Transmission in a fj62. (1 Viewer)

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Hi yall. I am about to get a '89 LC. Im trying to get all the info I possibly can. He told me it has a few problems. The major being "the transmission has problems. I will be able to make it to work probably. But it slips on the highway." Starting I'm going to do a filter fluid change. Any preferences for the best additive? He said it a has a t?? (Like t56) But I thought a440 was the trans that came with it. I know he said 4 speed with over drive. Does this sound correct? Possibly looking at rebuilding it if need be. I am fairly comfortable with it. Rock auto has a 275$ kit. Even 3 screw ups is cheaper then buying a rebuilt one. The water pump leaks. Then I believe he changed the 2 front windows from power to manual. It has 300k on it. Missouri first 13 years then 18 in Las Cruces. No rust. Besides what I listed what should I do?? Of course a motor tune up as well. I appreciate everyone's input.

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Search for a "Rodney Flush" and the "Party Trick" in the search feature. My 89 has 234,000+ and mine started to slip a few years back. The flush and the party trick cured my issues. These transmissions are notoriously difficult to rebuild and the jury is still out as to whether or not the cost is worth the benefit. Research "H55 Swap" as well. Lots of folks go that route. I will eventually with mine but she's not there yet. Just about every question you have for these trucks, an answer can be found using the search feature. The wealth of knowledge on this forum is amazing.
 
Awesome I appreciate it. I'm excited to have my first build.
Search for a "Rodney Flush" and the "Party Trick" in the search feature. My 89 has 234,000+ and mine started to slip a few years back. The flush and the party trick cured my issues. These transmissions are notoriously difficult to rebuild and the jury is still out as to whether or not the cost is worth the benefit. Research "H55 Swap" as well. Lots of folks go that route. I will eventually with mine but she's not there yet. Just about every question you have for these trucks, an answer can be found using the search feature. The wealth of knowledge on this forum is amazing.
 
Hi, Having several fj62s these are great transmissions. That said they need a separate transmission cooler. If you tow like we do all of ours have given up in the 250,000 range. They can be rebuilt and will go another 250,000 miles.You can play with all kind of TRICKS but if your loaded or tow a lot they are going to fail at the worst possible time. We use our cruisers hard ,towing several tons a lot, a good rebuild is worth it.Most transmisssion shops just don’t have enough experience to rebuild,they just buy a rebuild from someone else and install it. Mike
 
A rebuild, at least in my area, Southeast was around $6200. Think about that figure hard before you make any further decisions. Some have "fixed" their ailing transmissions. Others have swapped them out completely for a 4 or 5 speed. You lose the sweetness of the automatic in traffic but you pick up some pep the cruiser otherwise lacks. If you can't wrench on the truck yourself this thing is going to be a constant wallet drain and will spend a good bit of time in the service parking lot. Awesome and fun trucks though, no arguments there. Look at guys (gals) like @cruisermatt and @NeverGiveUpYota to get an idea of not only what can be done, but what often must be done to keep these things running.
 
I'd have to double check, but I remember a friend having one rebuilt locally for less than 3k. Quotes are all over the place on these things for seemingly no reason. I'm sure a decent trans shop could knock it out, there's no alien tech inside.

If yours is slipping, it is on borrowed time. Could be thousands of miles left, but you're headed in that direction. Flush it, see what it does, and go from there.
 
Check the frame for rust, don't take him at his word, look at the frame especially around the rear c channels where they open up, and where the front of the rear springs mount to the frame. At 300k look carefully at the motor, pull some spark plugs and look at there condition. Make sure the head is not cracked and fouling the plugs. Make sure the oil fill cap on the valve cover has oily goo and not dry exhaust carbon in it. Run the motor at various rpms and listen for a miss. Drive it up a hill in a lower gear and make sure there is no power loss.

The torn driver's seat is normal..they all do it on the side. The clear coat is gone, the antennas is broke, the dash is cracked, the glass tint film is trashed, so make sure to consider and point these out when making your offer.

