H55F woe

[Gippster]

To say I'm disappointed to have spent a non-trivial amount of money only to find an issue week after week would be an understatement. The rig was serviced last year at a shop; they installed the rebuilt motor and the H55F + T-case from Georg, a brand-new build. That's all I know about it, so I'm now having to work backward to figure out what's going on.

I drove it earlier on the highway in 5th gear; it was rattling. Felt sluggish; at 55 mph, the wheels felt like they were rattling. Didn't push it over 55; pulled back in 4th gear; didn't feel like I was driving over the washboard. Made it home; now I'm trying to figure out what's going on.

Worth calling it; just sat in the rig, engaged the clutch (ignition off), and it slid into 5th gear super easy. Slides right in.

Any pointers to get me started beyond reading the FSM and learning transmission work?

 

[klip]

sluggish like low engine power? What engine do you have?

Driveshaft vibration comes to mind on your rattling issue. Were the driveshafts changed at all? New driveshafts?

 

[Gippster]

‘84, 2F, wouldn’t push over 55, though I was being super cautious and didn’t want to inflict more issues. I have Tom Wood’s all the way.

 

[3_puppies]

check oil levels in trans and transfer?
drain trans, any bits on magnet?
drain transfer, any bits on magnet?

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Need more info.

In 4th did you get to 55 mph and did not vibrate or you could not get it to 55 mph in 4th? Was it sluggish in 4th?

Pics of drive train showing lift, driveshaft angles, engine bay.

What carb do you have?

 

[cruisermatt]

Check pressure plate bolts

 

[Gippster]

Haven't had a chance to troubleshoot; I spent time inspecting everything and found the culprit.

Misdiagnosed; it turned out to be the rear driveshaft bolts. The plates were completely separated; all four bolts were loose and coming undone. I ordered myself new bolts and inspected all the other plates; they seem fine. No clue why the shop repurposed my old bolts instead of just charging me $60 for a new set. I'll do it.

 

[bj70bc]

dirty dogs

 

[Lead Head]

Haven't had a chance to troubleshoot; I spent time inspecting everything and found the culprit.

Misdiagnosed; it turned out to be the rear driveshaft bolts. The plates were completely separated; all four bolts were loose and coming undone. I ordered myself new bolts and inspected all the other plates; they seem fine. No clue why the shop repurposed my old bolts instead of just charging me $60 for a new set. I'll do it.

View attachment 4238691

The bolts are generally fine to reuse (well, yours are probably damaged now and should be discarded). It is important that Loctite or similar thread locking compound be applied. Most people recommend blue/medium strength. I usually use red, but red does require the bolts to be slightly heated to get them out.

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Ive been reusing toyota drive shaft bolts for years no problems .

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Ill add to the drive shaft bolt comment ive ordered tom woods driveshafts they send new bolts with the shafts at least when ive ordered them. You stated that you have tom woods in your 60.

 

[Gippster]

Yup, weird right? I guess I was under the impression that when I pay a shop, they’ll do a better job that I could ever do. At least, I’m learning to keep a better eye out for these things.

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Yup, weird right? I guess I was under the impression that when I pay a shop, they’ll do a better job that I could ever do. At least, I’m learning to keep a better eye out for these things.

I work on these things for other people its hard to say what they have done and what they got paid to do. I like to be through but there has to be a stopping point or parts will be extremely expensive and the list of parts can be very lengthy. Did you reach out to the shop with the problem or problems your having?

 

[Gippster]

I work on these things for other people its hard to say what they have done and what they got paid to do. I like to be through but there has to be a stopping point or parts will be extremely expensive and the list of parts can be very lengthy. Did you reach out to the shop with the problem or problems your having?

Too long to explain, but they did a lot of work: replaced the motor, installed a new suspension, and ordered the shafts while installing the H55F—pretty much all the mechanical work. What bugs me is that they skipped the little details; it's not the first time either. Last time, they missed the cotter pins on the rod ends. I paid thousands to not find these things a year later. I’ll leave it at that before I get myself worked up.

Edit: I'm done with the conversation, writing it off as a loss, and moving on. I'm just glad it isn't the transmission in the end.

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Too long to explain, but they did a lot of work: replaced the motor, installed a new suspension, and ordered the shafts while installing the H55F—pretty much all the mechanical work. What bugs me is that they skipped the little details; it's not the first time either. Last time, they missed the cotter pins on the rod ends. I paid thousands to not find these things a year later. I’ll leave it at that before I get myself worked up.

Edit: I'm done with the conversation, writing it off as a loss, and moving on. I'm just glad it isn't the transmission in the end.

I understand

 

[Godwin]

Too long to explain, but they did a lot of work: replaced the motor, installed a new suspension, and ordered the shafts while installing the H55F—pretty much all the mechanical work. What bugs me is that they skipped the little details; it's not the first time either. Last time, they missed the cotter pins on the rod ends. I paid thousands to not find these things a year later. I’ll leave it at that before I get myself worked up.

Edit: I'm done with the conversation, writing it off as a loss, and moving on. I'm just glad it isn't the transmission in the end.

I bought an 80 in Alabama almost 2 years ago. The PO had it in CO where it blew the head gasket and PO had a shop in CO replace the gasket. I think the only thing this shop did correctly was replacing the head gasket and torquing the head down properly. I spent weeks chasing a vacuum leak due to loose nuts on the intake manifold, plus discovered a coolant leak where a bolt was used instead of studs and nuts leading to a loose connection. I feel your pain.

 

[CruiserTrash]

@Gippster As above, I reuse driveshaft bolts. I bought new ones all around when I got this truck as a baseline, but they're fine to use again. I wouldn't necessarily say that's a bad move by a shop. On the other hand they came loose so obviously there was some kind of issue - it's just not the fault of reused bolts. Those things need to get a lot of torque, which is hard with the small tools you can fit on the back side. I put as much torque as I can get on them with an 8" long 14mm box wrench while I'm holding the other side with a 10" ratchet and they've never come loose on me. FYI the Toyota bolts come with their green "loctite" already applied. Definitely pick up a set since those loose ones probably got destroyed while driving.

 

[Gippster]

I'm trying to be civil about the situation, but I'm running out of logical explanations. I'm no expert, and I've found myself replacing a lot of these parts, like the rotor studs or lug nuts, when they look worn; I expected that much. I bought myself the OE bolts, a metric torque wrench adapter for the tight space factor, and a new 3/8" torque wrench; I'll get after it with the FSM value or until my elbow clicks, but not after I take care of replacing my brakes with a buddy.

Pretty much at the DIY phase, which isn't a bad thing; I'll have no one to blame but myself for any mishaps moving forward.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Pretty much at the DIY phase, which isn't a bad thing; I'll have no one to blame but myself for any mishaps moving forward.

Or ... you'll have 100% confidence that the jobs are done right!

 

[Lead Head]

I'm trying to be civil about the situation, but I'm running out of logical explanations. I'm no expert, and I've found myself replacing a lot of these parts, like the rotor studs or lug nuts, when they look worn; I expected that much. I bought myself the OE bolts, a metric torque wrench adapter for the tight space factor, and a new 3/8" torque wrench; I'll get after it with the FSM value or until my elbow clicks, but not after I take care of replacing my brakes with a buddy.

Pretty much at the DIY phase, which isn't a bad thing; I'll have no one to blame but myself for any mishaps moving forward.

I wouldn't expect the driveshaft bolts to be replaced - they typically don't "wear" and are safe to reuse indefinitely. It seems in this case they didn't torque them properly or didn't apply loctite. As mentioned, the bolts come from the factory with thread-locker pre-applied.