Bad Toyota Transmission..Can We Fix It For Free?

our high mile toyota 4runner sat for six months and when we went to use it again it had engine codes for shift solenoids not working. lets dig into what caused it and what we can do to fix it .

[@Dodge0359A]

Truck driver here, stuck in a very snowy Wintersville, OH at the moment... Perfect weather for stayin' parked, warm and cozy, curled up with my cat and watching some Mustie!

[@Plexico41522]

snowed in in a place called wintersville lol

[@staind288]

It's crazy because I'm in Chillicothe, oh and we were raining and in the 50's

[@easydoz1]

Looks like a case of dispatcher disease (Lies)....

[@staind288]

@@easydoz1 it could be snowing up to the lakes. The get cooler weather and snow when we don't

[@elijahwatson8119]

Hello from just down route 7 in Martins Ferry.

[@awesomeguy8392]

Such a great attitude. You laugh things off that would ruin my weekend. Nicely done.

[@EliteNK]

Exactly, when you do this life is much better

[@CBALLEN]

I appreciate your attitude too.Many mechanics throw tools and have a cussing fit when things don't go as planned.

[@brandon2076]

I gave you a solo standing ovation at my kitchen table when you shifted from R into D with no bang. I felt like i was there with you and we did a midair jumping high-five..................i'm lonely.....................

[@teknonut1946]

Good job Mr. Mustie! 20 some years ago trying to stretch extra miles out of one of my several chevy ( suzuki) sprints, I had a alternator go bad. There was no way to get a wrench on one of the bolts, I pulled the wheel and cut a 5 inch square hole in the wheel well and folded it back and had access to get on the nut of the bolt that was seized in the aluminum of the alt. Sealed the hole and put many more miles on it. Using those small drill bits for motor connector repair and carb cleaning tools is more expensive than guitar strings. Find a music shop where they replace strings and ask for the bits they cut off. Usually they are stainless in many sizes, starting at 10mm. If they don't have any cut offs just buy a single string the size you want .

[@notxarb21]

Between you and Eric at South Main Auto, it is fascinating to see what a man can do with some test equipment and deductive logic! And with both channels, there is that satisfaction that comes from repairing something without just throwing parts at the problem... like back in the old days (when I was a kid!). Now, to go online and find myself a set of pin drills... Have a good one, Mustie!

[@wickedness9866]

man that 4runner still has balls. that climb and smooth shift at 55 looked and sounded great

[@CTmoog]

Nothing like a Mustie1 video to get you through the rest of the week! Thanks for sharing your wisdom sir! I want one of those scanners!

[@colin8532]

I was looking at that too. I bought one of the wireless OBDII connectors a while ago and just connect it to my IPhone and downloaded a scanner app. Works pretty good.

[@TheVwgolfmk1]

When you got it to 70 and then cut to daylight, I thought you were going to show the car in the ditch or something. Well done Darren you saved a small fortune there with that fix.

[@TimothySCarlson]

All I have to say is - you lucky bastard. Run it on some bumpy road and make sure you don't have an intermittent connection. But otherwise - great job! Thanks for the vid.

[@cass276]

Mustie your the kind of guy who I would want to live across the street from me!..... (actually my dad was a bit like you, he fixed everybody's cars & bikes around where we used to live). he's been gone too many years now,....I'm a dad/granddad myself now, but I still miss/dream about him especially when I've got worries.

[@-DC-]

40 miles north of London UK watching a video of a vehicle not sold here, man I love your content!

[@Newman81964]

A lot of the vehicles are sold there, just with a different name on them. Many vehicles are exactly the same.

[@elonsus9747]

The Prado 120 series is the closest thing you can get to this 4Runner.

[@tomdale1313]

persistence coupled with skill/knowledge and faith in the lord sometimes moves mountains or as in Mustie 1 land results in enjoyable vicarious participation, thanks Mustie One for takin this ole man along again, hope to see you tackle that 1/4 panel on the ghia ...

[@65f100352]

Morning from snowy Michigan! Glad you got her fixed up! Just made a cup of hot tea and watched this. Makes for a good morning!

[@VIVAFPV]

greetings from Lansing

[@hankjones9212]

Jackson Mi is in here too. Michigan 4 Mustie!!!

[@treybarbour2146]

He’s the only man not scared to open up his pictures while making a video.

