hackengineering

Hello, i am a owner of an 87 4runner i plan to create my next crawler from. It has a 22re and what i believe to be the A340F tranny. It is the auto with all mechanical shifting. I have put a few thousand miles on it and had no issues. Today i was driving I noticed it was not pulling a hill very well then what i would describe as a grind/popping noise happened and i lost all momentum. Park does work but it appears when in rev or a forward gear to be completely free wheel like nuetral. Fluid is fine and no issues with transfer case or drive lines.
I am a few days away from being able to pull the pan but i wanted to see if anyone has worked with these trannies.
Thanks

InternetRoadkill

Sounds like the torque converter failed.

hackengineering

I have never done much with an auto tranny but that is exactly what i was thinking given the tranny will hold park but you can not feel anything when shifted to a gear. I hope to pull the pan to see if there is any carnage tomorrow.
I am sure i will be asking more soon.
Thanks

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Manual swap is not bad and W56s aren't hard to find.

Those auto trannies just don't hold up long term.

:wabbit2:

hackengineering

So i finally found time to pull the tranny and found the what i believe to be a seized pump. The Torque converter has chunks broken still lodged in the pump housing. It was also dry with no fluid between the Torque converter and pump. I have yet to find anyone online that has a listing for just the pump to purchase.
Obviously i need a new Torque Converter, pump and filter but does anyone see a reason anything else may have been damaged. Like everyone else this project is on a huge budget and i can't afford to take it to a shop. Basically pump and TC just popped as i was accelerating down the high way and everything was shut down right away.
Let me know if anyone have some places to order individual parts.
Thanks
Attached are some basic pics before i take out the pump.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58992015@N03/6459979753/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58992015@N03/6459990665/

hackengineering

Just finished taking the tranny pump apart and it was shelled inside. Local transmission shop was able to order a Torque Converter and Pump and get them in tomorrow. Not sure what caused it but hopefully nothing else internal has an issue.

R.DesJardin

iTrader: (1)

The A340F in my opinion is a very good trans, it's the same trans used in millions of Jeep Cherokee's, and I see many many with hundreds of thousand miles on them still going strong. If you run a good trans. oil cooler life will be extended. I of course run one and have ran the crap out of it for years. Enjoy.
Brian, not trying to dis you bud, I'm just an auto guy.

rustypigeon

Yep, looks like a seized pump. Those notches in the torque converter mate to the tangs on the pump drive gear. looks like the drive gear seized and ripped the notches off the torque converter.

It would be interesting to see what caused the drive gear to seize. When you replace the pump would you mind taking pictures of the internals? There are 13 bolts on the back of the pump. When you remove the rear of the pump you will be able to see the pump gears.

hackengineering

Sorry i just saw your post, i have already traded it back for a core but i did take it appart at the transmission shop and the pump gears were in about 5 pieces. From what i understand you are correct, the pump siezed and caused the damage to the TC. I also found a sheared bold in the TC (that attach it to the flywheel) and one that was stripped so i am also thinking that was caused when the pump failed or it may have had a vibration that caused a crack or failure point.
I have all the replacement parts and hope to install it tonight. One stupid question do you guys install the Torque converter in the tranny and then to the flywheel or do you attach the TC to the fly wheel and slid the tranny up to the TC. I have done both before on jeeps but just checking your opinion.
Thanks

hackengineering

OK so with this tranny and i am getting more confused every time i try to figure out exactly which one it is. obviosly it is a A340 model but i want to know if it is the "H" or "F" model. I am unclear as to the integral transfer case.
This tranny is on an 87 4runner with the 22RE
According to this web page i have the A340F by the year and picture.
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/faq/parts/

The shifter for the transfer case is located on the side and not top.
If anyone has experience in this please let me know. Attached are picture of the transmission and Transfer case out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58992015@N03/6481937627/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58992015@N03/6481947005/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58992015@N03/6481942407/

BMcEL

I hate links...fixed it for ya. And you have an A340F...the A340H was only available behind the 3VZ.

BMcEL

253k miles on my original A340. Never rebuilt and I haven't been nice to it. I'd say that's pretty long term.

yotasavg

Mine has been good to go too. I have a little over 200k on mine, all original. Every time I think my tranny is going bad it turns out to be something else lol... I keep hoping for an excuse for a new drive train!

BMcEL

Yep...if it wasn't a stout unit, why would they use it in several V8 applications? Hmm...

I'm personally not a fan of the A340 and will be swapping it out for an R150 when time allows, but it is a good transmission.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Glad you and orhers like them but I have yet to find an auto behind a 22RE that wasn't a slug POS and I've seen my fair share.

Nothing against automatics as I own a 2011 4Runner and Tundra, but anything I build I prefer a manual transmission, just more fun to drive.

:wabbit2:

BMcEL

I prefer a manual as well (swapping soon), and of course they are slugs behind a 22RE lol...I just think the statement "those auto trannies just don't hold up long term" is simply inaccurate.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Addressing the OP initial question and considering it's a crawler he's building and not a mall queen it's extremely accurate in my opinion. Automatics are for folks who can't drive a stick due to disability, incompetence or in Rory's case, it makes his toes hurt. Only tater heads who like to be "different" use an auto (slug POS) behind a 22RE (slug) and create a tater double slug POS time bomb.

:wabbit2:

BMcEL

There are a ton of guys out there that can drive a manual just fine (I would hope so since they're *trying to wheel), but still prefer an automatic on the trail, especially if they haven't been able to regear yet. This is strictly a matter of preference, not necessarily ability.

If you mean POS in that it is slow, then yes...slow and reliable is the Toyota way! Now if you meant POS in that it does not last long...I completely disagree, along with many others that have had excellent service life out of this transmission. I'm not standing up for it because I like it, I'm standing up for it because it deserves some respect (like it or not). :flipoff:

R4G1NG_BU11

In my truck before I sold it, (wish that I hadn't now) my transmission being the unlucky person i was, was the A340H. My truck was an '86 with 278,892 miles on the.....original transmission. YES it was a slow and horrible way to move a Toyota around. But on to the problem. It would do as you said at the beginning minus the noise. I would get put into limp mode (3rd gear) and it drove, but then it would feel like it shifted into neutral. For all my troubles it ended up being a weird fix. I still don't know if it was the problem JUST speculation so don't burn me alive. There was a leak in my radiator that made it so that the truck could not warm up properly by passing air bubbles past a thermostat saying that the engine and/or transmission wasn't warmed up properly so it would start in second or third and stay there. Then while driving shift to neutral until I pressed the gas pretty firmly. My fix was to fill up a gallon jug of water before I left my house every morning. Sold it before I could swap radiators. Maybe that is the problem?

paintthetown

iTrader: (1)

Since we are talking about auto trannys, what is the A43D, which engine is it behind? I understand they are oil pressured controlled (not EC). Any 22REC's have them?