I havn't been able to find a write up on this in particular so here it goes:

Background::: My transmission (192000mi) began slipping at red lights. Replaced fluid and filter and problem vanished. Weeks went by, and the slipping began again, along with grinding noises and subsequent trans oil hot light leading to complete failure, where the engine would crank over and rev but no acceleration. Transmission place quoted me ~4000$ for a rebuild including the 4wd diff and transfer case. I offered to pull it myself and bring it in for the rebuild and the price dropped to ~3000$. Now anyone familiar with Hawaii can tell you there arn't many options and also I am haole - google it. Also getting anything over 5 lbs shipped here is freight lol so that is not really an option either. So pretty much my best course of action is to do it myself and if all else fails pay someone. When mentioning the word rebuild everyone says stay away and don't do it. But honestly it wasn't that bad. The rebuild kit was 390$ including s/h. But the rebuild kit didn't fix the problem. No oil being pumped to the cooler. Found a donor tranny (AW4) from a jeep for 100$ and the parts inside matched so tried that. No luck. Went on deployment. While finishing up deployment starting cruising craigslist and found a brand new A340E for 600$. Now after researching a lot, came to the conclusion the A340E and A340F are the same except the output shaft and oil pan. Well I was right.

These pics do not show the PITA it is to remove the transmission LOL. That will be a different write up. This write up just shows the A340E receiving my A340F output shaft, filter and pan TRANSFORMING THE A340E INTO AN A340F!


The bible




Waiting in my garage for my return.




Sitting in this box since 2001.




Untouched since packaged




BAM!




The guy who sold it to me said don't take it apart.




Rear cone off




My transmission stand lol. The first rebuild I did, i wore white gloves and did it on a surgical table. At this point I could care less. I know exactly whats gonna pop out so I don't recommend this kind of stand for you. But it worked great honestly because the output shaft on the 2WD is so long. A double stack of 2x4 is good for 4WD output shaft length.




Oil pan off (and filter has been removed) Next is valve body. All bolts will be removed except the gold one and the 3 for solenoids. Also throttle cable will be disconnected and both lower oil tubes.




How I keep track of exact location of bolts and how the tubes go.




Valve body off. What pops out at you is the top right spring and the top left ball bearing and associated mini spring. The two large bolts below the metal bar come out and three gold bolts bottom right that hold the park claw. Also band tensioner. Also take the transmission housing off (large top part that connects tranny to engine) so the oil pump will come off very easy.
Use two bolts from the transmission housing to take lift oil pump out and two bolts from oil pump to lift O/D suuport assy out - or vice versa -you'll figure it out, but smart design.




The guts IN ORDER that come out so the output shaft can be removed




Output shafts. Shorty on the right is for the 4WD A340F and long one on left is for 2WD A340E. Sorry didn't line them up exactly but up to the point they stick out of rear of tranny they are an exact match. This was the first time I smiled since this thing broke March 2012.




A340F (4WD) oil pan on left, A340E (2WD) on right. 4WD is deeper and includes one more magnet.




A340E (2WD) tranny oil filter on top, A340F (4WD)filter on bottom




Filter bottom view. Note the 4WD takes one extra bolt - no problem since same valve body




Info




Info




Info


Installation is Opposite of Removal. Good Luck.

The only thing you are changing out is the output shaft, filter and oil pan. They all match up perfectly.

The tranny works perfect I am extremely happy to say!



Tips and Tricks, Not in Order
-Use 6 point wrenches and sockets, not 12 point.
-Turn the engine to remove the torque converter by putting a wrench on alternator nut. I had no luck with a screwdriver on the flex plate.
-The rack and pinion just needs to be slid 2ish inches forward, not taken all the way off - this relieves a lot of pain messing with steering column. (The rack and pinion removal is another reason labor is high for this job.
-Take both front tires off and sway bar. Just get them out the way all together.
-Buy a creeper. Buy long extensions, breaker bar and universal joint before you begin. You will not get the upper bolts off without a universal joint.
-Torque wrench, thread lock fluid, snap ring tool needed
-Dont over tighten any bolts. Brass ones snap off and oil pan will leak after the pan cuts through gasket.
-Expect 12 quarts of fluid when said and done.
-Gear oil for the transfer case.
-Petroleum jelly to hold various part in tranny.
-Have band aids. The tranny is sharp inside. Very sharp.
-When scraping residue gasket maker, don't get any in tranny



Not to brag but I removed and replaced this tranny 3 times solo with the aid of a floor jack and some 2x4s. The trick is to not install the 4WD transfer case until the tranny is in, then bench press the transfer case. Maybe I'll do a tranny write up - one day. Any questions comments please don't hesitate. I'll update this with more pics and info as I remember. There is a lot of info I know I'm forgetting.