[@charger19691]

Fantastic repair Mustie. I really respect your tenacity and knowledge. From one mechanic to another, Salute!

[@ronmorgan7502]

Mustie1, I can’t tear myself away from watching you work. You are a very creative and persistent mechanic.

[@vwnut1967]

absolutely amazing repair sir. you had me hooked at " lets cut a hole in the tunnel" BIG THUMBS UP

[@VanWinger]

I had to give a thumbs up because you are an awesome friend and neighbor to Mustie1! Keep up the good content, it's nice to see all the great collabs!

[@ThatGuy_Hunter]

My buddy bought a $200 car that had a bad fuel pump, he cut a hole in the trunk to change it haha.

[@alcopower5710]

Hunter Atkinson .....I love it. Nice to improvise when possible

[@andygorst9741]

Even more impressive than the repair itself is the fact that no expletives were uttered during the video. I was swearing like a trooper and I was only watching.

[@dmgraham69]

WooHoo Mustie back again and coffee all done to sit and watch!

[@TheFurriestOne]

Dang, what a repair! I've done this with connectors not attached to anything just for fun, but never as neatly as this! Impressive repair!

[@robertwiscombe2109]

Unbelievable deduction and unbelievable patience. Very cool!

[@ronsites2694]

With all the rust you can tell where that car lived. Great troubleshooting as always. Thanks for another great video.

[@idlehour2652]

I have been watching your videos for a while and they are great. I own a shop down on Cape Cod Mass and know your pain with dealing with rust and corrision. This harness is a common issue on Toyota trucks I have replaced a few its cheep from the dealer. The issue I have found is the vehicle side they don't make a repair pigtail for it. I have found a place on Ebay that sells them cut off. its not a big deal. I was impressed with how you did this, defently something I would do on my own vehicle not a customers.thanks for all the great stuff.

[@googleplusisdead]

Care to let us/me know who/what your shop is? I have friends who have places on the Cape and would love to have a reliable, honest repair person/shop. RichE San Diego

[@rbarr775]

Really a masterful approach, even by Mustie standards. I just hope the 132nd pothole doesn't dislodge one of those pins...

[@henryzabel1746]

Back yard mechanics at its finest . Watching you cut into the trans. tunnel reminded me of my 55' Chevy . When working on the transmission , you could pull back carpet and remove some screws and there was a plate . Made for nice access to the bell housing bolts . Newer cars have made it almost impossible to get to anything . My favorite thing to do is to rebuild a non serviceable component . Kind of a personal challenge . Some times way easier than I thought , others not so much .

[@mustie1]

same here, its the thrill of the challenge

[@94233psu399154112333]

Always enjoy watching Mustie's videos. This dude should have been a surgeon. He'd fix you no matter what and would barely cost a thing.

[@interlinkplus8236]

One thing that was impressed on us Hard at Toyota Service school was to not be too quick to condemn components. They said in a rather smug manner that "Our (electrical) components almost NEVER fail. Don't be a parts re-placer, be a technician, look for opens, shorts, bad grounds instead.

[@lustfulvengance]

Heat, vibration, and corrosion are what causes 99% of electrical problems!

[@Photostudioww]

New Toyota service school teaches to cut a hole to properly look and diagnose.😂👍🤘

[@nabob14]

They never fail under warranty maybe, but they certainly fail after 4 or 5 years

[@interlinkplus8236]

@John Nicodemus; Yeah, luckily I was long gone by then, I worked there when the Supra and 4-Runner were the hot new thing, early 80s and 90s. I was the first in the U.S. to replace a Previa trans because a custom interior installer ran a huge self tapping screw through the case!

[@frankdeegan8974]

Mustie you are a brave soul delving into this kind of swamp, on the other hand it turned off the codes and hopefully now all will stay well, no more codes.

[@butters_147]

Atta boy!!! A Wizard, you are! Nice one Mustie. That must have felt good.

[@TheTed169]

I luv how you expose the car industry for over engineering vehicles to fail, yet how simple they can be fixed. This problem would cost us thousands of dollars for them to solve and to fix at the garage. kudos my friend and thank you.. I have learned a lot watching your vids. TFS!

[@ProlificInvention]

*Mustie1* I've said it before, favorite channel on KZbin. It appears many agree! Have a great day.

