FJ62 Transmission slipping, how to best proceed?

[bronova]

Hi! Recently took a new job that requires me to travel on the weekends, my cruiser is a daily driver but primarily just around town. I'm now doing a 115 mile drive twice a week and car camp while I'm working so asking a lot of her but need to keep her running smoothly. I tried getting everything up to speed and addressing some things before starting the new gig. Biggest concern was a massive oil leak from the rear main which is now resolved. Ever since fixing the leak though, my RPMs surge way up between 3-4K as I approach 30mph and then sometimes happens again as I approach 40mph. Also when starting my car initially, I can't get reverse to engage. Sometimes it will engage but is delayed for sure, more often than not it won't shift into reverse at all so I've been backing into almost all parking spots just to remedy this for now. My mechanic doesn't do transmission rebuilds, they only do installs and they have recommended me to start calling around. So I'm wondering, do I find someone to do the rebuild or get something used? It's been a little overwhelming searching through all the threads trying to find the right step to take from here as there are so many options. I'm based in WA state so any advice on how to best proceed from here would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for taking the time.

 

[POPO AGIE]

Sounds like a rebuild is needed.
Another option is replace with a H55F.

 

[bronova]

Sounds like a rebuild is needed.
Another option is replace with a H55F.

I’m aware that a rebuild is needed. The H55F would be a conversion right? So what are the pros & cons, really looking for some viable answers here. Thank you

 

[POPO AGIE]

I know next to nothing about the auto transmission that was using in the FJ62.
I have a FJ40 that originally had a 4 speed and transfer case and I upgraded to the H55F for the lower 1st gear and OD 5th gear.
The H55F will bolt up to either the 2F or 3F bell housing and you will need a crossmember which are not that hard to find. I am not sure if the auto crossmember would work or not. I have a FJ60 after market crossmember from Man a Fre and a 3F bell housing.

I have read the H55F was better at getting power to the ground then the FJ62 auto transmission.

 

[SteveH]

@bronova - check your kickdown cable and be sure it's moving freely and properly adjusted per the FSM. If you haven't dropped the pan and inspected/cleaned the filter (it's a screen that is reusable) you should. A shop rebuild will (in my opinion) be done poorly, or very expensive, or both. I presume you've checked the fluid level, hot and idling in Park, and it's correct?

 

[Godwin]

@bronova - check your kickdown cable and be sure it's moving freely and properly adjusted per the FSM. If you haven't dropped the pan and inspected/cleaned the filter (it's a screen that is reusable) you should. A shop rebuild will (in my opinion) be done poorly, or very expensive, or both. I presume you've checked the fluid level, hot and idling in Park, and it's correct?

@bronova This, check the basics first on the auto tranny, you may find the cure is simple adjustment.

H55F is regarded as a major upgrade behind the 3FE but it's not going to be cheap. You'd need a H55F transmission, preferably new. You can reuse your transfer case but a rebuild is recommended. New driveshafts, new crossmember, a bellhousing, pedal bucket for the clutch pedal, clutch master, slave, and lines, flywheel, clutch. H55F shifter. This hits the highlights. This topic has been well covered in this forum.

 

[Spook50]

Are you in western WA?

If yes then firstly, my condolences

Secondly, get a hold of @torfab if you decide to go the route of the H55F conversion. Like @Godwin said, there are a few things to check to verify whether your A440F is still serviceable or is reaching end of life. Torfab did the H55F conversion on my 62 and did a great job. I ended up buying a used tranny/tcase combo years ago from @orangefj45 so I provided those for the swap. It's the single best upgrade I've made to my 62.

 

[POPO AGIE]

@orangefj45 built my H55F split transfer case for me.
I opted for 3:1 low range for my Cummins R2.8. Georg will have a conversation with you about how you run your Land Cruiser and make valid recommendations.

I also ordered a HD Terrain Tamer clutch from George for a Toyota diesel with the same size fly wheel as a 2F fly wheel. I had to go to the Terrain Tamer site and compare the different clutches to find the application because no one in the States or Australia knew if it would work.

 

[orangefj45]

I would check & adjust the lockdown cable first thing.
Also, make sure you run an auxiliary cooler if you don’t already have one.
We now offer a kit for the FJ62s.

Happy to help!

Georg @ Valley Hybrids @ Cruiser Brothers
Shop 209-475-8808
Sales@valleyhybrids.com

 

[Spook50]

@orangefj45 built my H55F split transfer case for me.
I opted for 3:1 low range for my Cummins R2.8. Georg will have a conversation with you about how you run your Land Cruiser and make valid recommendations.

I also ordered a HD Terrain Tamer clutch from George for a Toyota diesel with the same size fly wheel as a 2F fly wheel. I had to go to the Terrain Tamer site and compare the different clutches to find the application because no one in the States or Australia knew if it would work.

I've been more than happy with my OEM spec Luk clutch that was installed new with my conversion. I wonder how one compares to the other, or if the Terrain Tamer was just necessary because of your R2.8.

 

[POPO AGIE]

I've been more than happy with my OEM spec Luk clutch that was installed new with my conversion. I wonder how one compares to the other, or if the Terrain Tamer was just necessary because of your R2.8.

