Busted Tranny?

[rohitash]

Hi guys,

Looks like I may have a busted tranny.

Here's what happened:
I drove back from Lake Tahoe on Mon evening (to Sunnyvale) and had just pulled into Berkeley and exited the hwy when I heard a big whining/grinding noise and immediate loss of power. Luckily I was on a small sidestreet and was able to pull to the side and stop withing 50 ft. I tried to engage the tranny but kept getting the same whining/grinding noise and could not get power to the wheels. This happened on all the gears (D, R, 4,3,2,L). I tried shifting from High to Low but the same thing. I had someone pick up my family and then had AAA tow my rig back home - luckily I have the premium AAA so the tow was free. The rig is now parked in my driveway and I now have to troubleshoot and explore options for fixing .

Some info on the rig
2003 LX 470 with 5spd tranny. 110k on the speedo. I bought this in 2009 May with 81K on it. I had done all the fluid replacements then (including tranny fluid flush and replace with Redline synthetic ATF). I have 4.88s and ARBs front and back.

Some other symptoms / info:
- Park will not hold the vehicle.
- No check engine or other on yet
- Rig rolls smoothly with Transfer case in neutral - i have'nt yet tried with any other combination.
- Transfer case shifter moves normally
- Visually I see no damage to the tranny or tcase. Don't see any oil spill either but I will check again after removing the Slee belly plate.
- Before this problem the tranny/drivetrain was working perfectly. I had no indication of any problem except: I used to get some increased vibration at around 55mph and around 75mph, but I had assumed this was because of a slightly out of balance rear drive shaft as I had mangled it on a rock and then had a local driveshaft shop rebuild it. Now I'm wondering if it was from the tranny.

I got some great insight from this thread
https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/445016-another-100-tranny-gone-2002-96k-help.html

I'm going to spend some time now to troubleshoot the problem and decide on a course of action - can use all the help/advise I can get. I want to make sure I have pinpointed the problem - I realize there is a chance some other part of the drivetrain is damaged. Here's my plan as of now - please let me know if there is anything else I should be doing:

- Check for fault codes (I have a scanner handy).
- Replace Slee belly plate with OEM cross member so I can see what's going on.
- Check condition/level of ATF
- Try and roll the rig with the Tranny shifter in various positions.
- Remove front and rear drive shafts and try and engage the tranny.
- Check the dash indicator lights when moving the shifter (with engine off)
- Check the condition of the Tcase oil (metal shavings etc)

Do let me know if there is anything I should not do to further damage the tranny.

Will post back with my basic troubleshooting.

 

[OGBeno]

Dude.....

You are just not have good luck with these 100 series rigs Rohitash....



Good luck.

-o-

 

[rohitash]

Also,

do let me know if you guys know of good toyota experts in the south bay (tranny rebuild shops, service shops etc) who I could take this to after doing some trouble shooting. And if you knw of any particular trustworthy service techs at the Toyota/Lexus dealerships in the south bay.

Thanks

 

[rohitash]

Onur, but I'm still in love with the 100! This is the first time I've had a major problem that I've not inflicted on it though (at least I think so at this point). Every faliure is an opportunity to build it better!

 

[jgray]

Bummer... You might want to give Michael a call with WCC... They are South of you but specialize in Toyota transmissions... Link: West Coast Cruisers

 

[OregonLC]

If P won't hold the vehicle then odds are it's downstream of the trans, right?

This is the first I've read of an A750F going bad (assuming that's the case).

 

[rohitash]

Thx - will call him. Here's some more trouble shooting info:

- No fault codes from the scanner. No warning lights on the dash.
- AT/P light works as expected. Comes on when the transfer case is in N and goes off in H or L.
- Gear indicator lights on the dash work as expected when shifting the shifter.
- Rig will roll freely irrespective of where the Gear shifter or the tcase shifter is. This includes the gear shifter on Park.
- Engine on, Tcase on H or L, I get a fairly loud rumbling noise from the tranny/tcase area when I move the shifter to any of the drive gears (R, D, 4,3,2,L). I'm not sure yet whether its the tranny or the Tcase as I'm alone right now - but will try to localize this noise in the evening. This does not happen when the Tcase is in N. Then the gear shifter moves smoothly into any/all of the drive gears.
- With the engine running, I get a loud 1 second grinding noise when I move the gear shifter back into Park from any of the other positions. It goes away after one second as if something settled or stopped spinning. This happens whether the Tcase is in N, H or L.
- The ATF is right in the middle of the 2 cold marks and still clear and red (checked just on the dip stick - will check at the drain plug today evening). I've checked the ATF every two months and its been right there.