[@arewethereyet6413]

Proper combination of old school engineering, perseverance and new technology computerised scan tool. THATS a hard combination to beat, 10/10 Mustie.

[@AureliusR]

As an electronics guy, this was both amazing and painful to watch.

[@user-or1lu3ku3m]

Right from the beginning I was saying "just solder it"

[@tomjohnson9976]

Your mission....to boldly go where no man has gone before! Impressive work.

[@NA-sy2fm]

This has definitely changed my opinion on whether something is repairable or not.

[@chabka34]

Something is always repairable making it affordable is the tricky part

[@38911bytefree]

Hats off for the patience and the clever solution. I think that if the bolt holding the connector allow it to go out enough to get into the inner cables, I would solder some extension wiring, seal the connector hole put any connector from the hoard, and the matching one in the truck and plug the parts.

[@joegarrett8110]

You sir, are an absolute legend. By far my favourite you tuber, and iv learnt alot from you. Keep the videos coming 👍

[@man350z]

I have a great appreciation for people who fix their own vehicles, I myself own the Nissan Consult III Plus for my 370Z and have saved many times over, in Dealer labor cost with the Consult. Continue Mustie1 saving all that money.

[@posae86]

Using the old Fbody fuel pump access method, I love it!

[@maynard4026]

Everytime I watch your videos I am so taken back by how much rust and corrosion you have to deal with. I live in Southern California and I have never seen a rusty car like you work on.

[@staind288]

The back of the connector will come off to access the wire ends. They will then pull out and you can remove the obstructions and then reinsert into the correct pin hole and put the back on again

[@38911bytefree]

I would solder some extension wiring and use any other generic connector (same number of pins and current capacity) and install the matching part on the truck wiring ...

[@jimloreman9863]

I was wondering why he didn't do it that way to??

[@theone2be33]

As he explained in the video there was no room to do that. This is Mustie, you don't think his brain thought of a million solutions???

[@laoluu]

OK, it works for now, but I wonder for how long. Sorry, I'm not very optimistic on this one. Otherwise, I like Mustie videos. Very much!

[@skywalker_0427]

Superb!, am having a similar issue on my 05 truck p0977, and this video has given me great insight on how to resolve the issue, without breaking the banks. Thank you!!!!!

[@Contantq]

Nice job repairing that. Of course the warrenty is only good until sundown.

[@RedfishInc]

Yeah, it might last long enough to get it sold, then I guess it's someone else's problem.

[@duncanvincent9106]

This was so much fun to watch... and I know that feeling of eureka! when it finally pays off. Such patience and I’m glad it wasn’t me laying all contorted in your footwell!! Gem of a episode!

[@zx8401ztv]

i like your style mustie1, we need access.... now we have a door lol :-D All vehicles should have access panels, especially above the fuel tank, to get to the fuel pump.

[@junkman6456]

That is a security issue. Drain the fuel before removing the pump! Some burned their cars as they dont flushed the fuel tank.

[@georgestone1485]

Some MODELS DO & SOME DON'T. Pro Shops WOULDN'T get any business if they had access panels everywhere.

[@gooseknack]

I thought most cars did have access for the fuel tank.. every I've had has. Of course, they've been newer than 1990.. lol

[@gettintheresafelywithpatf2869]

Access panels are not an issue for fuel tanks, there is a reason why they aren’t used to often. Most technicians will drop the tank anyway, and the common backyard diner would not 1 have the tools & 2 have the common sense to use a brass drift to avoid creating sparks.

[@gettintheresafelywithpatf2869]

I know that it was easier to lift the bed on pickup trucks back in the 1980’s& 90’s, pull the sending unit & fuel pump then replace instead of dropping a full tank of gas! Come to think of it the only times I dropped tanks was to replace them because of a vandal, or to solder a hole in the tank with a torch!, having a second car running that day was a saving grace, connect exhaust system of running car to fill tube of open tank, let run for 20 min, then spark up the torch fix the tank, I did this in High School, in front of the teacher who said it was more or less a trashed tank and not worth while repairing... it was his scout, and he tried for 3 months to find a replacement tank. For a metal and wood shop teacher he was good, but put a car in front of him, you better run away and fast! The school paper was another issue, picture of me with a map gas torch working on a gas tank, with the head lines of “Somethings not Right, DON’T DO THIS AT SCHOOL”! The shop teacher ran that Scout for another 10 years! With his homemade wooden bumpers and the new auto shop handy work on the body.

