CLRH2O

***UPDATE September 6th 2010
The new Torque Converter didn't fix anything. $370 *test* complete. Whatever trouble there is - is inside the actual Transmission it's self. From here, it's figuring out if it's the shift solenoids or something related to clutches brakes etc inside transmission it's self. I simply don't know enough about Transmission internals to know what would make ALL gear positions stop working when the gearbox heats up after 2-3 minutes - but what I do know at this moment is that everyone I talk to just wants to do a full rebuild for around 1500 dollars and send me on my way.

What do you think, Is it worth trying a 900 dollar transmission that's got 103K miles on it... or just go and pay the 1500 for a rebuild and hope that lasts longer than 12 months or 12k miles too?



***UPDTE September 12th 2010
The guy who installed the new Torque Converter into my SC400 located 2 low mileage used transmissions in the area. One for $250 with 70k miles, another for $200 with 80k miles. I decided to take the chance and give these a shot since the removal of the old and install of the new was only $175 labor and these were prices I could afford over the rebuild prices I've been finding.

That said and done and with the new used transmission is in the car... gears do shift BUT, they are not smooth and there is a ton of noise inside the cabin from the transmission. I can hear all sorts of light grinding/whirring noise in and at each gear position and shift point. in addition to all that, The car shakes and shudders like a tire that's out of round at varying levels of vibration and noise depending on engine RPM. The transmission is *said* to have 70k miles on it and it is out of a wrecked SC400. It's been sitting dry for 3 months and (now that it's in my car) has brand new Toyota Type-IV in it - and it's mated to the new/rebuilt DACCO Torque Converter.

The first test to confirm that the vibration is from the new used Trans (or the DACCO TC) is to disconnect the 6 bolts from the flywheel and TC and start the engine. If the vibration is gone - it's one of those two parts...... but I'm certain it is already. I know my car well enough.

The guy working on the car is gone for 8 days on vacation starting tomorrow which leaves me without wheels again during that time. It's very unfortunate and I'm quite unhappy at the moment. But that's to be expected so I need to just get over it lol.

He has assured me however that I'm done owing/paying any money and that it WILL be fixed for me once he's back in town. In the meantime he's having another *said* 80k trans picked up to be waiting for use once he returns if the test shows that the trans or TC are the vibration cause (which I'm damn sure it will be).

Total cost so far $760.





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Alright - so I had to push the car home (whoa baby is it heavy!!!) yesterday.

I left the house on errands Monday @ around 3:30pm (I hate rush hour :/ ), then leaving a light about 5 minutes after driving I noticed that the RPMs increased a lot and there was little forward momentum.. then the car shuddered a bit semi-roughly and I started to get some forward movement. Next light, there it went again - but it was worse. By the third light I could tell if I did'nt turn around and try to limp home I was going to be proper F'd.

Sure enough, I make it most of the way to the house (smothered in rush hour traffic @ 20 miles an hour with my blinkers on) and then at a turn I HAD to stop for - dead. nothing. Just spinning motor and absolutely no go. The car had nothing in Drive, 2, L or Reverse. Period, just nothing but a running motor and freely spinning RPMs. So I pushed it about a 3rd of a mile home.

After leaving the car to sit for the evening, today after checking the fluid to find it nice and pink and all fresh smelling. (simple drain and refill with Type-IV 7 months back) I decided to start up the car again. Right after it started I could get the car to go into gear positions. But although each position would engage, if I gave the car gas I get the same shuddering and low to almost no movement.... until after a few minutes of changing gear positions and trying to get some normal movement about the car it seemed again like the gears in there were all smoothed over or something - which of course isn't what's going on - but imagine if all of a sudden all the teeth on all the internal gears were gone all you had left were slippery steel loops lol.

Anyway - after letting the car warm up just a few minutes more the transmission stopped doing anything in each/all of the positions exactly as it had done to me when I had to push it home the afternoon before.

So cold, a little of something - warm or hot - a whole lot of nothing.

What's the story you think? Did the Torque Converter die? This was suggested to me by someone who works locally on Celeca's. If so - what exactly happens to a TC when it dies that kills the generation of power to the gears inside the rest of the transmission? And do Torque Converters just go out like that.. running on Monday then BLAM on Tuesday totally shot and dead like fred?

And if it's not the TC what are your thoughts on what else it could be?

Those with experience - your words are GREATLY apprecaited.



***Notes about calling around for used transmissions with TC's still attached. the lowest price I could find was for one with a quarter million miles on it for 550 dollars (no core required) and another with 170k miles on it for 600 dollars (core deposit required) and then finally one with 103k miles on it for 900 plus core plus shipping from Orlando - and I'm in TAMPA. I thought the A341E was supposed to be 150 to 250 bucks?!!! About a days worth of searching here on the boards led me to those types of prices - but what I'm finding in the world is FAAAAAAAAAR higher than that.

