How long will a 80 series tranny last????

[kennyv0826]

Anyone have input on the longevity of the 80 series transmissions? I am giving my younger brother my 94 with 180K miles and the engine and tranny work flawlessly and getting a 95 with 260K miles on it. We are changing the engine with a 160K mile donor (younger brothers 80) but since the engine ECU controls the tranny in the OBDII (95+) Cruisers it's apparently not practical to try and swap it out at the same time. According to my older brother who has a 96 80 series the tranny is in perfect running order and shifts like new. The vehicle was purchased from the original owners with mostly highway miles due to a California work commute.

Should I be concerned with the high miles on this tranny or do they fair well with that many clicks on the odometer?

 

[kennyv0826]

One more thing..... this vehicle will be primarly for wheeling (it will have 37's and 5.29's) and the only road miles it will see will be to and from the trail and sometimes across the mountains to Oregon which is about 300 miles away.

 

[OGBeno]

Anyone have input on the longevity of the 80 series transmissions? I am giving my younger brother my 94 with 180K miles and the engine and tranny work flawlessly and getting a 95 with 260K miles on it. We are changing the engine with a 160K mile donor (younger brothers 80) but since the engine ECU controls the tranny in the OBDII (95+) Cruisers it's apparently not practical to try and swap it out at the same time. According to my older brother who has a 96 80 series the tranny is in perfect running order and shifts like new. The vehicle was purchased from the original owners with mostly highway miles due to a California work commute.

Should I be concerned with the high miles on this tranny or do they fair well with that many clicks on the odometer?

As with anything in Cruiserdom, if you take care of it, keep up on the PM, you'll be fine. IIRC, these are school bus trannies....

 

[Cruiserhead05]

I have a 94 with the original tranny(A442F). The truck has 275,000 miles on it and honestly the tranny probably hasnt been serviced as much as it should have. It has had zero issues and doesnt show any signs of doing anything soon.

 

[MoGas]

The A442F is by far the superior of the two trannys.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

The A442F is by far the superior of the two trannys.

Uh oh, there goes the neighborhood

 

[cruiser88]

keep the tranny cool,fiter and etc changed it will last forever

 

[alaskacruiser]

The A442F is by far the superior of the two trannys*

*If you enjoy solenoid issues and flaring issues

 

[lovetoski]

My 80 has 263,000 miles on the original tranny. Works fine.

 

[kennyv0826]

The A442F is by far the superior of the two trannys.

What makes the earlier transmission better?

How difficult is it to swap a 94 tranny into a 95 OBDII rig?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

What makes the earlier transmission better?

How difficult is it to swap a 94 tranny into a 95 OBDII rig?

Can't be done.(at least not without great difficulty)

Nothing wrong with the later transmissions, this is a long fought debate, and most agree the more sophisticated later transmissions have had fewer failures. Don't sweat it. All Land Cruiser autos last a long, long time.

 

[Hayes]

The earlier tranny is superior, Cruiser Dan says so.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

The earlier tranny is superior, Cruiser Dan says so.

He also says his solenoids went tits up and had to be replaced.

 

[Spydaz]

Why is it superior, is there hard data saying so, just becuase it was used as a Mini Bus tranny does not mean that its superior to the later trannys..

 

[firetruck41]

Why is it superior, is there hard data saying so, just becuase it was used as a Mini Bus tranny does not mean that its superior to the later trannys..

No, there is no hard data, as the post a few before mine says, this is long standing debate, in which each side says theirs is better. They are both great and will last a long, long, long time.

 

[MoGas]

From
automatictransmission.com.au :


"We have seen the A442F transmission pushed to 700Hp"


"I'd like to hear your thoughts on the durability/reliability of Toyota's A442F transmission (used in the US landcruiser from 1993-1994/95) and the A343F that replaced it for 1995-97. Many people have noticed that Toyota only changed the tranny to the A343F in the US, and left the A442F in other countries. Can you speculate as to why this was done (was it cost-saving?) In any case, what is your opinion on each of these trannies? What are the pros and cons of each and, in your opinion, which will hold up longer? Thanks! Vik


Both the A442F and A343F transmissions is capable of holding 450K/W of power when fitted with an Extreme Stage II Blue Print Valve Body. These valve bodies are the direct result of a development program that was introduced for the Extreme Fully Blue Printed Landcruiser transmission range. The valve body is the same unit that was developed for that unit. The Valve Body can be brought separately for $795.00 Australian but is sold as a change over unit with a deposit being charged until the old valve body is returned. I don't know why the A442F was replaced with the A343F but if I was to guess I would say weight ( both dead weight and centrifugal weight ), The smaller 2.7 and 3.4 litre Landcruiser Prado engine's are just to small for the A442F heavy weight. The A442F is much larger than the new design and for this same reason I would say that the older A442F transmissions is a little stronger."


Dave

 

[alaskacruiser]

In terms of what we've seen on this board, I believe we've seen more (solenoid and flaring) problems on A442Fs vs. (check ball) problems on the A343F. We have examples of both trannies with over 300K mi. on them, so they're both very reliable. We just like to debate this issue every so often.

 

[Bear80]

I think both are just fine in the 80 but I would say that the 442 can take by far more towing loads. I think the biggest issue for anyone in the US will be replaceing the valve body in the 343 to prevent 1st-2nd clutch wear when adding a s/c.

My '97 98k crusier that has done quite a bit of towing doesn't feel as tight and shift as tight as my dad/sister's pampered 210k '95. I say changing solenoids is far simpler compaired to the check ball/reverse delay with the 343. My next 80 I want to bild up for 'wheeling is going to be a '94.

--paid-.02

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I think both are just fine in the 80 but I would say that the 442 can take by far more towing loads. I think the biggest issue for anyone in the US will be replaceing the valve body to prevent 1st-2nd clutch wear when adding a s/c.

My .02, my '97 98k crusier that has done quite a bit of towing doesn't feel as tight and shift as tight as my dad/sister's pampered 210k '95. And I would have no issue to swap rides.

I assume you know the 95 and the 97 have the same tranny. Any differences are far more likely to be due to differences in adjustment of the kick-down cable.

Keep whatever tranny you have maintained, and enjoy the ride.

 

[alaskacruiser]

I think both are just fine in the 80 but I would say that the 442 can take by far more towing loads. I think the biggest issue for anyone in the US will be replaceing the valve body in the 343 to prevent 1st-2nd clutch wear when adding a s/c.

My '97 98k crusier that has done quite a bit of towing doesn't feel as tight and shift as tight as my dad/sister's pampered 210k '95. I say changing solenoids is by far simple compaired to the check ball/reverse delay with the 343. My next 80 I want to bild up for 'wheeling is going to be a '94.

--paid-.02

1. The A442F also often has problems with a s/c and needs a new valve body to prevent the exacerbated flaring problem.

2. Unless your dad/sister's '95 is a rare '95 w/ A442F and no airbags, they have the same tranny you do.

3. Changing solenoids is simple, fixing the flaring problem is not. Moreover, from what I've seen, most A343Fs do not have the checkball problem.

4. What do you base the "A442F can take by far more towing loads" on? Both are rated the same for towing, and the A343F went into several years of the 100 series V8 Landcruisers. According to Rodney at Wholesale Automatics, the valve body is the limiting factor in towing for both trannies, not the tranny itself.