MQ703

hello fellow CL members,

seems im in a real predicament here. last week on my way home from work my 2000 ES300 w/158k crapped out on me in the middle of the road(after barely having owned it for 3 weeks). took off from a red light and heard a noise(like something had just dropped out of the bottom of my car) and after that i pressed down on the accelerator and my car was going nowhere fast. i was stuck in the left lane of a busy highway and had 5-6 cars come within inches of rear-ending even though i had my hazards on so mind you i was scared ****less but the car wasnt going anywhere no matter what gear i put it in. called the police so that they could come block off the road behind me since i was impeding traffic.


the next day i decided to start it back up just to see if it would move. engine started right up and ran fine so i threw it into drive and it inched forward a couple of feet before crapping out again. at this point i was sticking halfway out of my parking spot so when my brother got home from work i asked him to help me push it back into place so i wasnt blocking anyone off. we tried pushing it back into place but the car wasnt going anywhere even in neutral. left it there as it was.


finally got it towed to a reputable Lexus specialist about half an hr away from my house today and it legit took him and the tow truck driver about 30-45 mins just to get my car off the flatbed. he asked me if i would hear any weird whizzing/whining noises on cold starts which would go away after about 5-10 mins and i said i did and he said that could be an indicator of a faulty transfer case belt i believe is what he said? when they were finally done he said that he suspects something off the sun planetary gear has come loose and lodged into the transfer case which in turn has locked up the axle which is why the car wont budge even in neutral. he said if thats the case the car might be beyond repair. now my question is, is what hes saying really true? and if that is the situation does my car still have a chance of being salvaged or am i stuck with an ES with a running engine and no ability to move? dont have much automotive knowledge at all which is why im seeking advice from you all. also, i checked the sticker in my door jamb to see what kind of transmission i have, my car has the U140E. after doing some research i saw that the U140E is alot more expensive than the A model transmissions. now i wouldnt mind having to get my transmission replaced/rebuilt as thats still cheaper than having to get a new car and as long as my car isnt junk and i still have something i can drive at the end of the day. also the shop i took it to is very reputable but they have some really weird hours (Tuesday thru Friday 8AM - 6PM, close Sat/Sun/Mon). The technician i spoke to at the shop said that he would try to get to it today but if he wasnt able to id have to wait till Tuesday morning and he didnt get back to me today so now im waiting till Tuesday. again sorry for the super long post, just wanted to make you all aware of all the relevant details so you all can hopefully give me some solid advice. again thanks in advance for all your help and input. it is greatly appreciated. really hope my time as a CL member isnt shortlived...

ES300NZ

If the gearbox has failed. Then it is always possible to replace it. While the value of the car might be questionable in relation to the cost of the work at a lexus dealership, a normal (good) gearbox replacement specialist company (if you can find), should be able to source a replacement, have it shipped in, and fit it - likely reducing the cost to a acceptable level.

I always get three prices, from three places, whenever I'm costing something.

Cars, are just a collection of parts which work together.

Why not post your general location, and ask for recommendations.

MQ703

ES300NZ, i know i can always count on you. thanks for all your help. im sorry this may be a really naive question(again very limited automotive knowledge) but from what i understood from your post is that the transfer case and the gearbox are the same thing? i will definitely look into sourcing a gearbox from somewhere if that does turn out to be the problem. i did some searches from transmission specialists around my area (Northern VA, USA) but didnt find many satisfying results. although while driving to the shop i had the car dropped off at today i saw that there was a transmission shop at the very end of the same strip. speaking to the technician today he seemed like an honest man but i always am weary and try to get many opinions before taking a step.

ES300NZ

a transfer case is american for transaxle, which is just the gearbox basically. I can't speak for who to deal with in your area, sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith, .. I'm not much on faith so I tend to find at least one person that can recommend a place, and three prices all up to give me some sort of 'idea'

I'm not sure what the tech was talking about, if he said 'belt', he might have been referring to a 'band', it's not really important. Something in the gearbox has failed, it's a fairly common car, shouldn't be a huge issue to just buy another gearbox from a wreaked car.

