I have a 93 4runner 3.0L V6 with an automatic transmission. Recently it has started to act up on me. When I start it up and try to put it in gear from park, sometimes it will not engage like its still in park or neutral. However, if you push it in the right direction, then it will drop into gear.
It seems to occur less frequently when the engine is cold, ie first thing in the morning. Once the engine warms up, it tends to happen more often.
It also seems to occur only the first time I start it up and get it into gear.
The weird thing is that once its in gear, it drives and shifts just fine. Very rarely and only when going slowly, it has actually dropped out of gear.
I have been told already that I need to get a new transmission, I thought I would post here and see if anyone knows another way out of this.

Thanks in advance!

Neil.

Try flushing the transmission with new fluid and see if that helps. If the old fluid looks really scummy, don't flush it. It might stop working altogether. If the fluid is just dark red, go ahead.

Alright, so I did that this weekend and there seems to be no change in its behavior. Any more ideas?

Thanks!