[@victorbitter583]

Nice one Mustie1. You are what we would call in Aus, a real bush mechanic. cheers.

[@DuggleBogey]

Love fixes like this. There should be an access door there from the manufacturer!

[@cheeto4493]

Congrats, Good thing you didn't have to pull the trans. I had a 4x suburban once that was having shifting problems, final lost 1st. Had it replaced, not 2 weeks later had shifting problems again. Found out the front drive shaft had grabbed the trans wiring harness. Spent about 2 hours soldering and patching wires. Worked well afterwards.

[@silentdeath9237]

That is a connection that should be packed with dielectric grease just in case the seal fails.

[@tfindley007]

Good find/fix! As a bit of a mr. fixit myself, I didn’t even think of that for a repair! RESPECT

[@ravenfeather7087]

Good idea. Did essentially the same thing on the bed of an old Toyota PU to get at the top of the gas tank. No way were those rusted nuts and bolts on the straps going to come off. And the vehicle was about done because of rust. Also did something similar to get better access to the power window motor on a Ford PU. Providing such access panels is apparently beyond the expertise of the various auto manufacturers.

[@Photostudioww]

They always snap off , the weathered 10,12mms. I hate that.

[@kurtbaker4078]

I like the way you use the Keep It Simmple Stupid method. The old me would of been pulling down the trans. because that's how we were taught in College. Dealer mentality. Thank you sir.

[@brassman5]

Shitbox? Are you kidding? In Ohio this looks like a car I'd buy!

[@davidk6271]

Makes you wonder why they dont put an inspection port into that transmission tunnel. Good work, thanks for sharing

[@lllatham]

Dude I feel sorry for the next guy. You should have fixed with new solenoid and connector. That being said I would have done the same repair myself. Good Job Man!

[@paulcopeland9035]

He mentioned earlier that a new harness and solenoid was $800. There comes a time when a person just has to repair and not pull the trigger on the parts gun.

[@paulcopeland9035]

@GM Kof hard...Yep, he mentioned a few times that "road cancer" has had it's way with the Toyota. Sad, but 250k is really a "job well done" for a car in the northeast.

[@wes11bravo]

This is my kind of repair! I have an 07 Jeep XK Commander that has a wonky transmission, that if I had addressed at a shop would likely add up to more than the friggin thing is even worth. Love seeing you win this one!

[@CanonFirefly]

I'm glad it doesn't snow where I live. The bottom of that 10 year old car looks like a 50 year old car here.

[@miksedk]

Awesome job. It's very much an honor to know your channel. I keep sharing your channel cause I REALLY like your work. You remind me SO much of my granddad. He always let me look over his shoulders when he fixed the cars/TVs and Radios and so on. I'm much more musician, but I keep finding myself fixing things everywhere. You know those small everyday fixes, that make everyone else buy new products instead of having it fixed? Yeah :-D reading radiobooks circuit boards and so on. Always loved learning by myself.

[@MrPaige222]

If you like mustie as much as I do, you should also check out south main auto. He's also a great mechanic with an awesome sense of humor, just like mustie. I wish these 2 guys would meet someday.

[@MemphisApplegate]

Both guys are great, but operate under different constraints. Mustie is free to go as shade-tree as his imagination will allow, while SMA is restrained by standard or recognized professional standards. It would be unlikely that SMA would cut a trapdoor to get to that connector, or even attempt to repair the connector in the first place. By the way, I do agree with your whole comment.

[@jessemeeksjr.5064]

I thoroughly enjoy your videos. My wife found a VW Bug photo and thought you would like to see it but no way to send it to you. Keep up those videos. Keep on wrenching.

[@richardwarnock2789]

Mustie it's looking green in the connector, but the coffee is good with Mustie in the morning!!!

[@ckeller07]

Nice repair. Great to see you rework the repair several times to get it right!!!!! You were on the right track from the onset.

[@malcolmrowe1794]

Great fix Mustie, well done.

[@andrewmain3572]

Nothing more satisfying than a complicated fix that is successful. You have my permission to celebrate with a burger and a couple of beers.

