Torque converter DIY?

johnbyebye said:
I was in the same position with mine. The tc was going out but it worked fine otherwise. Mine went out because the PO didn't know the transmission drain bolt was leaking so he drove it on almost no fluid for a few thousand miles. I tried my best to salvage it but decided to get another tranny for peace of mind. I almost went the rebuilt route but that was 3k that I didn't want to spend. I've put 1500 miles on the used tranny and so far it works perfectly. Time will tell if it was a good decision or not. Lol.
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Searching on car part for trannies I found a few that may be worth getting. There was one about 90 miles away with 120k for only $250.. but it was a 96 model. That transmission is pretty damn old
 
jman11788 said:
Searching on car part for trannies I found a few that may be worth getting. There was one about 90 miles away with 120k for only $250.. but it was a 96 model. That transmission is pretty damn old
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I've heard that the transmissions have different valve bodies over the years so you'll want to be careful about the year you buy. If you have a 96-98 4runner then you'll need a 96-98 tranmission. 99-00 --> 99-00 transmission, 01-02 --> 01-02 transmission.

Maybe the 96-98 tranny's will work with 99 and 00 years but I didn't want to risk it. The 01's and 02's don't have a kick-down cable so I'm not sure how that would affect it if you swapped in a tranny with that cable. Perhaps someone can weigh in more on this.
 
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johnbyebye said:
I've heard that the transmissions have different valve bodies over the years so you'll want to be careful about the year you buy. If you have a 96-98 4runner then you'll need a 96-98 tranmission. 99-00 --> 99-00 transmission, 01-02 --> 01-02 transmission.

Maybe the 96-98 tranny's will work with 99 and 00 years but I didn't want to risk it. The 01's and 02's don't have a kick-down cable so I'm not sure how that would affect it if you swapped in a tranny with that cable. Perhaps someone can weigh in more on this.
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This is news to me.. I had no idea about that. For now I'm just gonna deal with the noise and see how long it'll last. Tranny shifts fine. I'm gonna run it till it dies
 
johnbyebye said:
Very rarely is it a good idea to only replace the TC. If it's whining, then something is worn and that something could be sending bits and pieces throughout the rest of the transmission. In addition, TC's don't usually just fail. There is generally a cause as to why they failed which might still be present when the new TC is in there. Impossible to know. I went the used tranny route.
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I was going to say this a few days ago, but I decided not to.

I had this happen to my truck about a month ago. I had the slightest whizzing sound that I only heard in gear; it always went away in P or N. No whine while accelerating. My local trans shop dropped the unit and opened it with me there. Torque converter bit the dust and there were metal shavings in the pan even though the fluid looked perfectly fine.

I went a route that I haven't seen too many people on this forum take- I ordered a remanufactured unit from Jasper. I didn't want the hassle of finding a decent used transmission and I sure as hell didn't trust a rebuild. I had some extra cash at the time and I have a long road trip planned for next fall, so the 3year warranty was worth the price tag. Hopefully it lasts well beyond that.

Good luck...I feel your pain.
 
1st gen trans problems

hey guys,
sorry to post on an old thread, but i dont have the time to get to the crazy high minimum reply count for a new thread (crazy btw considering i just saw a thread on killing a freaking bigfoot.) But anyway i have a dead truck in the driveway and need some help. I just picked up an 89 1st gen and cant get the torque converter bolts in. This is a replacement transmission since i bought a roller without one. The motor is free, i checked it before putting the transmission in, but now that it is in i cant get the crank to budge to turn the converter to get to the other bolts. Cant figure out what the issue is. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
huffman10x said:
hey guys,
sorry to post on an old thread, but i dont have the time to get to the crazy high minimum reply count for a new thread (crazy btw considering i just saw a thread on killing a freaking bigfoot.) But anyway i have a dead truck in the driveway and need some help. I just picked up an 89 1st gen and cant get the torque converter bolts in. This is a replacement transmission since i bought a roller without one. The motor is free, i checked it before putting the transmission in, but now that it is in i cant get the crank to budge to turn the converter to get to the other bolts. Cant figure out what the issue is. Any advice would be appreciated.
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you'll probably get better answers in the 1st Gen section. This is the 3rd Gen sec.
 
huffman10x said:
hey guys,
sorry to post on an old thread, but i dont have the time to get to the crazy high minimum reply count for a new thread (crazy btw considering i just saw a thread on killing a freaking bigfoot.) But anyway i have a dead truck in the driveway and need some help. I just picked up an 89 1st gen and cant get the torque converter bolts in. This is a replacement transmission since i bought a roller without one. The motor is free, i checked it before putting the transmission in, but now that it is in i cant get the crank to budge to turn the converter to get to the other bolts. Cant figure out what the issue is. Any advice would be appreciated.
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You should ask in the 1st gen section, but it sounds like the torque converter isn't seated all the way which means you have now smushed the torque converter between the flexplate and the transmission pump. If I had to guess you've already tightened all the transmission to engine bolts too. You've likely damaged the transmission pump as well.
 
Bad Luck said:
You should ask in the 1st gen section, but it sounds like the torque converter isn't seated all the way which means you have now smushed the torque converter between the flexplate and the transmission pump. If I had to guess you've already tightened all the transmission to engine bolts too. You've likely damaged the transmission pump as well.
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ill head over to the first gen section then, sorry im new to the site. That makes sense. I was thinking of doing a manual swap eventually so now seems like a good time i guess haha. Thanks!
 
huffman10x said:
ill head over to the first gen section then, sorry im new to the site. That makes sense. I was thinking of doing a manual swap eventually so now seems like a good time i guess haha. Thanks!
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No worries bud. I just don't want to give you any bad info as I'm not familiar with 1st gen's. Good luck!
 
jman11788 said:
This is news to me.. I had no idea about that. For now I'm just gonna deal with the noise and see how long it'll last. Tranny shifts fine. I'm gonna run it till it dies
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So, now that 5 years have gone by, how did the TC swap work out? I'm in the exact same boat, same problem. In 32 years of driving, this is the best shifting AT I've ever driven and I don't want to mess that up swapping with another used unit.
 
gotdurt said:
So, now that 5 years have gone by, how did the TC swap work out? I'm in the exact same boat, same problem. In 32 years of driving, this is the best shifting AT I've ever driven and I don't want to mess that up swapping with another used unit.
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Turns out it wasnt trans related at all.. It was a blown rear diff pinion bearing. Much easier replacement. Auto trans still going strong at 237k!
 
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