Transmission?

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A

apalt

10 Year 15 Year
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Sep 20, 2009
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29
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Location
Alaska
Upfront...its a 2000.

Recently I have noticed a faint growl that occurs between 1500 and 1800 rpms. It is not present when coasting at various speeds, LC in Neutral, and engine revving through this range.

I did a drain and fill of the transmission. Nothing overly suspicious on the plug.

Also drained and filled the center diff.

Problem still existed after both of these actions.

I lubed the drivetrain (the 6 zerks), and it did seem to have dampened it a bit...but it is still there.

From the start, there has been no loss in performance and the fluid smelled fine before the drain and fill.

Is this early indication of a transmission problem? I've poured through the threads on transmission problems, and they consistently say that there was no warning before they went. I've driven 400 miles or so with this, so if it goes this would be some warning.

Any thoughts?

Greg
 
I have a similar vibration/drone in my truck and it comes from the transfer case. If you place your hand on the Hi/Low knob, can you feel the vibration increase in the 1500-1800 range?

I also had the same vibration in my 80 and the dealership tried unsuccessfully to fix this.
 
Sounds completely normal. If it's 1500 to 1800 then the TC is locked.

If it's in all gears then that implies all speeds so it's not a drive train thing. It's just engine harmonics resonating in the chassis.
 
What does that mean..."If it's 1500-1800 then the TC is locked." You think the center diff is locked? Wouldn't it moan and groan really badly on pavement when turning (which it doesn't)?

Other than the dash light and the center diff button, and way to validate whether the TC is locked or unlocked?

Really appreciate the dialogue here. Thanks!
 
Mine growls at 1500 - 1800 rpm.
It is the heat shields on the exhaust system vibrating,
not the transmission, I hope.
 
apalt said:
What does that mean..."If it's 1500-1800 then the TC is locked." You think the center diff is locked?
Click to expand...

Torque Converter is locked. Meaning its not slipping so it can't be a source of the vibration. Often for 2000 a misbehaving TC is the first indication of a bad problem.
 
apalt said:
What does that mean..."If it's 1500-1800 then the TC is locked." You think the center diff is locked? Wouldn't it moan and groan really badly on pavement when turning (which it doesn't)?

Other than the dash light and the center diff button, and way to validate whether the TC is locked or unlocked?

Really appreciate the dialogue here. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I think he means that the torque converter locks up automatically in that rpm range.
The torque converter (TC ?) slips at lower rpms and locks at higher rpms.
It is purely mechanical and there is no light to indicate the function of the torque converter. It is the fluid-filled part that allows your engine to run without stalling when the transmission is in gear and the vehicle is stopped. Also called a stall-converter, it is sort of like the equivalent of the "clutch" on a manual transmission. It alows the input shaft to turn while the output is held stationary.

If your car stops without stalling and goes without slipping then your torque converter is working.

I would not be worried about the symptoms described in the original post.

The 2UZ engines are so smooth that we tend to notice the harmonics from the exhaust, or vibrations from the driveline more than you would on a truck with a noisier engine.

Old Land Cruiser gonna vibrate sometimes- it does not necessarily mean that there is a problem.
 
Marsh - thanks for the clarification on "TC." I thought that stood for Transfer Case...

I hope you all are right and it is nothing. Hard to believe that engine harmonics could just appear like that. It is just a bit unnerving with all the 2000 transmission fear out there.

LC has only 74K miles and runs like a top.
 
marshotel said:
Old Land Cruiser gonna vibrate sometimes- it does not necessarily mean that there is a problem.
Click to expand...

Its the body mounts and engine mouth that harden with time and heat. The resonance is better transmitted with age.
 
Mine had a weird growl/rattling sound at ~600RPM when stopped at a light. Turned out to be the engine cover. Took it off and the foam pieces were missing. Left it off and no noise since. Just another thing to check into.
 
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