Check to make sure the front knuckles are not leaking gear oil down the inside of the front wheels and tires. A bit of caked on grease is fine, but oil running down onto the wheels and tires means the axle seals are gone and the gear oil can leak out of the front axle.

Look at the spring bushings...where the springs attach to the shackles. If the shackle pin is not centered the bushings are worn and will need replacement along with replacing rusty shackles and pins.
 
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On paper, that FJ62 probably needs $10K in repairs, as well as a paint job. Pay accordingly.

I would change the transmission fluid first, and inspect the filter and the kickdown cable, and use Dex III to refill (not Dex IV). Try that first and see if that helps the transmission. Mine has 258K and still shifts well and does not slip.
 
Interesting that it's slipping at highway speeds. These transmissions have a "lock out" mode above 50mph, and I haven't heard about slippage happening when in lock-out. Mine was slipping between 2nd and 3rd, and while I haven't gotten around to a full Rodney flush just yet, a quart of Lucas Transmission Fix seems to have bought me some time.

*edit: the A440 does not have an overdrive gear, but when it goes into lock-out, it feels like an overdrive gear kicking in.
 
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We recently had our transmission rebuilt (picked it up yesterday), it wasn't slipping at highway speeds but the torque converter wasn't fully locking up. It felt like a shudder when we hit a certain speed, and if we were able to kick it over that speed it would get better. Rebuild was expensive, parts are steadily disappearing. If you do decide to rebuild, I would reach out to Georg at Valley Hybrids, he was a great resource for us.
 
For the OP-dude, that transmission is cooked. That's normal. It's 30+ years old. Do not kid yourself, you will need a rebuilt ro new transmission. So make sure you budget that into your purchase. I would argue that your best course of action is to install an H55f manual transmission. It will make your FJ62 more normal feeling in everyday driving. The H440 auto transmission is a power sucking looser and the sooner you replace it, the better. It is durable though. But if you're already seeing problems, it's dead. There are no cheap and easy fixes.
 
Good luck with what, and getting what together?
Good luck with getting and entire transmission set up for less. There is more to it than just purchasing a transmission. There's a hell of a lot of work to take it all apart and put all the pieces you don't get with the transmission on. Not to mention the pieces like torque converter than may need to be replaced. The 'good luck with that,' was more directed at the OP who should think about the process, time and expense of repair, rebuild and installation maybe before making a purchase.
 
Hi yall. I am about to get a '89 LC. Im trying to get all the info I possibly can. He told me it has a few problems. The major being "the transmission has problems. I will be able to make it to work probably. But it slips on the highway." Starting I'm going to do a filter fluid change. Any preferences for the best additive? He said it a has a t?? (Like t56) But I thought a440 was the trans that came with it. I know he said 4 speed with over drive. Does this sound correct? Possibly looking at rebuilding it if need be. I am fairly comfortable with it. Rock auto has a 275$ kit. Even 3 screw ups is cheaper then buying a rebuilt one. The water pump leaks. Then I believe he changed the 2 front windows from power to manual. It has 300k on it. Missouri first 13 years then 18 in Las Cruces. No rust. Besides what I listed what should I do?? Of course a motor tune up as well. I appreciate everyone's input.

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Not sure where you're Located but my cruiser was doing the exact same thing and then totally went. Still searching for a solution but it seems rebuilds re near impossible now given no hard parts.
 
No, I meant make the switch to a manual transmission. If you are handy with automotive "stuff," or know someone who is and who could. A 5speed conversion will set you back some money, but a 4 speed can be had for next to nothing.
If staying with the automatic the only solution is a rebuild. If so just put in a new heavy duty valve body from Cruiser Brothers/Valley Hybrids.
Often a band transmission is the death knell for one of these rigs. Many people just don't want to spend the money to fix it and understandably so. Unfortunately there is not cheap rebuild.
 

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