Gearbox advice please. (1 Viewer)

[Dave 2000]

I am looking at purchasing an 80 (in the UK) and I really did want a manual gearbox version around the 93/94 mark, i.e. stock with diff locks/16" wheels/bigger brakes ect however, despite looking real hard for nearly two months now it seems all the 'good' cars are all automatics!

As mentioned above I am anti auto and although having driven dozens of autos and owned three I have very little experience with them from a repair/fault diagnosis point of view as manual or 'stick shift' is the common thing in the UK, auto's tend to be placed second in the desirability stakes which may be due to the lack off decent automatic gearbox specialists and the cost of repairs £££££££ or ($$$$$$$ to you).

As I have found a potential purchase which really is a beautiful 93 turbo diesel auto with two owners from new and a full toyota service history (I understand in some cases this can mean nada as it depends on the dealer doing the work) but it reads real good and all photo's show a well cared for vehicle thus far.

So test driving, is there ANYTHING I should know about the 80 auto before I put down my cash? I am unsure if it is the 'electronic' or mechanical gearbox and again for off road use I have always avoided a 4x4 vehicle with electronics.

Anything that may indicate a problem later on, what should the shift be like, engagement, noises ect, I know the fluid should be clean and not smelly ect. I have a good grounding in mechanics and have spent 39 years under a car (yeah I know....manuals!) so no concern if you want to get technical, any PM I should do before I drive it 2000 + miles back to Spain?

And of course in there anyone with a manual who would suggest I 'stick' it out and forget the auto and wait for a 'good' manual to come along?

Vehicle use will be a mixture of open roads/motorways/weekend off roading/remote camping ect, and will rarely see a traffic jam. Car will not be heavily modified for rock crawling ect but will see heavily laden expedition use in the coming years.

Many thanks in advance

regards

Dave

 

[greentruck]

Dave,
Here in the "colonies" we don't really have a choice without going to extreme lengths. All the 80 series that came in via the dealer network came with the auto. That said, the 80 auto boxes seem to hold up quite well from what I've read here on MUD.

Like you, I have been a committed manual transmission user. But I decided after doing some research here that the Toyota engineers did their homework and built the auto to the same standards as the rest of the vehicle.

Check in the FAQS for more detail. Ours is a 97 and I know it's got electronic controls, but also uses a cable from the skinny pedal to help provide some control. I have the manuals and they seems pretty straightforward in terms of diagnosis and repair.

If the rest of the truck pleases, I'd say go for it. In the US, we also don't get the diesels, although a few are around. There is a diesel section elsewhere here on MUD, so you may be able to scare up some more info there.

 

[Dave 2000]

Thanks for that Mike, liked the 'colonies' bit 8>). I will let this run for awhile and see what comes back, I absolutely HATE putting my car in to garages and to this end I have ALWAYS done my own work including electrics. My 4 year apprenteship in the UK stopped at 3 years when I decided enough was enough of making T and low wages, want to take a guess at what subject was covered in the last year?

regards

Dave

 

[joinerman]

Dave,

Look on the VIN plate, it will tell you what box it has, if it says A442F then it has the later electronic box.

 

[Tapage]

you should have an A442F by the year .. unless Toyota made something weird as usual with thier models in diferent markets ..

I'm not an auto lover .. ( already swap out my A442F and I'm running H150 right now ) but those trannys are extremely strong .. and there is always the Rodney resource in Australia ..

IIRC there is a MUD member ( from Spain ) that already have an auto from Rodney .. and he's happy.

IMOP one of the most important things in the auto tranny consideration it's if have been used to tow ..

 

[Dave 2000]

Hi and thanks for the replies so far. It does appear to have the A442F as mentioned and the owner states it has never been used to tow in his 13 years of ownership. This really does look the dogs dangly bits and so I may have to bury my many years of auto condeming and bite the bullet.

Thanks again

regards

Dave

 

[joinerman]

You know it makes sence.

 

[Cañonero]

Dave,

Look on the VIN plate, it will tell you what box it has, if it says A442F then it has the later electronic box.

That's not always correct, early diesels came with an hydraulic version of the A442F

 

[Dave 2000]

That's not always correct, early diesels came with an hydraulic version of the A442F

Going by the posts in this thread https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-...ission-slips-forward-gears-4.html#post5280341

you are right, how can you tell if the VIN plates are all marked the same?

regards

Dave

 

[Tapage]

That's not always correct, early diesels came with an hydraulic version of the A442F

here we don't know a A442F hydraulic version .. here we know A440 which it's hydraulic and the A442F which it's electronic controlled or assisted.

that's why I wonder if exists an A442 hydraulic version ?

 

[Dave 2000]

here we don't know a A442F hydraulic version .. here we know A440 which it's hydraulic and the A442F which it's electronic controlled or assisted.

that's why I wonder if exists an A442 hydraulic version ?

I have just been told by a Mud member that the hydraulic version has D32 shift where the electronic just has the d2 but pos with ETC?

I have absolutely no knowledge of these automatics whatsoever.

regards

Dave

 

[Cañonero]

here we don't know a A442F hydraulic version .. here we know A440 which it's hydraulic and the A442F which it's electronic controlled or assisted.

that's why I wonder if exists an A442 hydraulic version ?

I can tell you we made a group buy on the spanish forum of transmission temperature gauges from Wholesale automatics, and Rodney asked us about what type of transmission we were running, as the fittings were different all the guys with early models 80's , including me, assumed we had a A440F, as we had the PRND32L pattern, when I told Rodney he seemed amused and told me "come on and check your Vin plates", and all of us were shocked when we checked we actually had a A442F.

Anyway, in case of doubt someone just have to check the Vin plate and will find out for sure.

 

[Tapage]

I'm just in the middle of a big debate with a firend who import a 81 from 91 .. and it got a full hydraulic A442 .. I just crazy with this info ..