Your 4Runner will have one of these automatic Transmissions:

89-91 2.4L RWD will have an A44D. This is a 4 speed Automatic.
89-04 2.4,2.7,3.0,3.4,4.0 RWD has an A340E Also a 4 speed Automatic.
90-94 3.0 4WD will have an A340H 4 speed Automatic.
95-04 2.7,3.0,,3.4,4.0 4WD Uses the A340F 4 speed Automatic.
03-08 4.0,4.7 2WD and 4Wd Uses the A750E/F 5 speed Automatic.



The A4XX series in the 89-91 comes in many vehicles including cars. A shady junk yard or a non experienced parts salesperson will tell you in a heartbeat that it will bolt up to your 4Runner and it will in some cases but--The electronic and hydraulic strategies can be different and the unit will not function as intended if it all.

The A340X is not limited to Toyota vehicles, you will also find this in Jeep Cherokees and Wranglers in 2WD or 4WD just to name one or two. These units can not always be interchanged as the planetary gears in the transmissions come in many many different ratios. Myth is these are not worth rebuilding and that is far from the truth and originates from non experienced transmission builders and parts sales persons who have no idea about planet ratios and valve body/electronic strategy etc.

The A750X Series is most widely used in the newer model 4Runners and in The Tundra. In some cases it can be interchanged but some inquiry and due diligence is needed to verify compatibility on an individual basis as electronic strategy is different within certain production dates within the same months and years. Valve Body casting numbers will help insure compatibility but to be 100% sure the valve body must be examined for correct check ball locations and updates.

To check for proper lockup of your torque converter you simply put your foot on the brake pedal while your other foot holds the vehicle at a steady speed above 55 mph. Only use just enough pressure to make the brake lights illuminate, this cancels converter lockup and your engine speed should increase roughly 2-500 rpm and be clearly visible on the tachometer- if you have a tachometer. When you remove your foot from the brake the converter should lock back up and your rpm should drop back down.

If your transmission makes noise when you put it in gear and that noise goes away when you put it back in park or neutral that is your converter coming apart. If the noise does not go away but changes that is your front pump and the converter. The correct way to verify the noise is to use a technicians stethoscope and verify from under the vehicle while on shop lift or securely raised with all wheels off the ground.

If you hear a whining or grinding noise from your transmission that goes away after you get out of low gear that is your low gear/reverse planetary gear.

Always check your fluid condition during regular oil changes. Always change your filter if it is plastic and clean it out if it is metal, always replace the pan gasket and filter with Toyota parts. (you get what you pay for whith transmissions)

If your transmission lines run into your radiator and not a transmission external cooler keep in mind if you ever run your engine hot your killing your tranny too. As long as your cooling system is functioning correctly and you are using the correct coolant there is no reason to seperate your transmission from your radiator (liquid cools better than air) . If you do off road or Severe duty usage with your truck you may need an additional cooler that air cools and runs through the radiator.

It is better to run your transmission with no fluid at all in it than to run it with low fluid or too much fluid.



Black Fluid = converter material
Dark Brown Fluid = clutch material
Fluid burping out of the vent tube or dipstick is usually from overheating.

Harsh Shifts Added on 1-30-17
Harsh shift complaints are often caused by checkballs that have worn-out and blown through the separator plate.
A more durable checkball is available from Toyota. The original design checkballs were black in color. The new
design, which are much more durable, are blue.A worn 6.3mm ball may measure to 5.5 mm so pay attention.
PM me for a Diagram.

