timmJ

Recently my wonderful mechanic pulled my 1995 Toyota 4runner, 3.0, Auto on a car dolly with front two wheels up. He put in nuetral and left the driveline connected and put the transfer case in 2wd. Yeah well now it only goes into the 4wd lo and I am thinking he blew my transfer case. Has anyone had this happened to them?? What exactly could have happened?? Now if it is the transfer case do I really need to drop the transmission to remove and replace?? It really doesnt look like it when I get under there. Please help gurus!! I only have this weekend to work on it before a new bably is born and then time goes out the window for runner fixin!!

wii_tarded

You don't need to drop the trans. to get the t-case out. I swapped mine out with the help of a friend, used a strap and pulled it up through the hole in the the floor, and then he held it while I got under and bolted it. IT IS HEAVY. Make no mistake about that.

timmJ

Thanks wii , did you just remove and replace? Any other items of note when removing the tcase besides being a beast?? Any idea on the issue with the towing on a dolly with the auto trans??

HawkStrong16

How far did he tow it. If it was under 5 miles it shouldn't have hurt.

timmJ

Yikes - It went 35 miles on the freeway at 60 I am sure.. What do you think could have happened?

James Woods

iTrader: (1)

Well if your mechanic did it, then why doesnt he fix it?

tlrskunk

^ agreed.

We made a tow company pay for a tranny/tcase in an auto because he didn't put it on the flat bed. When we called him we told it it was AWD and need a Flat bed. He had the flat bed and it was empty. he just didn't feel like putting it on there. It cost the Tow company some pretty good change.

HawkStrong16

Ahhh 35 miles at 60mph could have really hurt it, thats alot of heat building up with no fluid flow. I'm not really sure why it would just affect the t case though. normally when you tow like that you'll mess up the tranny even with it in neutral.

I agree with James Woods. If your mechanic broke it he should be the one fixing it

timmJ

Its a very long story but lets just say I am glad I at least got it back. I am able to pick up a used one for a good deal and sometimes the fight just isnt worth the payback.. Trust me this one is better to walk away and just get it working again.. Does anyone understand the mechanics behind what is going on with the issue? I guess I don't fully comprehend why the tcase would have an issue.

HawkStrong16

I don't understand why the tcase is the issue. I figured the tranny would go first, even towing in neutral, with an auto tranny the gears are all still spinning but the pump isn't, meaning no fluid flow to cool everything.

Does the tcase go in to 2wd and 4lo? just not 4hi

tlrskunk

Basically a T-case and the tranny have oil pumps in them and without the input shaft spinning from the motor there is no fluid being pumped through the gears and it just melts down due to heat.

I would at least say look dude you messed it up i will buy the parts and you put them in and we will call it good. and offer to help turn a wrench if he needs a hand.

Marc

Unless the 95 auto's are different I don't think you can easily separate the transfer case from the tranny.

I agree with the others that that think the transfer case would be ok.

timmJ

It does shift into both 2wd and 4hi but would not move. I will have to look at it again tonight. I only was able to get a few minutes at lunch when it came back to me today.It is a good suggestion to have him replace if I get the part.. Even if I watched him do the whole thing.. The FSM says you have to pull the tranny to remove the tcase but who knows maybe I have to do it anyway!! I will look at it again tonight and hopefully it is not a huge issue..

JamesD

The auto t-case's are hydraulically controlled instead of two gears meshing together like normal t-cases. Auto t-cases do not have a neutral. He should have disconnected the driveshaft or if you has manual hubs, unlock them and tow it backwards. The t-case in your truck works just like an automatic tranny which it has to rely on hydraulic pressure to apply the gears.

James

timmJ

Thanks James.. So not having it disconnected was like running the gears in the transmission and transfer case without the hydraulic fluid and basically heated them up and fried them? How could I pinpoint the issue if the transmission is bad and also the transfer case is bad?? How would I troubleshoot from here? Thank you all for your help on this one.

JamesD

Check the fluid color and smell since they share the same fluid. The transfer case is not separable like that of a regular t-case. You have to remove the transmission and take it apart. Something for the experienced mechanic to do, that is IF you have this transmission.t-case combo which is the A340H. Your door tag will tell you what transmission you have.

James

timmJ

Checked the fluid and drove it and the the whole transmission is toast!! Now i going to convert to a manual and while I am there I am moving forward with the 3.4 swap!! The question I know have now for all of you is can I just put in the manual from a 3.4 and not mess with the 3.0? Does the transfer case and transmission bolt up the same way? If it makes sense to do this then I want to go that route but I can't seem to find the information.. Anybody know if this is the better option since I have to do the transmission conversion anyway? Thank you all for help!!

mt_goat

One problem to consider is the 3.4 tranny drops the front driveline on the opposite side. So, it won't work with the 95 IFS axle.

timmJ

Thats exactly what I thought!!! Thanks for the info. As far as the engine can I put in pretty much any 96 to 2002? I found a great deal on a 2001 that was connected to a 5sp transmission pre-runner. Will this hook up good in my '95 and the manual 90-95 transmission?? Thanks again guys for the help!!

streetlancer

iTrader: (1)

OOps.....I just recently towed an auto 4runner with ADD about 15 miles to my house on all four wheels. Was that bad? Put it in neutral & 2wd , my dad said it should be fine. It was mostly city but there was some highway at 50mph.