About 2 months ago i was in the dirt did a little half donut then it sounded like i had a rock in my transmission pinging off the flywheel as i have no cover down there. Then thought it was loose or cracked. Then the sound became intermittent until finally it went away entirely. Around this same time i noticed sometimes when id go to take off from a stop the vehicle would rev up to 2 or 3k b4 it started to move. Kinda like it was in 2nd. Then slowly that became the norm. With cars at the shop we drop the shifter to L or 1 and move it. So thats what ive been doing when i come to a stop i drop the shift to L when i go it takes off just fine once rpms get up i just bump it up 2 spots in to Drive. And thats how i get around on and off road. I kinda like the "Semi automatic" 😆 its already become second nature even off road when i have to drop it on the fly or something. So questions...

1. Any ideas if this issue is tied to the noise or are they seperate.
2. What would be the fix?
3. Driving the way i am what long term damage can i cause to the transmission?
Idea in my head is to get a jy trans and throw it in and rebuild the one i have.

 

Probably separate.

If the trans shifts with the lever, that indicates that the TCU isn't working but the trans is.

 

Bad #1 solenoid is my guess. That'll give you 4th gear with the shifter in (D), but give you first in (1-2). Is it shifting on it's own between 3-4, and the torque converter locking up? If not, then the TCU may not have power.

The noise was probably not related.

 

Yeah once i take off and bump it to Drive it shift and drives just fine. No noticeable preobpems other than when i slow down enough to where 1st one kick in but since it doesnt i have to manually drop it or my revs go up to 3k b4 i start to move telling me its definitely not in first. My first thought was solenoids but didnt wanna drop the pan on a maybe.

 

Really sounds like a bad solenoid if you're missing first and second. Normally with the shifter in drive you have:
1st gear = solenoid 1 on, solenoid 2 off
2nd gear = solenoid 1 on, solenoid 2 on
3rd gear = solenoid 1 off, solenoid 2 on
4th gear = solenoid 1 off, solenoid 2 off

You can measure the resistance of the solenoids at the connector under the hood to get an idea of whether it's bad. 11-15 ohms is normal.

 

Im not familiar with the solenoids. Are they 2 wire? If not what 2 points do i probe. Is it a common problem? Side note. What toyotas use the same trans in which i can find at the junkyard. If it fits in your pocket its free so ill prolly grab 2 or 3 if they are plentiful 😆

 

It's all laid out for you in the previous post.

 

They're actually one wire and ground to the aluminum body of the trans. Measure between the wire to the solenoid and the body. Replacing them requires pulling the pan off the transmission.

Not worth pulling used ones when a set of all three solenoids (2 shift, one t/c lockup) is about $50 on Amazon.