toyotaman2000

I apologize in advance If I'm posting this in the incorrect place.

I have a 1994 2wd Toyota automatic reg cab. I bought the truck in 2000. It really wasn't what i was looking for in a truck/vehicle, although upon paying closer attention to the truck it had less then 20 thousand miles on it and was like brand new at 6 years old. So i bought it.. I worried about the automatic transmission and how long it would hold up, I've heard good and bad things about the A43D Trans. After 11 years you would think the truck would have a few hundred thousand miles on it... It doesn't it has less then 100k on it. Which is why I'm surprised it's giving me problems.

What I'm about to explain is going to seem stupid and impossible, it makes no sense at all. A couple of years ago i had planned on going on a trip 200 miles north of where i lived, so i naturally decided to check all the fluids and check the truck over. The truck never leaked anything so really i never checked the fluids very often. So i checked the oil and everything else was fine. Then it dawned on me to check the auto trans fluid. I had just drove the truck home and it shifted fine.. no problems at all. It always shifted into overdrive at about 35MPH. All i did was pull the trans dipstick and the fluid level was fine, I replaced the dipstick and went inside for a few hours. When i got back in to drive the truck it wouldn't shift right. It had to tac way high to shift into gear. Coincidence? at the time i figured it was a fluke. Anyways i ended up changing the trans filter and it corrected the problem. 6 or 7 years earlier i had worked for a local shop in the area and i had them change the trans-filter for me while i was at work, i asked them to put never-seize on the pan bolts but they never did, they also broke bolts off in the pan and i was never told about it. They were drilled out and scabbed back together and i found this when i changed the filter myself.

After breaking 2 more bolts off LOL, changing the filter it corrected the problem and i forgot about it. well.. the other day i was under the truck and saw the trans pan was leaking, not really enough to drip but i saw it was wet. Forgetting about the past i decided to check to see if it was low.. well it wasn't low. After replacing the dipstick i remembered the last time i pulled this dipstick it screwed up the shifting patterns. I jumped in and took it for a ride and it started doing the exacting same THING !!! LOL.
Has anyone ever heard of this? it blows my mind. Makes no sense. Anyways I'm about tired of this transmission and it would be a miracle if this transmission wouldn't give me trouble in the future. So i was thinking of switching it to manual. Yeah i understand it would be much easier to just buy another truck that is already manual but I've had this so long and it's in such good shape (other then the transmission) I can't see getting rid of it. I also can't see replacing the transmission with another automatic. I would rather have a 5 speed. This brings up many more questions...

First off I have seen this non-comprehensive guide where a guy took a 90 4wheel drive automatic and converted it to 5 speed:
http://sites.google.com/site/wastedf...nsmission-swap

But mine is not 4 Wheel drive. I'm unsure how similar my swap would be. (Different year, plus taking the wiring into consideration) My idea is to get another truck that is wrecked or possibly has a rusted through frame for a decent price for the parts, also for a guide to see how everything is on the 5 speed setup. It seems easier to me to just get a donor truck. However which years would be totally compatible with my truck? Would it have to be another 94 pickup or are there many different years i have to choose from?

I could be wrong but i was hoping to just swap the computer out of another truck that is 5 speed into mine, at this time I'm unsure if this would work.

Is there already an on-line guide where someone has already done what I am talking about doing with a 2 wheel drive. Obviously I'm not a mechanic but I am pretty savvy when it comes to working on things. I figured i would post here to see what information or links i could get. I've searched around and can't find much on this setup, i could be over looking it though. I really haven't had to work on my Toyota very much because its been so dependable. I don't know as much about Toyota as the people who frequent these forums. I have changed over an automatic to manual before but it was on a much older car... total different ball game.

Any help or knowledge i can gather here i would highly appreciate. The only reason i considered posting here is there is a very good chance the people here already know the answer to my questions, and it might save some time.

I haven't tried changing the trans filter yet again, but i have tried adjusting the throttle cable that runs to the transmission with no change in the symptom so i put it back exactly the way it was.

It would be easier to just replace the auto with another auto... I really can't see that happening lol.

Sorry if this post is written poorly I'm very tired and I'm sure it shows. If there is any questions about what I'm talking about please just ask.

I did post this on the other 2wd forum toyota2wd but not as much people frequent that forum as this one.

Thanks a ton for any input.

ZOOKY

I converted a 2wd '86 to a 5-speed, a '94 should be the same. It was as strait forward as it comes. There are no computer controls for either transmission so you dont need to worry about that part

toyotaman2000

Thank you for the reply. Did you use a parts truck? or just piece the parts together? The auto Trans that I have currently is the A43D. I know for a fact in the future i will be switching it over to manual. I would even really like to document the process on this forum with pictures and all that. I'm continuing to do research on this in order to be better prepared for this project.