Am I right in thinking that the problem might be in the Park powl or somewhere between the tranny and the Tcase? Or the Tcase itself? Maybe the tranny itself is all right?

 

[rohitash]

Forgot to add - irrespective of what I do, no power to the wheels.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

It could be downstream of the tranny, and for your sake, I hope it is.

Do 100s strip drive flanges at the front wheels?

What happens if you lock the center diff lock?

Will it move in low range?

The parking prawl does not matter-it would not affect the power to the wheels when in gear.

If you put it in drive does the front driveshaft turn?


If I had to guess, something broke inside the t-case. ANy chance the center diff was accidently locked while you were driving? That will cause it to bind and eventually break.

Are you sure the t-case actually shifts into high and low range? Some of the symptoms sound like the t-case is in neutral.

Super bummer.

 

[dclee]

These shifters are physically divorced from the transmission. Is it possible the electronic shifter solenoid or computer went out, so no matter what you do, the signal is not getting through and the gearbox is just not physically shifting? You mention it rolls freely (as if in Neutral?) no matter the position of the shifter. Though the gear whine makes me wonder...

 

[kbushnz]

Drop the oil in the transfercase.
If it glitters and has metallic bits in it..... Something has broken in the transfercase.
You can take the cover off where the output shaft from the tranny bearing is located on the transfercase and run the engine and select gears..
See if it is turning..... If it is and nothing comming thru to the drive shafts then its transfercase....

But lift her off the ground....just in case she gets a bit of drive and rolls away......

 

[rohitash]

Andy,

Thanks for the center diff question - I had missed that. With the center diff locked I get power to the wheels. I still get the weird loud rumbling noise - but now its eratic. Witht he center diff unlocked no power to the wheels and constant rumbling noise. Low and High have the same behaviour. Will wait till the evening to see if the front/rear driveshafts are turning when the gear is engaged - need by cousin to get back from office.

Derek,

Yes - it rolls as if in neutral - that was with the center diff unlocked. Haven't tried it with the center locked but will do that now.

Calvin - thanks - will do that later today and post back with findings.

Thanks guys - I'm crossing my fingers its not the tranny!

 

[RobRed]

Sounds like a differential to me

 

[hoser]

Ouch. Drain the front diff and see what you get.

 

[OregonLC]

Sounds like a differential to me

^ this. or a drive flange. great news!

 

[Cruiserdrew]

GREAT NEWS!

It could just be a drive flange. Go and get Jay's machined out flanges, install and drive around in high/center lock.

Check your diff and report back. (crossing fingers and rubbing rabbit's foot for you)

 

[rohitash]

Front axle culprit?

I checked the front half axles and found the driver side has come out of the hub almost 2 inches.


And it seems to have compressed into the inner joint


The inner boot (above) is quite compressed compared to the passenger side one (below)


Looks like this might be the culprit. I found a lot of oil/grease leaked from the inner boot and maybe this caused failure of the joint? Will open up the axle to investigate. Will also remove the front driveshaft and see if the tranny / transfer case behave ok.

 

[spressomon]

Rohitash: Looks like either a broken or more likely missing axle end snap ring. Have you had the hub off and/or CV out since buying the rig?

 

[agaisin]

Who put the snap ring on last time? Or possibly forgot?

fair to say the only way that could happen is:
no snap ring or
snap ring failed or
flange failed and allowed snap ring to pass through?

most likely of those would seem to be no snap ring. but i would expect to see obvious signs to indicate what happened?

 

[rohitash]

Yes - I had the front axles off when I got the 4.88s and arb put in. I had take the diff out to take to the shop and put it back in myself. So if I did not seat the snap ring in place correctly then I have no one but myself to blame! Am going to take out the front end now and see what is the damage. The as andy suggested, put in Jay's smooth flanges, take out the front driveshaft and take it for a spin. Not sure if this may have damaged the front diff in any wa