Howdy! +Questions (1 Viewer)

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Aug 25, 2022
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Howdy y’all. Been reading the forums for a couple years now. I own a rusty ol’ 89 fj62. Have had a lot of work done to it from K&H back in California. I’ve since moved to Texas and despite all the rust, the wagon gets some serious attention out here in the best way!

All that to say, I am fairly new to fixing car issues and I have looked around to find the answers for my current issues, and I can particularly find them.

So here they are: vehicle has been rev’ing high or slipping into neutral while in drive. Mechanic shop stated the atf levels are low
and for some reason they could not add more trans fluid. As if something was blocking new fluids. The front pump seal is leaking. That’s a vague description they gave me; however, I assume it’s in relation to the transmission. Lastly, transmission lines are leaking.

First things first, can anyone help me figure out why it won’t accept new trans fluids? Based on research here, I was wondering if it was a clogged hose below the trans dip stick? I apologize for the newbie terminology. Go easy on me. I’m dedicated to learning this and hopefully fixing it.

Side note: only transmission shop in my area can’t touch it until October. All booked up.
 
If you browse through the resources tab (at the top of the page) you can find and download a copy of the 1984-1990 Chassis and Body manual. The chapter on automatic transmission could help.

There is a drain plug to remove the transmission fluid. New fluid is added through the dip stick tube. I'm not sure why it won't go in. I suppose the tube could be bent or crushed, but then I would expect that to also interfer with the dip stick itself. The diagram below shows the location of the dipstick tube. Maybe you can do a visual inspection.

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There is also a breather on the top of transmission near the front. I suppose if this is blocked then that could effect putting more fluid in. The breather plug (35140B) will probably be hard to access with the transmission installed. I don't know where the loose end of the breather tube would be, but you might be able to find it.

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Welcome. Not sure what a front pump is? Possibly front differential? I call it a pumpkin myself. Clean the undercarriage with degreaser. If lines are leaking then definitely address those 1st. Then I would drop the pan and do a drain/fill (no flush) with decent fluid. What's the mileage of this rig.
 
A440s (the transmission you have) as other automatics are indeed susceptible to misbehavior due to fluid level.

You can try to verify what they are telling you by removing the transmission dipstick and attempting to add more fluid using a small funnel. There's nothing vehicle specific about this process, YouTube can probably help you out. Note that the level is checked on the dipstick with the truck running, warmed up, and in N.

If you're able to get new fluid in and it does fix the issue - I would recommend flushing out all the old fluid, and also installing a trans cooler. Both topics should be well documented here on MUD.

The nuclear option here is to get rid of the automatic and install an H55 5-speed manual transmission, which you can still get brand new from Toyota. Of course this is more intensive and costly...
 
There is also a breather on the top of transmission near the front. I suppose if this is blocked then that could effect putting more fluid in. The breather plug (35140B) will probably be hard to access with the transmission installed. I don't know where the loose end of the breather tube would be, but you might be able to find it.

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I have not checked the breather. I checked the dipstick, and cold, it showed normal levels. I drove the car street speeds for 30 minutes and the stick was hot and the oil was all over it. Even after I wiped. Couldn’t get a good read on it.
I noticed a lot of lines below the dipstick were super wet so definitely a leak. I think I am going to try to add some fluid a little later. It should be noted, as I drove it today, it had zero issues in shifting like it did a couple weeks ago. Idk what’s going on with it
 
Welcome. Not sure what a front pump is? Possibly front differential? I call it a pumpkin myself. Clean the undercarriage with degreaser. If lines are leaking then definitely address those 1st. Then I would drop the pan and do a drain/fill (no flush) with decent fluid. What's the mileage of this rig.
Yea some front seal for the transmission I believe. The undercarriage is super gunked up and a lot of it is fresh.

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