There are more than one size checkball so be extremely careful here.
5.5mm checkballs originally black in color part number was 35495-22010 Replacements are Blue and part number 35495-22020
6.3mm checkballs originally black in color part number was 35496-22010 Replacements are Blue and part number 35496-22030

Your 4x4 4Runner will have one of these Xfer cases (if stock). Added 1-30-17

1992-04 2.4L Part Time w100 or R100
1995-04 3.0, 3.4, 4.0L Part Time R100 or VF3AM
1995-04 4.7L Part Time VF3AM
2003-11 4.0, 4.7L Part Time VF4AM or VF4BM

Reman? New? Overhaul? Used transmission?
Added 2-2-17

So your transmission goes out in your 4Runner -- what to do?
One buddy tells me get a new on from the dealer, One buddy says get a used one, one says get a reman unit and the last one says get an overhaul. Whats the best option? What are the differences?

1. New Units There is no such thing as a new unit for a 3rd gen 4Runner period so get that notion out of your mind (applies to any vehicle 2012 and older UNLESS the exact same unit is in a current model year.). Why you ask? They did not make a million spares and if they did they don't have a shelf life of over 5 years, after 5 years the adhesive that holds the clutch material to the steel begins to breakdown from oxidation due to not being soaked in fluid permanently and it wont work or last very long. BTW a unit from the dealer wont have any updates in it unlike a quality rebuild/reman/overhaul (more on this in a sec)

2. Used units. Used units a lot of times can be a great investment but make sure you get a labor warranty and a parts warranty. Why? Well if you just get a parts warranty and you ship it in or pull it yourself and put it in along with all new front/rear seals filter & gasket and fluids(standard procedure) And it doesn't work you just lost all that time and money because you only had a parts warranty. labor warranty usually is good up to 50% of the parts cost. that at least covers fluid seals etc and some of your time and fuel. Otherwise you get to pull it back out send it back and get another and try again.

A labor warranty usually costs about 100.00 and if the unit works and the seller knows it it is free money to them. If the seller does not offer a labor warranty they usually have no idea if it works or not or they know it does not work. otherwise why pass up the extra money for a labor warranty?

How many times have you heard this " It was a running and driving unit when it came in"? Sure it may have been but was it slipping, missing shifts,whining, milkshaked, not locking up, overheating after 45 minutes of driving etc?

3. Remans and Overhaul or rebuild.

At my shop all those mean the same thing. I pull it out, dis assemble, inspect, replace everything including the converter, update the valve-body replace all clutches steels seals and do all the updates (Updates are stronger parts, better machined parts, complete part group replacement with better function/strategy, and a smorgasbord of small things) and re install it in the vehicle. it usually runs around 1800.00 plus tax but you get 1,2,3 or 4yr 100k mile nationwide warranty . Not all 4Runner owners can take an 1800 dollar hit. but to put that into perspective jasp*r units start 2700 plus a 1200 dollar core then you put it in or pay someone to install it. At the end of the day its preference and budget that makes the call for you but I hope I have armed you with some useful information to save you some money.

Side note on updates We get a new book about every three months showing updates to units as far back as the 60's. these books and classes show us how if you buy a part for a unit made 20 years ago in 2017 why wont work unless you change or remove other parts in that unit and update them. All new updated parts usually come with other changes. unless you are directly involved in the transmission business or manufacturing you wont have this access to some of this info. Low budget shops may not have access to these materials as it usually requires having your employees in the schooling programs seminars, certification classes/
a subscription to all of the re-builder networks along with a scan tool that has all the software to scan units correctly in mode 6. I think we spend about 5k-7k on average a year on this information. Our shop is no different than any of the other good quality shops and a lot of low budget shops are just as good and perhaps even better or way better just choose wisely and ask questions and research before you shell out for a rebuild.

If this information can help anyone let me know, I'm going to stop typing now. I can continue this if enough interest is shown. I could type for weeks and not cover everything but if it helps anyone I am here to guide you in the right direction on transmission issues. I do not know it all but I know a lot of it from experience as a transmission R&I tech, builder, running a transmission shop (Currently) , schooling, seminars, factory visits, fact checking service manuals and by mistakes of my own doing and others around me.

Safety is always first, there are no excuses. Any doubts get help with a friend or a pro. Use a factory service manual and the supplemental manuals, always use a torque wrench. When working on your transmission put the air tools away if you are not experienced. Safety is first.

