Anecdotal evidence here, but our '02 4R transmission failed at about 155k miles. Had a toyota reman put in. About 5 months later, that one failed too (under warranty thankfully). Had another toyota reman put in. So far so good on the replacement, almost 30k on it.

The A340X was offered in many cars, but that doesn't mean they are identical. There's differences for every application and year. I realize that there is no explanation yet, but I do notice that 01-02 transmissions fail more often than the 96-00.

I understand that they came on other vehicles as well. A Higher rate of failure doesn't equal a relatively high rate of failure, those are different statements. It's not like the 01-02 trannys are crap, they just have a slightly higher rate of failure especially at higher mileage.

Ohhhhh...I'm not liking this thread at all. I'm hoping to keep mine around a little longer.

Yeah, I just changed my transmission strainer and performed a drain and fill. After that, my tranny once in a great while will not want to downshift. No CEL yet, no pending codes, fluid level is perfect and the same fluid I have always put in. I had the fluid analyzed at Blackstone, and they said it showed no issues, and that my tranny is wearing slower than usual. That's when I talked to my buddy to see if he had a tranny laying around just in case. He did, but it had like 160k on it. He also told me that when you change the fluid, it can make the symptoms worse. He told me that the newer 3rd Gens have a little Higher rate of having issues. Same with the Taco 01-04.

Im just going to drive it until it completely fails, then buy a reman from Toyota and throw it in or convert to a manual tranny.

So the transmission place did me a huge favor.

I went there and told them I wanted the solenoids changed and the filter changed. They agreed to do it and told me to come in Monday. I showed Monday, no parts. They asked me to come back Tuesday.

I showed Tuesday, no parts. Please come back tomorrow.

I showed Wednesday, and guess what? No parts.

This annoyed me, so I went to a place and had them read the codes. Yep, the solenoid code had tripped, as had the O2 sensor. The O2 sensor was replaced, the codes cleared, and they haven't come back.

Those incompetent businessmen saved me money.

Thanks for everyone's help on this board.

Ah...OK I'm lost. Can someone explain how replacing an O2 sensor (PO420 I assume) fixes a PO770 shift solenoid? Seems coincidental to me.

Chaos, baby. Computers has it.

Hey dude it happened to my 4runner at 200k and it had nothing to do with the tranny it was actually something to do with the starter lol. Should be all good to be honest reset your battery haha.

What fluid did you use? I'm using Valvoline Maxlife in my 6/1996 A340F, but when I do a drain/fill this summer I plan on using either Toyota Type IV or Castrol Transmax Import. My reason is that the Valvoline is thinner than these fluids because it meets Toyota WS standards as well. My transmission is shifting very well considering it has 204k and towed at the rating limit for a lot of its life. Zero slipping, but occasionally I feel like it could shift smoother, but then again no one has ever pointed out a problem so it's just me being OCD as well.

Using Valvoline MaxLife DEX/MERC full synthetic, always have. Compatible with T-IV.

Unrelated question.........I am looking into dropping the transmission pan on my 1996 SR5 and replacing the screen and changing the fluid. I have been searching by the transmission model A340E and have found several kits on ebay and amazon that have the screen and gasket. I noticed that a lot of them have a differently shaped screen than the oem version. Is this something I should be concerned with? The OEM screen looks more elongated and in my mind would have a greater surface area for screening.

Here is an example, ignore the solenoids
Solenoid Service Kit Toyota A340 Transmission 1989 1999 2WD 21348 | eBay

Thanks

That's a pretty cheap kit. I don't like the price of it which says to me the parts are cheap too. Get an OEM strainer for sure, if it shifts fine then leave the tranny solenoids alone.

Hypothetically speaking. If someone were to purchase solenoids, would these be of a better quality?
http://www.amazon.com/TOYOTA-A340E-A...k_ql_qh_dp_hza

This screen and gasket kit looks more like the OEM to me, but the description talks about some sort of heat expanding material on the initial gasket installation.

http://www.amazon.com/ATP-B-211-Auto...s=A340E+gasket


Thoughts?

Yeah. I think @StreetCreeper used that kit. When it comes to the strainer, I would only use OEM and Toyota FIPG for transmissions.