This past weekend i did change the trans filter again and this time i flushed the majority of old fluid out of the torque converter. I bought cheaper fluid from a discount store to save a few pennies on the high cost of the fluid. There is no change in the symptom of my problem. I just wanted to see if i could temporally correct the problem, but no luck. It's not really all that big if a deal though. (still drivable just annoying and harder on fuel, and probably harder on the drive train and everything else with the delayed and hard shifting)

I think my original message was too long winded and scared people off, even myself have a short attention span and sometimes its hard to read through a long post like the one i posted. I figured people from this forum would be climbing over each other to give me suggestions and information lol

For now i think I'm done messing with this auto trans no sense in:

I hope to get some more responses to my original post lol.

Thanks again.

toyotaman2000

I may have fixed the problem with my A43D automatic transmission. It had major delayed shifting. I only have a few minutes so i will come back later and explain further.

toyotaman2000

I finally figured out the issue with my A43D Auto Transmission. I only want to document this just in case someone else has similar problems. I can't be the only one in the world to experience this. It turned out to be an issue with the Throttle shift cable, however in the area that the adjustment is checked, The adjustment was always correct as shown in the Attachment:


I did attempt to adjust it only thinking maybe the Throttle cable had stretched over time (Truck with under 100k Miles highly unlikely) but nothing helped adjustment wise. I did change the Trans Filter and flushed the fluid from the Torque converter. Even through it wasn't the problem I'm out about $50 on the new filter and fluid and some of my time, still doesn't matter it needed it and the pan was leaking anyway and now its dry. If anyone is interested the Fluid Capacities and specs for the A43D:


After everything was put back together it was the same symptom. Delayed Shifting. The thing was having to tac way too high in order to shift. Very aggravating. Troubleshooting for the A43D Transmission:



My dipstick for my automatic Transmission is on the passenger side behind the block (anyone with the same setup understands how big of a pain this can be) The Throttle shift cable routes right over top of the dipstick. There is also a clip that holds the throttle shift cable in its place. Well the cable was pushed about 1/4 of an inch back and was riding up on the firewall about a quarter of an inch higher then it should be, Thus throwing off the adjustment on the transmission end... (I could tell the cable was not in the original spot in the bracket because of the dirty spot on the cable, you could tell it had been slid) So every time i messed with the trans dipstick i would disturb the Throttle Shift cable along with all the vacuum lines that route over the top of the dipstick.

That was the problem, Glad i figured it out. I had called several Transmission shops in the area trying to pick their brains and pretty much all of them said the whole transmission would need replaced for around $1600-$1700. (i would never Pay that or take my truck to a transmission shop anyways) I'm very sure they would have replaced the whole unit too even though my current transmission wasn't even bad. I do understand i could pickup a used auto trans for a couple of hundred dollars, however i wouldn't be replacing it with an automatic, I would convert it to manual.

Down the road if i have any further trouble with this A43D Transmission i still will convert it to manual and i will document the process on this forum.

For anyone Interested the 93 Factory Service Manual is here: http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/

My truck is a 94 but the information still applies along with many other years. I'm thankful for this forum because it really got me thinking and i feel lucky to have caught the problem that was causing this whole stupid situation... LMAO

Hey I'm only human.

If anyone runs across this thread maybe having the same problems and has any questions please let me know. I will help anyway i can.

toyotaman2000

what symptoms are you having with your transmission? From what i know if it's a shifting problem the throttle shift cable is a good place to start. When i started to have shifting problems i called around to some transmission shops and almost immediately after describing my problem they were saying "oh yeah, you need to replace that transmission... we can get one for around $1500.00." Took me about 3 days but i figured out that my throttle shift cable had slipped out of the holding bracket of the side of the block causing it to be out of adjustment even though it showed it was in perfect adjustment. It was throwing it out of wack on the transmission end. I haven't had any problems since. I'll help anyway i can. My problem maynot be your problem though. it's worth a shot. Good luck. Maybe post in the thread to bump the tread to help out others with problems similar to ours.

waspsps

Hi. I have Toyota Dolphin - an RV that is based upon Toyota Pickup. It's a 1985. Automatic transmission A43D with kickdown cable.

It seems that I got the same problem as was described. Toooooo late shift from 2-3 and 3-4. I tried to play around with kickdown cable adjustment making the shifting a bit better. But I can't fully adjust the cable since my rubber boot was torn in half.

Could someone tell me the size of the rubber boot?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

toyotaman2000

I just went outside and measured the rubber boot on what I had. Mine is a 94 Toyota pickup automatic with the same transmission.

Mine measures 1 3/4 inches. How many miles is on the RV? Just curious.

Here are some pictures as attachments.

I'm not sure if what you have is the same as mine. Good chance they are. Keep me posted.

Your problem could be a number of things. Has anything changed recently on the RV? Have you owned it for a while? or did you just buy it? (meaning do you know any history on it?) The main thing is don't get frustrated.

BE SURE TO CHECK THE CLIP THAT HOLD THE KICK DOWN CABLE IN, MINE WAS PUSHED BACK ABOUT AN INCH AND WAS MESSING UP THE ADJUSTMENT I THINK. Good luck!

waspsps

Thank you very much!
I adjusted the cable. It seems to be better.
By the way, for some reason, my kickdown cable is on the bottom (where your throttle cable is) and my throttle cable is on top (where your kickdown cable is).
I also changed transmission oil and cleaned filter along with cleaning valve body. And lubricated the kickdown cable so it goes very smooth now.
But unfortunately I still have very late shift from 2-3 gear. I can control the shift by pressing the pedal and then at around 30-35 mph letting it go, so it shifts. My 1-2 and 3-4 are ok.
Still don't know what could this be...
Thanks again!

waspsps

Sorry, I forgot to answer your questions.

