Thanks Christian... Jamie had shared that 1st link with me in a PM, he didn't want people jumping on it and potentially bidding it up. It's on my watch list.

I just got back from NIX99... 50k @ $1125, 155k @ $675. They're nice enough guys, but not cheap.


Okay, so.. side questions:

1. Given that I only have jack stands and a good jack, can one person swap a tranny in a driveway, in a day? In two days?
2. Short of fluids leaking everywhere, is this basically a bolt-off, bolt-on process? (looks like it is from the FSM)
3. Is there any alignment magic that has to be done (i.e. with runout gauges and the like)?
4. Are there any balance issues that have to be dealt with, or can I expect a used tranny to be in good shape in that regard?

I think I'm resigned to my next $$$ outlay being a tranny - and the VB work. damn.. the methanol will have to wait.

 

Mark, did you call these guys about the tranny? They specialize in Toys.

410 Auto Wrecking 360-829-9760

 

Nope, I haven't... I haven't had email access for most of the day (I'm juggling data files around on drives) so if you sent that before, I ain't seen it yet.

Thanks Shan! I'm gonna drop Brad a line as well.

 

Should I call around up here tomorrow?

 

yeah i meant IPT, could not remember the name. i thought that htey totally reworked the transmission?

 

side answers
1. no, well probably not, i struggled with the manual by myself. auto is heavier and MESSIER
2. yes it should be
3. no. lining it up around the torque converter should do it
4. balance? i wouldn't expect it to be any better than yours (just in case)

 

Mark, I have swapped alot of trannys when I worked as a mechanic and on the small transverse imports you could do it with one man no problem, but once you move into the larger trannys it becomes ALOT tougher and those things can be very heavy (esp with fluid.....and not to mention slippery as a greased pig). On an auto I usually could heave it into place and get at least two bolts started myself, but that was with a complete set of airtools, a tranny jack and a full lift. Add 4x4 to that and I'd say definately a minimum two person job. The biggest pain is to get everything lined up and hold it there while you get bolts started, after that you can adjust the jack to hold the weight (careful not to crack the bellhousing by letting the full weight hang on 1 or 2 bolts.....try to get 3 or 4 handtight before adjusting the jack).

Something like this can really help with the job too (sold by quite a few places):


http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/19795.htm

You shouldn't run into any shimming or balancing issues when doing this the only alignment is when doing a manual and you need to align the clutch. It would be good to reference the FSM to be sure you have a good idea of the exact procedure you'll have to follow.

 

If you want to Shan, that'd be cool. You're basically asking for an "auto tranny (with transfer case) for a '96 4Runner with the 3.4L V6". That's specific enough that they'd know what you're talking about. I'm looking for nothing more than 70k miles. You'll find that the trannys will get cheaper with higher mileage, but I'd rather look at keeping this tranny for 100k miles (or more), so I don't want to buy one with 150k already on it.


Oh, he does, and does an awesome job in building up for any application (street to drag)... But given that I'm on the west coast and he's on the east coast, shipping would be insane.

If I can find a tranny locally (or at least on the same coast) then the money and time I'd save in shipping & turnaround is well worth it.


Okay... time to get Daryl involved.

WATCH OUT DOUBLE D! I'M ABOUT TO CALL YOU!

 

Hah, okay... I was going to ask if you wanted me to make room in my garage to wrench here. You would be missing in the "manly muscle" help though. hehe

I'll start calling around in the morning.

 

 

Well, that's definitely a possibility, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

If I get a tranny now, then it's gonna sit somewhere for a couple of weeks (at least) while I strip the valve body out of it and then find cash under a rock to send that off to John. I'll take advantage of having the donor tranny out of the truck to avoid the $$$ shipping charges for next-day shipping to/from John.

The tranny that's in the truck now isn't slipping "real" bad, but it is clear that it's not correct. So, I can continue to drive it for a while longer as long as I'm "nice" to it. There's no point in putting the "new" one in without having the VB work done to it first.

My point in spending this money now is that it'll force me into the "correct" direction instead of the more fun one to get more HP out of the motor - which of course would be silly anyway since the tranny's already slipping. But since when does a guy do the "right" stuff when there's "cool" stuff that could be done?!


Thank you!

 

HAHAHAH!!! DOUBLE D! Welcome to my latest fun!



I'll call ya' in a bit and you can tell me how silly I've been to let it go this far.

 

I'm here for you man I may have a line on a used one .

 

Whatever tranny you get, make sure to verify with John at IPT that the valve bodies are exactly the same if you are going to swap VBs from one tranny to another.....I remember reading a while back when Manymods (Peter) did his that John mentioned some are different for whatever reason (it was rare, but it happened). If I was in the same situation I would get the new tranny installed first (to make sure it was good and operates properly.....don't want to compound troubleshooting with a VB upgrade on top of it) and then just do the overnight shipping on the VB after (John may also have one or two VBs in stock? then you could send him the core later and save on shipping that way?). If it didn't fit, at least you'd still have the original to reinstall.

 

And to complete the story...

After 11 1/2 hours yesterday, the new tranny is in. HUGE kudos to DarylD for his help, expertise, garage, tools, and parts hook-up.

On top of a new tranny, I also seemed to have snuck in a ProTorque torque converter as setup by Level10. (info from Gadget's site is here) Timing was perfect when member Terrytcl posted one for sale - I just hadta'. tee-hee.


So far so good. I'm VERY sore this morning, (most of the time yesterday was spent laying on a cold garage floor reaching up above my head, griping or twisting something), but I'm happy. The immediate results are "WOW this thing drives different without the kickdown cable stuck full on!" quickly followed by "WOW this thing drives different with real shifts!".

The next couple of days will tell a lot... And yes, I will SOON get my valve body over to John.


Thanks again Daryl. (and to Mrs. Daryl for dinner!)

 

Glad to hear you finally got the new tranny in there!
Yeah those are alot of work (esp if you don't have air tools or a lift!!!!!!!!!!).
Kudos bud!!!!

*cough*.....get that valve body from John ASAP so you don't blow the new one too....*cough*
j/k

Great job on that.

 

Well, we did have air tools (no lift though). Most of the issue was spending stoopid time like AN HOUR fighting the tranny cooler fittings. There's NO clearance in there, and the flares just wouldn't loosen to the point of being able to spin them with your fingers. ARGH!

Or, fighting the electrical connections that you can't see...

Or, fighting with a tranny jack setup that was _literally_ 1/2" too high and the jack didn't have casters on all fours.

Or... or.... or...


It's funny... one of the things that Daryl and I feared the most was dealing with the TC bolts behind the plate. Outside of fighting the top plate bolt on the driver's side, it was a breeze! We did have one BIG scare in getting things back together, but we figured it out.

Anyway... a lot of the time we spent was just in little stuff.


Oh, no, you're not "j/k" - you're dead-on right. This was an expensive lesson (that could have been MUCH MUCH more expensive) to show me that I HAVE to practice what I preach.

John will probably have the VB in the next 2 weeks. I need a pay cycle to come through for some breathing room, but it is definitely the 2nd thing on my list. (the 1st is another surprise!)


btw... this ProTorque TC is cool. I'm on my way out the door to drive it some more right now!