Tranny drain plug - Excessive or Normal (1 Viewer)

[BG85FJ60]

85 FJ60 w/ 160, xxx miles. Just purchased the rig about a month ago. Going through it slowly as my wallet will allow. Anyway, just finished draining and refilling the 4-speed transmission & transfer case. Looking at the drain plug, can anyony tell me if this looks like normal wear or excessive. Seems to shift fine but would just like some opinions. Thanks! BG

 

[2mbb]

I think it's OK. especially since you don't know how long it's been since the last time it was cleaned. The good news is that there don't appear to be any big chunks indicating a broken gear tooth.

My advice would be to drive it for a while and then maybe check it again. You can drain the oil into a clean bucket if you don't want to replace it. But as you drive it, if there are no apparent issues, I really wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Output Shaft]

Looks normal for a (overly) long service drain interval. Even when the oil is changed according to Toyota's recommended intervals, some crud still winds up on the magnet.

One thing to watch out for is shifting the gearbox into reverse. Don't let it grind.
Since the gears in the FJ60 are kinda big, they have some inertia. The clutch has to be pressed in for several seconds to allow them to spin down before shifting into reverse... otherwise you'll grind it.

Each time the tranny is shifted into reverse with a grind, the gnashing gears wear off a little metal. This metal ends up in the gear oil and increases wear to everything until it gets caught (if ever) by the magnet.

Also,
It is a FJ60 ritual to keep an eye on the oil levels in both the transmission and transfer case every once in a while (few months) to make sure that oil is not migrating from one to the other.

Also,
If the tranny/transfer case has always had regular dino gear oil in it that was rarely changed, and then the old crud is drained out and replaced with new fancy 75W-90 synthetic gear oil, the likelihood of the new thinner synthetic stuff weeping past the seals between the transmission & transfer is almost 100%. Check gear oil levels frequently after changing to synthetic gear oil until you get a feeling for what is happening in there.
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Pics:
Pic shows reverse gear leading edge ground down from 20 years of occasional impatient shifting (grinding) into reverse. Not a show stopper, but best to be avoided. This metal winds up on the magnet eventually (before adding a bit of grit to the gear oil... wearing everything.

Reverse idler gear leading edge rounded down from grinding into reverse....

 

[Bear Lake Cruiser]

normal

 

[BG85FJ60]

Thanks for the details info fellas. Sure makes me feel better about not needing to pull the Transmission. Keep Cruisin!