Transmission Fluid Hemorrhage

[Bergretter]

Thanks for the reply Dave, that's the most useful info I have received so far. Local shops are unfamiliar with this tranny (just to prove your point), so I am really hesitant to try a rebuild until I relocate. Looks like I may have to source a replacement or risk installing a new front pump and torque converter, flush, new filter and see what happens! Still a mystery to me what the cause of this was, maybe just a 1 in a million fluke. Thanks for all the replies guys.

 

[Funner]

There is a transmission for your application listed at cruiserparts for $700. They claim it to be tested and good to go

Scroll down toward the bottom 1/3 of the page, cut and pasted below-

http://www.cruiserparts.net/parts/fj80.html

Land Cruiser Transmission and transfer case assemblies.
Transmission with torque converter.

1993-1994
Fully tested, no issues. Only 121,321 miles, works well.
$700

More parts are available.
Call us with any questions or to order @ 888-941-3450
Want to order right now? Just fill in this simple and secure form.
Use our quote form to price out any other needed items.
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[greentruck]

'93-'94 only on that particular transmission. If I recall correctly, the pump sucks fluid up through the filter first, so there is likely trash throughout the tranny. Lots of little offices in there to get particles in. I would try to find a donor or a very reputable shop...

Dave,
That was just the insight needed.

bergstreter
If it was my truck, that would clench it for me. There are just way too many things that can go wrong in an auto tranny to count on getting it all without a complete, meticulous teardown and cleanup. But that's just my opinion and I'm certainly no expert on the topic.

The key thing is that you saw what the results were, so you may have a better idea of how extensive the grit and pieces of the grenaded parts were.

 

[Bergretter]

Thanks for the info, Funner, I was looking over their stock and noticed the tranny for sale as well. I may go with this option, with some hesitation as the last part I received from them (FJ40 3 spd transmission) appeared as though it had just been pulled from the mud, dropped in a box, and shipped my way! I had to flush the guts for days before I felt comfortable running it! Anyway, as far as the metal goes, the picture that shows the orange seal is the area that was cut a bit down by the spinning bushing so it appears to not be much. Now, I drove this vehicle the rest of the way up the mountain, overnight stay in 10 degrees, and back down to the house the next day before I noticed the ATF departing the transmission, and it was shifting perfectly the whole time. This may be giving me false hope that whatever metal that is in this unit is either very little or has been retained by the filter.

 

[longbow]

Did you ever get this issue resolved?

I build these trannys as well as the A440 and A343 and given your location, I would probably try and replace the pump and have the converter rebuilt. I use Roadrunner converters in Phoenix and you would probably be into a rebuilt converter for around $300 to $350 including shipping to Kodiak. They turn stuff around in a day once they get your converter. A good source for a pump assembly is transmissionpartsandcores.com. They have really reasonable prices.

If it was still shifting ok, then there is a good chance that the valve body isn't too contaminated. My guess on the pump bushing seizing onto the converter shaft is that some metal from the oil pump got into the converter and that bushing is lubed by the output flow from the converter and if metal gets into that bushing it can cause it to seize like yours did.

Anyway, hopefully you got this resolved and obviously a full teardown of this tranny would be the best, but that isn't always a possibility especially on Kodiak.

Don

 

[MoGas]

I build these trannys as well as the A440 and A343.......

Don

So, what do you see the most of out of the three? The great debate rages on which is the "best". Average expected lifespan of each? I change out a gallon of ATF every other engine oil change to keep it fresh in there and I have been doing that for 100k miles. Trans (A442) has 249 on it right now with no signs of giving up just yet (knock wood)

 

[longbow]

Mogas,

Well that is a good question that is up for a lot of opinion and personal preference. I love the A440 because it is full hydraulic and simple to work on and easy to swap into other cruisers. That said, it has a torque converter that is not very efficient and produces a lot of heat that must be dealt with in some way to achieve longevity. As a result, they generally last 200 to 250K miles with a few making it to 280 to 300 if they have lived charmed lives and were well taken care of.

The A442 is essentially the same transmission as the A440 with electronically controlled valve body and a more efficient designed torque converter. This is in my opinion the greatest Land Cruiser tranny that they made for the wagons. If well maintained they have been known to go to 400K miles with no trouble at all. In fact, I was talking to the techs at Spector offroad about this very fact and they had a customer that had 600K miles on his 80 series that he had since new and they had serviced its entire life and never been rebuilt! I would say that if you keep changing the fluid and maintaining yours it should last another 100K as long as the previous owner took good care of it.

The A343 is a great tranny as well. While it doesn't have the size of components as the A440/A442 it is still a great tranny that has proven itself in thousands of 80 series rigs throughout the world. I am not a fan of braking bands in transmissions and the A343 uses one and as such, I consider it a weaker design. The A440/A442 only use clutch plates and steels for both braking and clutch application and these self adjust and are a simpler more robust design. This is another reason that the A442 is superior to the A343. The A343 is no slouch though and has an even more efficient designed torque converter than the A442 and so it runs even cooler and this contributes to its longevity. Many of the A343 trannys regularly go over the 300K mile mark and keep on going, so you can't really knock it as being weak. My wife drives and 80 series with an A343 and it has 265K on it and works flawlessly. Try and find an american made tranny that will go that long without problems!

Anyway, these are just my opinions on these trannys and I'm sure others out there have their own opinion as well.

As to which ones fail the most, none of them! Land Cruiser trannys just don't fail very often. Somewhere I have a chart from the transmission rebuilder association that shows transmission failure rates based on the amount of rebuild kits sold per year. Land Cruiser transmissions are at the very bottom of that chart. Generally when they fail it is usually related to lack of maintenance or overheating or both. This thread was really a surprise when I saw it as I have never seen a land cruiser tranny seize a pump bushing to the converter before. But as these trannys get up in years there are bound to be failures due to multiple owners and who knows what.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Don

 

[js93cruiser]

How do you adjust the bands in the 343f? I've never heard of anyone doing that

 

[longbow]

Js93cruiser,

Good catch! The A343 uses one band for braking but it never needs adjusting. I just finished rebuilding my buddy's Dodge 48RE and I really dislike adjusting bands in american made trannys, maybe that is what I was thinking of. I amended my above statement.

Just another reason to like the A343!

 

[js93cruiser]

Js93cruiser,

Good catch! The A343 uses one band for braking but it never needs adjusting. I just finished rebuilding my buddy's Dodge 48RE and I really dislike adjusting bands in american made trannys, maybe that is what I was thinking of. I amended my above statement.

Just another reason to like the A343!

Braking as in when you let off the gas? I know the dodge transmissions you have to adjust them lol

 

[longbow]

JS93Cruiser,

No, braking in regards to automatic transmission internals refers to stopping the outside or inside of a planetary gear set to achieve either a different gear ratio or reversing direction of the output shaft.

Don