A343F transmission chatter shifting out of reverse

[breathed]

Has anyone added the extra check ball to their valve body per TSB TC001-98?

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=2748471&postcount=24

I have this issue and my transmission serial number is within the affected range. It annoys me enough that I'm planning on performing this service in a couple of weeks (imagine a honking sound every time you shift from reverse to park or reverse to neutral). There are a lot of bolts to remove and replace (65 or so) and a few bits here and there, but it doesn't seem to be a terribly difficult job.

I've done all the of maintenance and repairs on two 80 series cruisers over the last 8 years so I'm no stranger to a wrench and I have all the Toyota service manuals, but I've never done any kind of transmission work other than fluid changes and flushes. I'm mostly concerned with removing the valve body and opening it. Can anyone offer any insight into this job? There seems to be a check ball body and spring that may fall out when I remove the valve body, will it? Is there anything else that will want to spring or fall out when I remove the valve body or separate the halves?

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.

Keywords: A343f, trans, transmission, valve body, chatter, squealing, reverse

 

[djsixbillion]

Interesting, never heard of the missing ball before. Mine's a '96, so appears not to be affected by this particular issue, but I can offer some words on valve body removal in general. I've been into a couple A343's, to install IPT-modified valve bodies in two separate trucks.

It's not a terribly difficult job, but it is MESSY. Even after you fully drain the pan, once you unbolt and drop the valve body you will have another quart or so of fluid dumping on your chest (assuming your doing this from underneath without a vehicle lift). Wear latex/nitrile gloves, coveralls if you have them, and put down multiple layers of cardboard to catch the drippage. There are springs in the accumulators that will want to fall out as well, so lower the valve body slowly and keep track of where each is located.

I also recommend being prepared with a clean plastic tub or something to set the valve body in while you split it open. Cleanliness is important through the whole process, as you don't want to introduce any contaminants into the valve body or other parts of the trans while it is open. Take your time and good luck.

Hope that helps.

 

[western flyer]

I have the reverse chatter as well. I need to check my trans serial number to see where I fall in the TSB range. Curious to see how this turns out. ATF is stinky and a bit tenacious when spilled, BTW.

The first link might help with what to expect when you drop the valve body.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/731930-a343-transgo-reprogram-kit-install-1995-1997-a.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/182758-a343f-reverse-noise.html

 

[breathed]

Thanks for that first link. It's good to know what's going to fall out when removing the valve body.

The transmission data plate is in a very hard to read area just above where the front driveshaft bolts to the transfer case. After cleaning 16 years of grime I had to use a small mirror and light to read it.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-...picture-silver-plate-serial-number-a343f.html

 

[toyofan]

Hi Breathed.. did you ever installed the ball ?? results ? Thanks for any updates you can provide

 

[breathed]

I did and it worked like a charm. Some of the other check ball locations didn't match the A343F FSM and I was tempted to move them around to match the FSM, but in the end I just added the one check ball per the TSB. The hardest part was getting the valve body back in the transmission. It's heavier than you might think and you can't extend your one arm straight in the driveway, your other arm is trying to align multiple valve springs and a spring loaded check ball on opposite sides of the valve body. I took a bunch of pictures, but would have to reconstruct my notes as I never wrote anything down.