tyncobb

I own a 94 LS400 with 340,000 miles and have just recently put a considerable amount of work and money into the car, so I am planning on keeping it for another 250,000 miles. Just drained the tranny fluid and put a new filter in and the fluid was fairly clear red looking and not dark and did not smell burned; with very few metal shavings in the pan attached to the magnets. But the transmission is wearing out (takes longer to shift from 2nd gear up to 3rd, irractic shifting in lower gears and fairly high pitched whining noise has started over the past two months as it goes up from 1st thru all gears until I finally hit 4th, so it quites down a bit when Im cruising at 65, but can still hear faint whine. Have decided to have a remanufactured transmission installed and would like to know who makes the best reman's or if there are any reputable companies that any of you would recommend. Have done plenty of Google Searches, but cannot find any "Customer Reviews" or "Industry Reviews" or Consumer Reports. SO, any reviews, recommendations or customer testimonials or thoughts if any one has put a remanufactured transmission in their LS400 would be GREATLY APPRECIATED. Thanks for any and all comments.

KA8

iTrader: (1)

I've had bad experiences with rebuilt trannies but not for LS400. I had tranny rebuilt twice in 3 yrs for 91 camry v6. They just don't last long. I think it'll be cheaper to go with good used unit.

tyncobb

KA8 Thanks for the input. I am not planning on buying or having mine "rebuilt"; I have done much research that says, remanufactured trans have complete rehaul of parts with stress tests on all and then completely reman'ed transmission with update of new parts including Torque Converter and then the unit is tested throughly through all gears on a Dynomometer and then guaranteed/warranty for 12 mos/12,000 miles including labor at $50/hr. Two national reman plants at $1,320.00 and also could buy reman from Carson Toyota for $2,700. BUT cannot find any reviews on any of the shops via google or yahoo?

Marklouis

car-parts.com has plenty of lower mileage Tranny's available, these Aikin Tranny's are pretty bulletproof and you may save yourself some headache if you get a used one from a reputable parts dealer - you cant imagine what these trannies cost brand new, and I dont believe the Remand' Aikin trans would be built with the same quality parts, unless direct from Toyota, (hence the higher rebuild price) - but, if I were to purchase rebuilt, it would have to be from Toyota and no other.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

it's Aisin. (aka Aisin-Warner)

Marklouis

I stand corrected - I knew I was a letter off somewhere!

3UZFTE

+1 for Boost Logic.

Do.Man

5 spd manual tranny swap should solve this problem. lol

tyncobb

So do most of you guys agree, that it would be better to buy a low mileage (80,000 is the lowest Ive found so far) used Lexus (Aisin-Warner) tranny then to trust a Remanufactured Lexus transmission from a rebuilder other than Toyota/Lexus? As mentioned earlier, cost of Reman from large midwestern reman co is $1320.00; Lexus Reman by Toyota is $2800 and Used 80,000 mile Transmission from Salvage Yard is $800? Do you think used would be smooth shifting and quiet running, generally speaking?

Thanks for your opinions.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

a low mileage trans should be fine. plus it'll be dirt cheap as most go for ~$300-500 used (some even have a warranty!)

tyncobb

PD, thx for your advice. Would you recommend that I also get a remand Torque Converter to prolong the life; Lextreme has them for about $175 or should I stick with the one that will be in the used tranny? I don't know enough about the powertrain to know if they need to be matched from day one?