You will always pay alittle more, for a gearbox they supply. That's sometimes a good thing, because it comes with a warranty (ideally), the normal warranty is 90 days in my country for used engines/gearboxes.

Here's some ebay links,

Replacement box, free shipping.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/99-00-01-LEXUS-ES300-AUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSION-U140E-TRANSMISSION-921434/351307882362?_trksid=p2045573.c100034.m2102&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D28797%26meid%3Dae50d64d96184309bb2ae7807f1cdb34%26pid%3D100034%26rk%3D7%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D180557512319
http://www.ebay.com/itm/97-98-99-00-01-LEXUS-ES300-AUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSION-/330804784773?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d05806e85&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/98-CAMRY-AUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSION-3-0L-337180-/121320685256?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c3f46bec8&vxp=mtr
I'm actually kinda surprised at how expensive they are. But, off e-bay you might get a better deal.

I'm 100% sure there are companys in the USA which repair boxes, put them on a shelf, and sell them to the public / companies which install them. Can't think of the names of any, should be easy to search out though. I bet they do them at reasonable prices, with free shipping.

MQ703

NZ, again thanks so much for all your help. gonna keep an eye out around the area see if any 'parts only' ES300's come up that i could salvage a transmission off of or maybe call some junkyards too and see if they have anything of use. just waiting to hear back from the mechanic on Tuesday now with the verdict...

ES300NZ

http://www.certifiedtransmission.com/toyota/

http://www.remanufactured-transmissi...ke/toyota.html

http://www.transmissionsexpress.com/...smissions.html

http://www.theautochannel.com/autopa...amryitems.html

We have large 'pull it yourself' wreckers yards here. They do supply a portable crane, but that's it. So alot of folks just grab some beer (you can drink there) and go pull a box out, and then have a mechanic install it into their car. Usually, .. it's a fairly brutal removal process. It's actually not that hard to remove an automatic gearbox. Getting them in can be a pain in the **** though, .. if you like the car that is :P

You would definitely need a engine lifter, and probably two sets of axle stands, one set would / should be the 'tall' kind. The box comes out the bottom, so it has to clear the front bumper.

.. I just drag them out, and lift them up onto a steel trolley I have, (engine stand base), others would probably drop it down onto a trolley in the first place cos they are around 80kg ?

ES300NZ

I just had a thought, it might worth paying someone to remove the half shafts and re-install the blue circles area (lower) in the wheel hub (because it holds the wheel bearings together) So the car can be easily rolled. They will need to drain the g/box fluid too, which is good cos they look for metal in it. which might indicate whether it's even worth considering fixing the box.

If the shafts are out, it will be easier to move the car around, so you can have it towed home and take some time to consider your next move without incurring storage fees.

MQ703

NZ, thanks a bunch for this suggestion. incurring storage fees was one of my concerns, luckily the shop i took it too isnt too bad (they give the customer 48 hrs before incurring storage fees of $30/day) but i will most certainly discuss this with the mechanic to see how much he'd charge for this so my car can at least get around a bit easier.

MQ703

also, you said that if there were metal pieces int the fluid that i should consider if the gearbox was either worth repairing. lets say there is metal floating around in the fluid, does that mean i should consider having the gearbox replaced (as opposed to repaired) or would it be wiser to just have the whole transmission replaced at that point?

ES300NZ

if there is metal floating/suspended in the fluid, it 'could' be uneconomical to repair it. If there are chucks of metal falling out the drain hole, it is almost definitely uneconomical to repair it. The lack of certainty in those statement is because one never really knows until the gearbox has been disassembled and inspected.

That would probably cost some money. As someone has to pull it all down, check everything, and cost replacement parts.

Basically it all comes down to how healthy your bank account is.

($3000-$4000 ?) - If your flush, drop it off to someone, tell them 'fix it' and pay the (huge) bill.

-----
($2000-$3000 ?) - If your doing ok, find a replacement trans, perhaps a remanufactured one (rebuilt) and get someone to install that.