Our RV has 75k miles. We bought it back in September, 2014. We drove it several times and it seemed to be a strong car. Surely, there was lot's of work done over the cabin, but not too much over the engine. I changed the battery right away (it was dead), fixed starter (the solenoid didn't pass any current through it), changed all the brakes, and struts. Nothing else over the engine. It ran strong until after we went on a trip to Placerville, which is about 25 miles from us, and during this trip, on a long steep hill, something happened, and the car started to make late shifts for all gears.
As I know from the previous owner, the RV was parked since 2005 till 2014 when we bought it.

Overall, we love it. Toyotas are like tanks - they go anywhere you want and it's super hard to kill them. Our other cars - 04 and 05 priuses with 220k and 295k respectively. And before them we had 94 camry. All of them are extremely reliable.

toyotaman2000

I've read that it's possible that the kick down cable can stretch over time, like if the RV has a bunch of miles on it. I suppose anything is possible.

You may want to play with the adjustment (even if you have already) to see if maybe by "over adjusting" the cable may help. A little adjustment is alot though with this cable.

Back when I had my problem more than one person told me it was probably the kick down cable, I even read it in the service manual but it was in adjustment (or so I thought) so I kept skipping over that. It ended up being my problem because the kick down cable was riding up on the firewall about an inch. I fixed the routing of the cable and re-adjusted and it shifted like new.

I ended up realizing that I caused this problem by moving the kick down cable when I was trying to access my transmission dipstick. How many miles is on your RV? Is it like 2-300k miles?

The other culprits might be a damaged valve body inside the transmission but is kinda rare with these transmissions unless they've had the crap run out of them and caused them to get really hot and overheat. These transmissions do go bad but they take a beating.

The main thing is check over things. It can get frustrating I know. By the way you describe it, I wouldn't think the transmission is bad.


When you changed the fluid was it really burnt and bad looking?

Keep me posted.

toyotaman2000

75k is pretty low mileage if you ask me. Of Course the RV is pretty heavy. I doubt the transmission is bad especially if it's not slipping. It's a guess of course. I say take your time and play around with the cable. Adjust it in and test drive it, adjust it out and test drive it. See what you can come up with.


You will figure it out, it's just tedious. Keep me posted.

waspsps

Hi toyotaman!

I did my best adjusting the cable. I did a fake rubber boot for the cable by attaching some scotch on the short rubber boot that was left. I found the best position for the cable and it's about the size you gave me 1 3/4 ". Thank you for it again! I did the adjustment on the road, so I can check it right away.

So, 1-2 is almost perfect now! Because of it, I actually felt how cable makes the difference. Huge difference!

But 2-3 is still not shifting properly. I would actually say that it doesn't shift at all until after you leave the pedal!

Could this happen in valve body exactly in the place where 2-3 gear spring or area is?

toyotaman2000

So sorry for the delay. I've been really busy. As for your question I would be lying if I told you one way or another.

To be honest I haven't had to work a lot on transmissions in my 19 years of driving.

However If I was in your shoes and was baffled by this and If I felt like I have exhausted trying to adjust the throttle shift cable, I would be thinking I needed to get a second set of eyes. Meaning having someone close to you, a friend or a transmission mechanic that you know and can trust, have them troubleshoot the problem to double check and make sure the shift cable is adjusted properly.

This is always a last resort with me. If I did end up taking any of my vehicles to a shop I would specifically make it known that I ONLY AUTHORIZE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF $ Like maybe $100 or something. I hate to say this but since it's a toyota you might consider a stealership. (JUST TO HELP DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM NOT NECESSARLY TO FIX THE PROBLEM) It's so hard to be able to trust anybody these days though.

bare in mind that the boot on my truck may have been diff than the one that should be on your truck/rv. It's probably something simple that we're missing and I'm just sorry I can't be of more help.

It scares me because back when I had my problem, when I called a transmission shop, they informed me that if it wasn't the shift cable than it would be cheaper to replace the whole transmission, Probably like $2500 or a little less.

Whatever you do, If you do end up taking it to a shop/dealership, do your best to make sure they are competent. I've even seen dealerships that aren't very competent.

Don't give them any room to tear the whole thing apart and than they call you saying it will be thousands. I hate shops because they have this thing called "Time efficiency" and if they cannot figure something out in a few minutes they basically look at it and guess.

Please when you find the resolution update it in this thread as it will only help out others with the same problem.


It's also hard to find any help in these forums about certain problems. I can't believe nobody else has been putting their 2 cents in. I would imagine because most people have Toyota don't have this type of transmission, most are manuals probably.

Mike Barnick

im having this same problem i will check the cable thanks for posting