jaxscuby

Howdy,
My Dad gave me his 96 LS 400 after he got a new car.
Recently the transmission would behave like it was in neutral and any gear except "P"..lol..

I replaced the filter and 4.5 quarts of Castrol synethic for type T.

Driving the car at highway speeds the transmission would unlock and free rev.

All my research points toward the SL & SLN solenoids. I did also get cel 0770.

So what does E solenoid have to do with SL/SLN solenoids?

use to run a dyno shop at another brand..have both my bachelors & masters in engineering..can wrench until my hands cramp..but..
I would rather work smarter than harder..

any insight would be greatly appreciated.

tia

Ben

jaxscuby

http://www.rostratransmission.com/tr...ansmission.php

52-9002 is the kit for A340, but there is another kits 52-9030.

have any of you ordered from them?

which kit did you purchase?

dicer

And that is why most all of us say only use the Toyota fluid.

jaxscuby

ok..thats fine..

but it was doing this before the filter change..

from the stickie..faqs..
• 3 qts. ATF. I used Coastal Multi-Vehicle Synthetic Blend Automatic Transmission Fluid from AutoZone for $3.99/qt. It says it meets Toyota T-III and T-IV / Lexus specs.

• Rostra Solenoid Kit #67420CK. Fits A140 / A240 / 241E / A340 / A340E and maybe more. It was about $112 with shipping from Makco Transmission (through their eBay store).

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

make sure you have enough fluid in there as well. check the hot side of the dip stick when the trans has ran for a bit. of course i would remedy the CEL and the code first. search more on here as i've seen a thread recently that showed the shift solenoids replaced and CEL gone.

dicer

So what happened to my post here about no multi vehicle auto trans fluid???????????? If I am going to be censored I'll just quit helping here.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

You posted that in another thread

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ml#post9505199

Please learn to use the forum search feature before throwing out baseless accusations. Took 10 seconds to find it.

jaxscuby

so just to cover the bases I did another fluid flush with type-IV.
they cost just under 60 for 10 quarts.


whoa and behold..the transmission did the same as the non-Toyota atf.


so ordered solenoid set for A340E.


guess I'll have to wait until solenoids come in..

dicer

No magic fixes after using the wrong stuff and then adding the correct stuff.

jaxscuby

so i purchased shift solenoid kit...for A340E..since dealership cross referenced the vin.

the transmission parts warehouse said I had a A341E..and lo and behold the lock up solenoid

in the valve-body was for a A341E. So I spent ~150 for solenoid kit 52-9002 (transtar industries )& a used valve-body ~120 (transcore) just incase.

but I should have ordered 52-9030 sole kit for A341E,

the shift solenoid install was pretty much straight forward.

remove transmission pan,

12mm bolt for dipstick retaining bracket at rear of driverside cylinder head.

10mm bolts for the pan.

10mm bolts for screen (for visibilty of solenoids)

my electrical connectors were abit brittle..so be careful.

I had to mount the shift solenoids to a common bracket..fun with the retaining "C" clips.

the shift lock & accumulator solenoid were held in by a common "E" retaining clip/bracket by a 8 mm bolt.

the lock up & accumulator solenoids from the kit and used valve-body were both incorrect.

So I cleaned and inspected all the solenoids. You find that these solenoids have a check spring at the end.

usually retained by either a plug with a allen hole or slot for screw driver.

The original shift lock up & accumulator solenoid springs were quit short and pretty weak compared to the

used set from the used valve-body (the springs in these were almost twice as long and larger diameter wire)

cleaned, lubed & re-assembled my original solenoids. I should not tightened the spring pre-load with the allen screws. I'll explain..

so reinstall the screen (3 10 mm bolts) and transmission pan (alot of 10 mm bolts ) torque for screen was about 7ft-lbs and the pan bolts about the same.

lowered the car off jack-stands..added 3 quarts..the dipstick still read at cold, low about 1/2 to 1 quart)

warmed the car and rechecked dipstick..had to add about 3/4 of a quart.

so the transmission shifted into all gears while in the driveway.

test drive..(remember when I said I'll explain?)..so i'll have to trouble shoot why no overdrive..

but the car does now drive after 3 weeks of scratching my head and reading everything I could find online.

I asked which solenoid kits others had purchased and if they had any luck with them..

I got no reply..no real helpful suggestions nor comments about the solenoids.

anyways..yes you're suppose to used toyota type IV, but after my lengthy conversations with

Lexus of Jacksonville and Arlington Toyota, both service departments both concurred that the

aftermarket ATF would have sufficed and not damaged the transmission. remember I had to get the car

back to house...and guess what the dealerships part departments were all closed..

but I will have to say the cost of type-IV was no more costly that the aftermarket ATF I bought to get me home.

So..my transmission problem was..transmission would free rev and not go into gear. no clunk from engagement..

I did a flush..it appeared that i helped the problem..but did not solve the problem.

replaced the shifter solenoids..lo & behold the transmission goes into gear..and i can drive the car!

hope this might answer a similar problem someone else might be having with their LS.

Ben..aka..jaxscuby

Legender

Thanks for the lengthy and descriptive followup post. And yes, might very well be useful to someone else. Thanks for taking the time to write this up.
And congrats on fixing it yourself.

jaxscuby

trouble shooting why the tranmission did not shift into over-drive.

so the common bracket that was supplied in the solenoid..one side was slightly off-set..the solenoid for 3-4.

took the solenoids off the common bracket onto the individual brackets..double check to make sure the solenoids

are completely flush.

also I backed out the torque converter lock & accumulator lock to the original depth..or as close as I could get.

test drive..in "D"..the transmission shifted at the factory rpm points..and over-drive kicked in!

then in manual mode with "power" on the transmission shifted through all the gears as requested.

my owners manual said type-II..yes i know type-II was super-ceded by type -IV.