[@whoolph]

Great patience D . . . congrats . . . . Rog

[@toddleather9195]

Cutting the hole was a good idea, I once replaced a heater core that way. nice fix Mustie

[@danielsweeney6742]

Mustie looking at your access hole in the tunnel. Your cross out where not to cut looks like it could be Japanese for do not cut! Lol!

[@chrissscottt]

I'm amazed it all lined up and didn't lose connection. Nice job.

[@lowrider441]

Very well done. A tricky job well executed

[@atyourserviceable]

Sir I owe you an apology. I remember getting on your butt about a 1300cc volks engine you were rebuilding and how sloppy you were doing it.I also said I would never let you touch any engine of mine.That was some 2 years ago .Since then I have watched you handle a myriad of projects with total success.I must say in all honesty your diagnostic skills are flawless.Your reasoning on how to proceed under the conditions you work under again are great .You attack projects that most pros would walk away from .,this video is one of many you have done and as usual you are outstanding.What I find amazing is that you are comfortable working on lawn mowers,motor bikes,engines ,carbs. electrical systems,lift trucks and even tractors.That is seven different specialists all in one guy which in todays age is mindblowing in itself. You have the same mindset I had as a young man and that is Nothing mechanical will ever beat me I will succeed and sir you do that with flying colors and I have come to really enjoy your videos.You not only include the viewer ,you take the time to diagnose and explain what you want to and need to do to succeed in that project ,and of course like Larry the cable guy says "you git er done".My hats off to you and hell you can work on my engines any time you want and I can sleep well knowing you will do it right the first time. @ Yourserviceable ( Dave) you have a great day Sir

[@helgethaysen7830]

Now Toyota knows, where a hole is needed! Ha.... Ha

[@BigMouth380cal]

You are an inspiration. Well done. Thought I would share a gizmo I chanced upon that might have helped you with your early inspections. I picked up a "mini-endoscope" from Fantronics for under 20 bucks. It connects to my smartphone and the app was free. It can see clearly down to a couple of inches and lets you see into places that otherwise would be nigh onto impossible. Again, love our stuff.

[@BigMouth380cal]

Your Stuff.

[@williamgraham8809]

Once again, Mustie fixes the unfixable with virtually no problem.

[@RedfishInc]

Yeah it's all fun and games until someone is cruising down the highway and the tranny lets loose at 75 mph. Hopefully it just shits its guts out and doesn't lockup.

[@marcijunebug]

Having JUST gone through this exact thing with a Honda CR-V...feel your pain and celebrate your win! 👊

[@oklahomanugs3571]

Let’s get that carb pulled and tossed in the old ultra sonic cleaner for starters. While that’s soaking let’s check for spark and check the compression. Oh this is a transmission repair job 😂😂😂 don’t get salty. I’m kidding

[@ColvinAvianBreadline]

OMG... LOL This is how I feel about most of Musties videos! And when he pulls the carb parts out of the cleaner, he has to say "soups on"

[@oklahomanugs3571]

Drake Colvin 😂😂

[@michaelhengelsberg1364]

Excellent Yankee Engineering! Awesome work. I love your feeling of accomplishment when you get it all figured out. Thanks for posting and taking us along for the ride!!

[@barrymcbride]

Love that Laugh when you beat the problem at hand....... lol

[@milne5678]

I did the a similar repair to an old Kia Rondo, tranny connector was facing up under the battery tray. I opted for your plan B, I dremeled away the plastic and soldered to the stubs. I had to fix about 5 pins. I then snaked them out the side of the connector and soldered to the wires directly. That was a year ago, seems fine. I used silicone tape to seal the whole thing up. I think I like my fix better, I would be worried about flaky connections thru thermal cycles against those pins. Good news is you can always go back and redo and the failure mode will be limp mode for the transmission. Cutting open the tunnel was genius btw.

[@michaelb.5345]

Mustie it’s just a big old mower looking thing, right? NO problem here either ..Good morning by the way.....

[@rayjones3212]

Very interesting. Those connectors remind me of the same ones on the bottom of the TIPM box under the hood of my 2011 Chrysler Town and Country. They're just not made to be taken apart easily! But YOU DA MAN! Thanks for sharing this with us. Fun, fun, fun.

