[davemac2]

The deal is that I assume there is some warranty on their work and if it is still not right, then insist they tear it down again and fix it right, lest you sue them based on the warranty.

The fact that it shifted smoothly for a day after they replaced the motor mounts though sounds fishy. Harsh engagement to reverse or drive can be due to different things including motor mounts. You may want to have a look at the test procedures manual for your trans to see what it says about that. I recall that to reduce that harshness, the trans actually shifts to some intermediate gear before shifting into drive. As well, a high line pressure due to a faulty or misadjusted regulator in the valve body or a problem with the throttle pressure cable can be a cause. Ask them for the line pressure test results for the stall and shifting tests. Is there any harshness in the shifts from 1-2, 2-3?

Also, faulty solenoids does NOT warrant a complete trans teardown. They are all accessible when the pan and valve body are dropped. Did they replace the valve body too? If so, they may have missed a seal or the new valve body could be faulty.

dave mc

 

[ancdmd]

The harshness occurs when the trans is shifted into reverse only, not drive or park. It runs fine and shifts through the gears smoothly.

I have just learned that indeed the trans does not need a rebuild to replace the solenoids, so apparently I have been duped. All the service is under warranty. I think I will take the car to the Toyota dealer and get an "expert" opinion and testimony as to what is necessary to fix the original problem (solenoids), the hard shift problem, and also ask if they can tell if the trans was actually opened up or not. That way I will have some additional ammo when I go rip off the shop owner's head for screwing me.

 

[ancdmd]

I took the car to the dealer. They found that the top dogbone mount was on backwards, the front mount was the wrong part and was a half inch too tall, and the original OEM rear mount was broken. They confirmed the trans had indeed been opened up. The dealer fixed all three mounts and it now runs better. I went back to the first shop and discussed the issue with the owner. He said the trans guy he uses absolutely wouldn't rebuild it unless he found something else in the fluid like worn clutch material or something that warranted the rebuild. He fired the last trans shop for rebuilding trannies too often, so I really couldn't get any further with him on the trans issue, but he does warranty the trans for 3 yrs/36k miles. With 151k miles on the car, it probably would have neede it sometime soon anyway, if not now. As for the mounts, he accepted complete blame for them and promptly stroked me a check for the entire amount that I spent at the Toyota dealer. Not bad, but it sucks that I had go through this to get the car fixed correctly.

 

[davemac2]

Ah well, at least he was honest enough to accept responsibility for the shoddy mount work they performed. However I don't think I would go back there knowing they can't even get that stuff right. That's the simple stuff compared to a trans rebuild. Glad you got it fixed.
Does it run like new now?

davemc