It is advised to change the tranny oil and filter after 700mi. But I ask, do you do this to your new tranny on your new vehicle. No? Neither will I. I did add the B&M to save this tranny from any milkshakes.

**********************HARDEST LESSON LEARNED*****************

If you take anything from this let it be this - the torque convertor must be seated correctly. It will settle on the spline three times. I believe I did this incorrectly the first time and failed to recognize this until I bought this new tranny and kept reading and reading online. I had to stand the tranny on its butt (transfer case adapter) to set the convertor on correct. Then take rags and stuff around the convertor so it wouldn't slide off during install. Nay sayers will say you cannot install the transmission if the convertor is not seated all the way and I say with 100% confidence you can and I did on this vehicle.

You got more balls than I do man...

Good on ya.

I too have put transmissions into mine at least 4 times while doing the swap.

The transfer case, a whole nother story....

But you're right. Best way to do it is to bench press it.

I love seeing this kind of work, good job. From the research I did for my tranny swap I found that pretty much all of the A340 series parts will interchange which makes dealing with a transmission problem on our trucks not as bad as it seems.

Wow - you have some amazing perseverance. Glad to see you are back on the road, and a new tranny to boot!

Awesome. I'd love to see a write-up. As someone who is likely going to have transmission problems soon, I am interested to see any write-ups of swapping and fixing transmissions.

Thanks guys for the compliments. Part of me wishes I had got it done right the first time but I guess in the end a new tranny is worth it.

Very cool writeup. Cool know know the F and E transmissions are that close!

I hope I never have to do this but it is good to know plus a good sticky for others. Kudos to ya for getting it done in paradise.

Any updates on you transmission? I contacted a transmission shop that specializes in Toyota, they said the valve body calibration is different on the a340e therefore its not a good idea to make such a conversion.
I would love to read an update. I'm currently in the process of a new engine/transmission. 4x4 transmission are hard to come by and expensive. 4x2 seem to be plentiful and cheep. I sourced out and engine/transmission w/ 82k miles...Would you suggest the conversion??
Sadly I'm not well versed with Toyota. I was a Tech for MBZ for 12 years, so I have some automotive experience.

Thanks

Love the thread. Glad to know if need be I can use a 2x4 tranny and swap it in if need be, but if you don't mind me asking what about the difference in speedsensor? My tranny is bad, second gear only works when it's cold and it has 220k hard miles on her, I found a auto tranny from a 98 Tacoma with 90k miles. Asked my Toyota guy and he said only difference is vehicle speed sensor, do you know if this is true? And will this newer tranny work for my application without having to tear it apart?

Great write up! Well detailed and definately helpful.
In resurrecting this thread because I've diagnosed a cracked flexplate on a 2002 4tunner 4wd and am planning to remove and replace.

I am looking for pointers that will make the removal easier.

Problem areas I see are the starter removal, shifter linkage and shear size of the trans and transfer case.

Is it possible to remove the transfer case separately ?

Since I don't have any other issues , this would be a great time to drain the torque converter and clean the pan, is there anything else recommended as the teams will be out of the truck?

Thavks !

So you mounted the torque converter in/on the transmission and then attached it to the engine? or did you the the torque converter on the engine then slide in the trans?

torque converter goes on the transmission
then you put the transmission to the engine
then bolt the flex plate to the torque converter

I'm going to pull up pinouts in the wiring diagram, but in the meantime do you recall if there's any wiring differences between the F and E?

i guess swapping the oil pan from the F to the E will give it more capacity, hence stays cooler.