[@Chris-Fennimore]

Great fix. Man, you got the patience to try and try again. Did you reload up the connectors with Dielectric grease?

[@derekwilkinson7939]

Patience and perseverance certainly paid off. Well done. 👍

[@gregorythomas333]

You need to get some contact cleaner for occasions like this :)

[@5150mxVW]

What cool repair that was , nice work ! Do me a favor and refresh the plug on the Tundra before I buy it lol .

[@manelk8]

Amazing! Can you fix my knee? 😂👍👏

[@Photostudioww]

Yes he can just hop on up on the car lift😂😂👍🤘

[@mustie1]

well l do use a body hammer

[@alanmumford8806]

Probably just needs some warm Gunk, an ultrasonic clean then a bit of moly grease and it'll be good to go. Them surgeons know nuffink! ;-)

[@Darwinpasta]

Let's just cut an access door in the side here. Hopefully he's got a spare in his hoard.

[@xmachine7003]

@@mustie1 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Hvtesla]

I must congratulate you on your perseverance and above all patience. As for cutting a hole in the floor; well I think we were all ahead of you on that one. I've done it twice for differing things on other cars.

[@delukxy]

Mustie the Brave. He who dares, wins.

[@pappabob29]

Wow!! Amazing !!! That video should be titled "A lesson in perseverance". Being a retired electrician, I would have felt "optimistic" giving you a 10% chance of succeeding with that repair. It will be interesting to see how dependable/stable that repair is going to turn out. For now, 👍👍👍👍

[@yqwgjsg]

I’m just guessing here and there’s no way to prove it but 40 years of electronics experience tells me that corrosion was probably your original problem and those pins broke when you pulled that connector off.

[@scottfirman]

If it were rotten and broke when he pulled it, it was no longer conductive. Corrosion has never been. You would think the factory would have used dielectric grease on those but why? Factory fresh is never corroded.

[@chrisfreemesser5707]

Agreed...that's exactly what happened to me about 2 weeks ago when I pulled out a relay. One of the pins had a serious case of the green crusties and what was left of it snapped when I pulled out the relay.

[@paulmoir4452]

And speaking as someone who designs things like this, what kind of an arse points a connector up like that? Honda did one as bad on the 7th gen Civic starter solenoid. Left many in the rust belt stranded.

[@cmh2111]

@@paulmoir4452 Because these cars are designed and engineered in California.

[@gooseknack]

I would say the same!

[@frecko]

Hi Mustie , I been watching your vids for a long time an just wanted to say thank for all the videos and hours of entertainment Amazing work please keep doing what you do brother !

[@derekjones5681]

Just like watching Mcgyver,the original 1980s one.:-)

[@gettintheresafelywithpatf2869]

Derek Jones except with Musty1, things come back to life and stay that way, not fly apart at a turn of the handle... and also without special affects, to make it look good!

[@Jim-ie6uf]

Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you’re just good, sometimes both. Fun video to watch, really enjoyed it. Give us an update,sometime.

[@kimkiriniki9433]

I really like Toyota cars, own several of them..isn't it ludicrous tho' that a Mickey mouse plastic multiplug connector can cause so much hassle?

[@Vegas_Dave]

Great detective work on this one ! As always, very entertaining. Waiting patiently for more on the Ghia

[@sethleeseberg446]

Is that a Toyota approved fix? Haha!! Great video as always.

[@toddament8035]

It is now

[@thomasheller1526]

You fix it without spending any money incredible but the price you paid was your patience and perseverance well done

[@grahamandrews6467]

Sparks in my eyeballs ,ok now safety glasses on .

[@colin8532]

Nice! Great work keeping another one out of the scrap pile for a little while longer! It doesn't seem that long ago that you just got this truck. I remember when the head gasket went out of the last one, and you got this one to replace it. Can't say you haven't gotten some good mileage out of this one though, and hopefully you can run it a while longer. Take care Musty1

[@ronnybe7994]

Well done! Surprised you don't have a Dremel and an endoscope

[@andrewmay63]

Thanks for the video. I have a 2004 4Runner Sport with 221k miles. I drove it for the first eight years then my daughter drove it the next eight. I have it back now and have been making a few minor repairs. My engine light is on and it points to needing new oxogen sensors. Doesn't look like a fun job. Glad to bring it to you if you would like to do another video. Would like to get past 300k.