Recently I was driving my 1997 LC and started feeling a slight vibration around 35mph, like driving over ruts on the side of the road. After taking it to a few place to diagnose and fix the problem I was informed that the gears in the transmission we fused together most likely due to driving with larger tires (33's). This came from someone at Toyota corporate who is apprently knowledgeable on the older Cruisers. To be honest this is the first that I have heard of such a thing and I was wondering if there was anyone out there that may have some additional insight?
Fused Gears in Transmission (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Brandon Edwards
- Start date
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Maybe they meant the clutch plates. My transmission suffered a similar issue.
Dave 2000
Not all Land Rovers are useless!
I assume you do not have a CDL switch and it was engaged, this throws up all sort of vibes.
'a slight vibration' could be out of balance wheels/tyres, flat spot on the tyres, carbuncle, transmission mount, drive shaft/s over greased.............
regards
Dave
'a slight vibration' could be out of balance wheels/tyres, flat spot on the tyres, carbuncle, transmission mount, drive shaft/s over greased.............
regards
Dave
ppc
M Go Blue
@Brandon Edwards
The viscous coupler inside the rear extension of the transfer case which acts as a limited slip device for the center differential fails and locks up. Its not the transmission. Its common problem with the 93-97 with ABS models and can be caused by running tires of different sizes. The device can be replaced at a fairly high cost but most of the members here on the forum remove the viscous coupler and never look back. Several threads you can search for more information.
The viscous coupler inside the rear extension of the transfer case which acts as a limited slip device for the center differential fails and locks up. Its not the transmission. Its common problem with the 93-97 with ABS models and can be caused by running tires of different sizes. The device can be replaced at a fairly high cost but most of the members here on the forum remove the viscous coupler and never look back. Several threads you can search for more information.
I had a vibration at 60 mph that mimicked an out of balance tire. I removed the VC and it went away.
U-Joints
Viscous Coupler
Tires out of balance
Wheel bearings
Lots of things I'd look at before I'd think it was transmission plates fused.
How many miles on the truck?
Tires, Lift? Mods?
Viscous Coupler
Tires out of balance
Wheel bearings
Lots of things I'd look at before I'd think it was transmission plates fused.
How many miles on the truck?
Tires, Lift? Mods?
Dave 2000
Not all Land Rovers are useless!
Could have been seized I guess but the vibration would be there all the time and the tyres would screech like hell when taking a sharp corner as it would prevent the driveshafts spinning independently , perhaps removing the drive shaft freed a tight UJ which vibrated at certain speeds? Of course I am only guessing but the VC would have been way down my list.
Regards
Dave
Wha?? Gears fused together in the transmission. That's a new one. 33s are not large tires.
Question: The new vibration notwithstanding, does the transmission shift up/down through the gears normally?
- Thread starter
- #10
Aside from the vibrations the transmission seems to shift normally.
77mustard40
SILVER Star
My VC was seized on my 97 when I got it, removing that bad boy and installing a center diff lock switch was the first thing I did to the truck. If you are experiencing difficulty turning at slow speeds, see indications of tire scrub or can hear you tires talking back in slow sharp turn situations then the odds are good that the VC is toast. My tires never screeched but I could feel them bite on a sharp turn, like pulling into a parking space. It took me an afternoon to pull the rear cover to the transfer case and remove the VC, good snap ring plyers are a must but its pretty straight forward and IIRC there is a good thread on the subject in the FAQ section. Since the rear DS has to come out, its a good time to check the u-joints, separate the DS so you can clean it and inspect the slip yoke splines, grease and reassemble.
The driving experience after the appendectomy was night and day, and I haven't experienced any downside to not having the VC. CDL is a push button away when needed.
The driving experience after the appendectomy was night and day, and I haven't experienced any downside to not having the VC. CDL is a push button away when needed.
If the transmission shifts normally, then how are the gears "fused together"? Nothing that this "Toyota professional" said makes any sense to me.
Exactly. It isn't even possible for gears to 'fuse together' short of the internal temperature reaching the 'smelting point' of the steel. Ridiculous.
Surely, the OP misunderstood what the 'Corporate' person said.....or then again...maybe that explains things (Corporate)
A Viscous Coupler can pretty much 'fuse' itself together, but that's in the Tcase.
Any of the clutch packs (friction discs and steels) can badly wear but if you had temps in the trans hot enough to 'fuse' anything.....you'd have a completely destroyed transmission and have set some kind of new record.
Yeah, it almost sounds like there is some misunderstanding happening somewhere. Maybe something else is damaged like the t-case or VC due to different size tires being run by a previous owner, but if running 33s caused transmission damage, this forum would be a very sad place. Every other thread here would be tips on removing and repairing the transmission.
Yep, been running 33's on mine for 20 years now and have 330K on my transmission. Maybe just 'lucky' huh.......
It may not be fused together but I can assure you I had the same issue with a trans locked in between gears. Would.not go forward or backwards. It felt like I was power braking it.
Surely you misunderstood