I am sure the LUK clutch would have been fine and cheaper. I wanted the best clutch I could get and the TT is a HD diesel military rated clutch for Toyota.

 

[bronova]

@bronova - check your kickdown cable and be sure it's moving freely and properly adjusted per the FSM. If you haven't dropped the pan and inspected/cleaned the filter (it's a screen that is reusable) you should. A shop rebuild will (in my opinion) be done poorly, or very expensive, or both. I presume you've checked the fluid level, hot and idling in Park, and it's correct?

Appreciate this. I'm not super mechanical but would like to have the know how to check on things like this myself. Are there any good videos showing a walk through of the steps you're referring to? I don't think my shop has done any of the following when I've taken it in. They have a transmission shop they refer out to but I'd prefer to take it to someone that has worked on Land Cruisers.

 

[bronova]

@bronova This, check the basics first on the auto tranny, you may find the cure is simple adjustment.

H55F is regarded as a major upgrade behind the 3FE but it's not going to be cheap. You'd need a H55F transmission, preferably new. You can reuse your transfer case but a rebuild is recommended. New driveshafts, new crossmember, a bellhousing, pedal bucket for the clutch pedal, clutch master, slave, and lines, flywheel, clutch. H55F shifter. This hits the highlights. This topic has been well covered in this forum.

Thank you, appreciate the input. I have to say, I'm not super eager to convert from and Automatic to Manual if that's my only recommended option.

 

[bronova]

Are you in western WA?

If yes then firstly, my condolences

Secondly, get a hold of @torfab if you decide to go the route of the H55F conversion. Like @Godwin said, there are a few things to check to verify whether your A440F is still serviceable or is reaching end of life. Torfab did the H55F conversion on my 62 and did a great job. I ended up buying a used tranny/tcase combo years ago from @orangefj45 so I provided those for the swap. It's the single best upgrade I've made to my 62.

Do you have a ballpark figure of what this cost and the timeline to get it switched over? Why would you say it was the best upgrade? Is it because it extended the life of the vehicle or a smoother ride? Just curious.

 

[bronova]

I would check & adjust the lockdown cable first thing.
Also, make sure you run an auxiliary cooler if you don’t already have one.
We now offer a kit for the FJ62s.

Happy to help!

Georg @ Valley Hybrids @ Cruiser Brothers
Shop 209-475-8808
Sales@valleyhybrids.com

Thanks Georg. Can you give me a little more info on the kit that you have available for the FJ62s? Appreciate the help!

 

[Spook50]

Do you have a ballpark figure of what this cost and the timeline to get it switched over? Why would you say it was the best upgrade? Is it because it extended the life of the vehicle or a smoother ride? Just curious.

If I remember right I paid $2500 for the used H55F/tcase combo and 1st generation twin stick setup (which was developed by Georg). The conversion including a few minor parts ran me ~$5,000; HOWEVER they had to open up the tcase due to an issue they ran into during the job, which added to the cost and brought it up to about that. I forget exactly what the problem was, but it was something to do with mine and wasn't an "every conversion" type deal. So in my case about $7,500 when all was said and done. Had I kept the A440F I would've had it rebuild with a Nomad valve body, upgraded torque converter and still swapped to twin sticks on the tcase, which would have put me at ~$10,000 or slightly over; so a bit of money saved there too.

As far as benefits, if you can drive a stick, it's very much worth it. My average fuel economy went from ~11 MPG with the A440F and 31" tires to ~14 MPG with the H55F and wider 33" tires (obviously not great, but for a 36 year-old FJ62 I'd say it is LOL). Much more engine power is freed up due to the A440F absorbing a lot of it (especially when the torque converter is unlocked) as well, so hill climbs and general in-town drivability is improved. I'd say ride quality itself remains unchanged. It's still a 36 year-old truck. The H55F (with the exception of occasional clutch changes depending on how hard you drive it) will also far outlast the A440F. Heat is also a non-issue with these as well. I used a tranny temp gauge on my A440F, and even with brand new high end fluid and an external cooler it would pass the 260º threshold on a regular basis as it was reaching the end of its life. For giggles I drilled out a fill plug for my H55F and put the temp gauge's sensor in there so it would dip down into the oil. Even on the absolute hottest days, making long drives on I-90 across the state, it wouldn't surpass 220º.

One caveat that's really no more than a minor quibble is that the reverse gear is not synchronized, so if you're parked and need to back out of a spot, you might occasionally have to jostle it a bit to get it into gear. Really no big deal at all once you're used to it though.

 

[Roonie]

Bring it to Torfab they do transmission rebuilds. They did mine and it has been working great for awhile. You didn't say where in WA you are located. Either way just make the trip and apt at Torfab located in Everett WA.

 

[Alex7]

I had been seriously considering taking the road trip to Stockton to drop off my 62 for this upgrade. But then, after draining the transmission of some fluid and allowing it to warm up a bit, it stopped slipping and began to shift somewhat normal. (I had a big delay from 2 to 3 sometimes that would disappear when more throttle applied + the super harsh engagement when throwing it in reverse) The harsh reverse is still there, but I think I bought a few more minutes to decide if I want to rebuild or jump into another manual.