Johny Octane

where have you been all these years? plenty of tranny questions in the 3rd gen section!!!!

@mtbtim , good thread for you and infamous

Good info. And now my paranoia sets in. My transmission has that high pitched whine which almost sounds like stereo feedback that changes with engine RPM. I haven't worried too much about it because it drives and shifts fine and there is really nothing I can do about it right now. Its a 2002 btw. I do happen to have a spare 99 trans that made no noise whatsoever and has similar miles as the 2002. (162K). If mine fails I would just swap mine in hoping I can swap t-cases and use the 02 with the 99 trans since its j-shift verses electronic shift. Any thoughts?

Check the fluid, too much or too little fluid can cause a pump whine. However I would remove all belts from the engine and jack it up get all wheels off the ground and try it for a very short minute long enough to go through all gears and see if the whine is gone. an alternator bearing could easily be confused with a transmission whine along with any other rotating accessory on the front of the engine. Try that first. Also make sure your plastic cooling fan isnt cracked at the bae and under load moves enough to just barely contact the cooling fan shroud or the upper radiator hose.

Let me know and we can go from there.

I'm curious to know why that is?

Now if they would give us a proper dipstick that didn't require playing a game of twister, I would be more inclined to check the fluid more often to "dial-in" the correct amount.

In theory this tells my, my 1999 could end up with a 5 speed automatic....

Edit: @Johny Octane I appreciate the coverage on the transmission subject. Do you think swapping the A750 in would be feasible or even possible?

I'd like to add something from recent experience that was a bear to track down. I found forum after forum where no concrete answer was given. Just loads of speculation.

If you are in the market for a used transmission and the shop asks you whether you have a California or Federal Spec'd transmission there are several ways to find out.

1) If you have the original hood, you will have a sticker that states Federal or California emissions compliant.

2) You may have 2 cat converters in a pre-99/2000 vehicle. IIRC all post 2000 or 2001 vehicles had 2 cats. (Feel free to correct me if i'm wrong)

3) If you're like me, and your hood had been replaced (no sticker), your exhaust looked like a recent replacement and this left you feeling uneasy, your next option is to snap a pic of your drivers door sticker and submit a request to Toyota's website asking for clarification. The wonderful support reps were able to pull my build sheet and confirm the emissions standard my vehicle was built to and supply me with a copy. They also confirmed that you should not mix and match a Fed spec trans with a Cali vehicle or vice versa as the valve bodies and some other minor differences make this a big deal ***(According to them, but myself and others have reported success with Fed trans in Cal spec 4Runners.)*** They were unable provide a way to identify the emission standard of the AISIN 30-40LE (A340F) by any external markings. So, have them pull your build sheet. I got my response within 24 hours.

...Now that i think about it, you should probably just skip to step 3.

My 4Runner has none of those trans.

johnbyebye

Because if you are low your slipping everything in the unit, if you have none then almost nothing is engaged and you wont be moving at all.

You should never have to worry about anything other than a clutch then.

You said you have a transmission shop. In Shreveport? Where? I visit Shreveport and Natchitoches quite often. Never met a fellow t4r member for the time I lived there.

Johny,
for the 3rd gen 4R, with the A340, is there any difference between the 4WD and 2WD transmission. I have noticed the 4WD has a larger pan, and longer dip stick. Can one put a lager pan on the 2WD transmission and use for 4WD, other than adding x-fer case. Are they interchangeable?

PM me we can meet up you are close. I can almost guarantee you have seen the shop if you have been here

You can swap the pan yes HOWEVER there are 10 different types of filters so make sure you get the correct filter and dipstick to go with the pan you choose. The issue with swapping 2wd to 4wd is the transfer case not the transmission. Some Xfer cases have a valve body and clutches. Certain Xfer cases you must tear the transmission down to get the xfer case seperated.