($500-$2000 ?) - If your stretched, find a second hand trans, get someone to install it.
-----

($200-$500 ?) - If your on the bones of your ****; find a second hand trans as cheap as you can, and install it yourself
- /with a friend
- /someones dad/
- that guy you didn't want to owe a favour to but now do.

somewhere between the lines is a good solution, which I'm guessing you can afford.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

Yikes, another one bites the dust.

I'm wondering why the car is "stuck", when my trans **** the bed, I lost all except for 1st gear & reverse. Neutral was fine.

I would try and disconnect the battery, to reset the computer [tie the leads together with no battery attached obviously, so that it clears the PCM memory]

It should roll around neutral, also try to hit the button in the column shifter to release it into neutral.

Lastly, is this car worth it to you? Are you as **** as I was with mine? My car was always super-beyond-maintained, so the 2000$ to put in a new [used] trans was worth it, as the car was worth more to me than that in parts the year prior... so I didn't want to throw that away or part it out.

It's a tough pill to swallow, maybe you'll be lucky to get one cheaper than that first ebay link. But the U140e are expensive for some reason. BTW, the other two links ES300NZ posted aren't the transmission you need.

The A514e is always cheap, the U140e is NOT! I had the ONE and only transmission available in the whole province put into my car and it cost me ~1200$ before labor, and my buddy lost money on that deal putting it in [labor wise].

BTW, the rebuilds are very expensive for some reason, for me it was 3500$ to rebuild - I was not about to do that to a car worth a few hundred more than that... so the used way, was the way to go.

PFB

Try this site. You may be lucky, and find a used one near you.

http://www.car-part.com/

Good luck,

Phil

MQ703

NZ, from the prices ive been seeing on the web your breakdown seems about right. im pretty much in that second to last range that you mentioned. unfortunately i dont really have any friends who's parents are in the automotive industry or who are in the industry themselves where they could pull out a trans and swap it in for me if swapping in a new trans would solve the problem and the gearbox isnt beyond repair. thanks again for all your help, much appreciated.

yup, beyond sad right now. im gonna try that and see if i have any luck. also gonna look into NZ's suggestion regarding the half-shafts as well. im a full time student with a part-time job, luckily its enough to cover my expenses but obviously not as much as a salary. bought the car for about $3500 including titling,registration, etc. and the saving i did have just went it to making my tuition payment so i bought this car off of the check i received from insurance as a result of my previous 3ES being totaled after being t-boned by some moron. pretty much out of luck at this point. could possibly ask a family member for a loan if it does need a new trans and slowly pay them back as that would still be cheaper than buying a new car. i just dont want to end up having to sell it with a bad gearbox/trans for pennies on the dollar and suffer a crucial loss. thanks for all your help, i really appreciate it.

Phil, thanks for the link to that site. ive been looking at it and have seen some decent priced transmissions not too far away but the question is in what condition theyre in and whether theyll last and most importantly if my car is even still capable of being repaired. again, thanks for your help!

ES300NZ

if your in the last two brackets, .... this quote from LEX seems to kinda sum it up. .. it might not be worth it.

MQ703

just thought id give an update to anyone who may be interested or going through the same type of problem.i was finally able to get a price quote along with a diagnosis from the mechanic today, according to him my "transmission is definitely fried and both axles need to be replaced as well". he gave me an estimate of $3000-$3200 total (including parts + labor) for my car to be repaired and he said the used transmissions come with a 90-day warranty. he also gave me another, slightly more costly option of having the transmission rebuilt which he said would run me $3200-$3400 (parts + labor included) but would also offer a longer warranty according to him. met my brother's friend the other day who said he has a really close family friend who runs a shop and his whole family has been taking their cars to that shop for around 15 yrs now and he said i should definitely get a quote from him as well, which i plan on doing. only thing im afraid of with getting a used transmission is having it crap out on me after the warranty period and being back at square one

suggestions? do you guys think a rebuild is the better option or should i get the transmission replaced altogether?