outside temperature began dropping, a new sensor fixed the truck!