83 4x4 loud whining in 1st,2nd& 3rd
 

Hi everyone,
Just like the title says I have a big issue with my transmission... My 83 4x4 long bed was stolen Dec.10, and I recovered it last wednesday. Today was my first time driving it since. All went well except it makes a TERRIBLE houling noise that raises with RPM in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear only. 4th, 5th and reverse sound fine. It has fresh gear oil in it as of a week before the theft so I know thats good. Each gear engages smoothly with no grinding.... Does this mean my tranny is toast? Any input is appreciated! Thanks, Alan

either the pilot bearing on the clutch or the input shaft bearing on the tranny, both are not indicative of total tranny failure. my 5spd has a mild case of this.

"Fresh gear oil as of a week before the theft". What about a week after the theft? I mean you have no idea what they might have done. I'm hoping you at least checked the level.

Hard to say what they might have done. You could pull the tranny but I'm not sure what you could check, other than the input shaft being loose, unless you know enough about trannys to open it up and look around. I'm thinking 5th would sound bad too if it was the input shaft, since that gear would be most likely putting the most strain on the input shaft bearings (the weak point of the L52s).

I guess if it's maybe time for a new clutch anyways you could replace the clutch and bearings.

That sucks! Sorry it happened. Howling typically does mean bad bearings. My tranny was howling, because the previous owner had done some water crossings and got water in the gear oil and not changed it.

Could be your pinion bearing in your rear diff im currently having the same issue. It was making a loud 'howling" noise as well.

Yeah I guess don't just assume tranny, unless you know for sure. The fact that it goes away in 4th means something, though, since 4th is a direct 1:1 gear...

Input bearing and perhaps counter shaft bearings as well. Probably needs a clutch too. 4th is direct so it would stabilize a bad bearing. 5th is in the tail housing so that leads me to think countershaft. If it were the pinion bearing you would hear it as a low growl related to road speed. not at all like what you describe.

Was it kids who took it? Or just a chop shop? If it were Pro's it would be in South America not your driveway.

Thanks for the replys guys. What happend was the truck was stolen Dec. 10th while parked outside of a Cycle Gear (a riding gear and apparel store) and was missing until Dec. 28th I spotted it in a local 4x4 shop IN his garage where it was being stripped for parts. I called the police, and about 20 minutes later I got a phone call saying that it was my truck, and I can come see it.

The transmission was out and split from the transfer case, the front/rear driveshafts, front fenders, bumper, tailgate and hood were already taken off tho were found in another area of the shop. He said he bought the truck from 2 guys for dirt cheap who promised they could produce the title with the money they made off the truck to pay a ''lien'' that was on the title. The truck ran and drove to the shop, and the shop owner did have a surveillance camera to back his story, and the police were able to get a look at the theifs, tho I dont know any details about their age or anything. The shop owner also said my truck was the 3rd vehicle he purchased from the same guys.

So basically the truck is back together now, minus a few of my accesories and a destroyed was-in mint condition stereo bezel :facepalm: It still runs the same, but the trnny sounds terrible. Yesterday I drained the old trans fluid (wasnt low either) and refilled with fresh Lucas 80w-90 Trans/Diff oil. Its slightly quieter but the noise is still very much there. I took it for a spin after the fluid change and noticed that 5th is noisy too, tho not as bad as 1st, 2nd and 3rd. 4th is silent at any speed/ RPM. This trans has around 200k miles, assuming its original, so I think the theifs might have just finished it off.

*On a lighter note after a auto salvage yard trip I got a killer deal on a perfect radio bezel for 12$, plus a set of MINT tan/brown SR5 83 door panels (30$ for the set) to replace mine, which had seen better days

Well, certainly not a terrible end to the story then! Glad it's only the tranny (the weak point of these trucks anyways), and you found another bezel.

I had an 82 that made a racket in all gears except 4th many years ago. My dad bought the truck new and since about 50k miles it whined a little bit. I got it many years later and at about 90k it started getting really noisy. I wound up trading it in on a 91 and the dealer sold the truck within days and the transmission went a couple days later. I've heard the early 5 speed 4x4 transmissions have lubrication issues. But I suspect swapping a later one in wouldn't be much trouble.

I will probably just drive it with this trans until it completely fails, does anyone know what the worst scenario of this would be? (As in could something catastrophically fail, damaging other parts?) Money will be tight for a few more weeks... And on the newer-trans subject, what all would be required to install one? And what years/ models should I keep an eye out for? Thanks again for the input everyone:great::banger:

Most likely the trans input bearing. 1982 and early production date 1983 Toyota 4x4 trucks had defective trans input bearings that were replaced under factory warranty up to 100,000 miles. Mine was replaced at 56,000 miles and I have never had a problem since the warranty repair 100,000 miles later.

IF it's just the input bearing, it's not that bad of a fix, other than having to pull the tranny.

Worst case is probably that you get straded somewhere when it goes.

What all does it take to replace the input bearing?? I dont mind havin to pull the trans

I'll see if I can scan it for you from the FSM. A FSM will really help you with these trucks...

IF I'm correct, there's just a plate in the bellhousing holding the input shaft and bearing, and you just need to replace that and pull off the bearing. Hopefully I'm not totally off base...and you don't have get the whole main shaft off, which might be quite a bit more work. I haven't had my tranny open, I've only done my t-case. But I know the bearing cover is just right there on the outside, right inside the bellhousing.