Transmission Issues - 2002 Forester X 4EAT EJ201

[shlaggers]

Hey guys,

Recently picked up a 2002 Forester X EJ201 2.0L with the 4EAT transmission. Got it cheap due to HG gasket issue but it still drove fine, no issues with the tranny whatsoever. 273 000km on the clock.

This weekend I pulled the engine out and re-placed the HG as well as some other seals. Got it all back in no problems and it started fine but now I am having transmission issues.

Upon takeoff as soon as you hit around 20km/h the car seems to shift straight into 3rd gear - skipping 2nd and then seems to lock the TC (I think?). I can still accelerate (although slowly initially due to no 2nd obviously) and there is no speed limit - I have gone all the way up to 100km/h with no issues. However the car will not shift into 4th gear. So essentially, I am stuck with 1st and 3rd gear only. I have also checked for torque bind however that is not present.

- I have tried to replace tranny oil, no change. Old fluid was still red, no metal shavings at all and no issues with the fluid at all, looks and smells good.

- I have tried the stall test, got around 2300/2400RPM? It didn't stall, but the RPM wouldn't go any higher so I stopped - is this correct?

- I have no CEL lights or anything else - yesterday the POWER light flashed on the dash but only one time - have not been able to get it to show up again - even tried that handshake thing to try and read the tranny codes but could not get it shop up or work again, so no lights currently.

- No weird noises, motor runs nicely and no strange noises.

- When taking off and motor goes from 1st to 3rd there is a little thud, but I guess that is due it skipping 2nd?

- When accelerating past 20km/h, the RPM stay at 2000, do not seem to change much at all even if I go to 50km/h or so? After maybe 40/50km/h however RPM does rise - got to aorund 4200RPM when I was doing 100km/h I believe, but at low speed RPM is always 2000.... Strange?

- Tried disconnecting the TCU / TCM (transmission controller?), and then I have 3rd gear only. Also cleaned all plugs and checked all plugs so electronics seem to work? Removed tranny controller fuse from engine fuse box, but that made no difference at all whether it is in or not.

- Tried removing sump from tranny as yes I did use a jack on the sump when removing engine, however sump is not dented and all solenoids look good with no damaged or broken wires and everything is straight so I cannot see any damage or issues here.

 

Any tips would be massively appreciated guys, really scratching my head at this point, not sure what else I can do??

 

Thank you!

Vincent

 

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by shlaggers
Missed detail

[lmdew]

Dented pan was my first thought, but you seem to have covered everything I can think of.  Will it kick down wth wide open throttle?

[shlaggers]

43 minutes ago, lmdew said:

Dented pan was my first thought, but you seem to have covered everything I can think of.  Will it kick down wth wide open throttle?

Hey mate cheers for the reply I appreciate it. The pan does not look dented however I'm planning to take it off again tomorrow and test all the solenoids manually with a battery / multimeter, I'm not quite sure how I'll test them yet but that's my plan anyway. Maybe it doesn't look obviously dented but has in fact damaged something anyway. How can I tell if the suction port is getting enough oil? Would it be obvious if it wasn't?

And regarding full throttle, no mate, on takeoff it starts in either 1st or 2nd (I'm not entirely sure, but I feel like it's 2nd) and then instantly goes to 3rd once you hit around 1500RPM and stays there permanently. Flat foot, no matter, it's 3rd or nothing. Very strange. However when the initial change from 2nd to 3rd happens there is a shudder of sort, so that's why I am suspecting the solenoids... will test tomorrow hopefully and know more...

 

Vincent

[forester2002s]

8 hours ago, shlaggers said:

...Removed tranny controller fuse from engine fuse box, but that made no difference at all whether it is in or not...

Try a fresh fuse.

[1 Lucky Texan]

all I have to offer is, sometimes a bad throttle pos sensor will create trans problems.

[Stelcom66]

1 hour ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

all I have to offer is, sometimes a bad throttle pos sensor will create trans problems.

I was thinking the same - because when flooring it, stays in 3rd gear.

 

[Rampage]

With the TCU unplugged the trans only uses third gear.
You said the tranny worked before pulling the engine, but now only has 1st and 3rd. According to the FSM, that indicates a problem with wiring to the transmission 2-4 brake duty solenoid, 2-4 brake timing solenoid or 2-4 brake dropping resistor.

Note the guide tabs on the top of connector B54 at the bottom of the image. (different than B55). The pic shows the connector side of the plug, not the wire side.

Key off. Unplug B54 from the TCU and check OHMS to a good ground on Pins 5, 8 and 17.
Pin 5 (Light green Red stripe wire) 10-16 OHMS.
Pin 8 (Orange wire) 2-4.5 OHMS.
Pin 17 (Yellow Blue stripe wire) 9-15 OHMS.

If any of those readings goes high (open circuit), then check the wires on connector B11 located on top where the trans mounts to the engine. Maybe a pin pushed out of the connector or bent over. Note in the wiring diagram that the wire colors change when they go through B11.

You can also check voltages of Pins 8, 17 and 5 of B11.
Warm up the engine and then turn it off, then turn the key to ON (no start) and check voltage on the following pins of the B11 TCU connector.
B54 Pin 8 Throttle fully closed 1.5 — 4.0 v. Throttle fully open. Less than 0.5 v
B54 Pin 17 Throttle fully closed. More than 8.5 v. Throttle fully open. Less than 0.5 v
B54 Pin 5 1st gear Less than 1 v. 3rd gear More than 9 v.