Considering the prices I'm finding - should I just buy a TC from Napa or something and have it installed on a whim as a test to see if that's it? that route is looking like about 550 dollars total parts and labor. But still, 550 for no fix is a scary prospect as well.

And what about full transmission rebuilds. Seems like with the prices of even anything in the 100k miles range - a full rebuild gets you a totally new trans (well, new internals anyway and that's as new as it really gets right?) for less maybe?

Klaus

iTrader: (1)

car-part.com won't always have the best prices. The beauty of buying from a yard is that you do have some peice of mind- a reputable yard will have a return policy on it's items so if you puts the transmission in and it doesn't work they'll take it back. A yard by me has a 100 day guarantee on anything bought there. Pretty sweet and they specialize in lexus vehicles . So the $200 or so price is typically private owners just clearing garage space and if there's a problem with that trans you're not getting your money back.

That being said, this sounds just like a clutch giving out and no longer engaging so I think torque converter (all in all provides the same function) seems very likely

vangb2

iTrader: (2)

Here is a nice place to get a TC if you want it re-manufactured.

http://www.gopnh.com/Automotive-Manu...facturer=Lexus

Taking a transmission out is a big task, and even if there is warranty from the junk yard it would be a lot of work to take it apart again if the junk yard TC is bad as yours is.

As far as price wise, I bought a TC from them for my 2000 S4 tiptronic and it was only $290 with $100 core deposit when everyone wanted $400+ re-manufactured. I think most of re-seller get it from here anyway. They will sell to end user also.

TheRonTom3

iTrader: (5)

I have a stock TC sitting on the floor in my den if you need one I'll let it go for $75 + shipping. Can possibly ship it super cheap if you have a greyhound station near you

CLRH2O

There is a greyhound near me as it happens. Any chance it could be here by Friday / Friday night? The guy who works on the Celecas I'd mentioned - part of the work he does is shoehorning 1UZ's into them... so he's familiar with my car and says he's got lift time available on Saturday.

After that, how many miles are on your TC and why/how did it end up outside the car?

And of course - short of just wanting to get rid of the thing, what about what I've described makes you think the TC is def what I need and that it's not some other internal Transmission problem? I know a little bit about my car obviously - but I'm still sort of in the who knows area regarding what's happened so any info you can contribute is helpful and appreciated.

TheRonTom3

iTrader: (5)

it wouldnt be worth it to overnight or two day it. I know fed ex i used to work there they would want like $200 for shipping over night

I bought the TC from a member on it a while ago because i was going to use it as a core for a lextreme custom TC and just never did

CLRH2O

youch - $200 is def no joke.

Back in 1998 I shipped a few boxes of flyers to someone via greyhound... but I have no memory of how long it took to arrive. What do you think the amount of time and price via greyhound would be?

And any clue how many miles are on the TC already?

TheRonTom3

iTrader: (5)

greyhound is super cheap. It'd probably be like $30.

I believe they were said to be 75,000

CLRH2O

TheRonTom3, thank you for the offer but I found a DACCO re-manufactured here in town with a year warranty for $114 bucks so I'm going to have to jump on it. Again, I appreciate the offer and hope you get that thing off to someone soon.


Now - anyone who might happen to swing in here in the next day before I buy this DACCO one - any experience with DACCO re-manufactured TC's? Good, Bad or ugly I'd like to know about it.

Thanks in advance guys.

Also, I checked into some full transmission rebuild action through a place here in Tampa called JESTO (off Cypress Ave). They gave a what I feel like was a pretty stock quote of $1475 plus tax with free pickup of the dead car to their shop. Turn around time is 2-3 business days and the warranty is the same 12 month 12k miles deal on parts and labor. This also includes a new rebuilt TC as part of that price (forgot to ask what the price was on it without the TC... bummer)


So - as it stands I could go the ONLY TC replacement route as a test @ $120 for the Dacco, $30 for the tow to the local shop and between 175 and 250 for labor at a total of around $320 to 370 or the full rebuild....


man, I think I might just HAVE to go with the TC only test first at that price..


Before I do this - again, does anyone have any other thoughts on what I've described and if the transmission it's self might be the problem and not the TC?

TheRonTom3

iTrader: (5)

I think that if it was your trans you would here metal from a stripped gear as well as have CEL from the trans. ecu. A TC malfunction won't throw any codes and basically react the way you described.

I say you should sack up and do the work yourself and only spend $114

JakeBreyck

iTrader: (1)

time for a manual trans

CLRH2O

Trust that if I had a lift I'd do it myself following LexLS's tutorial.

But in the driveway, on jackstands and trying to do it alone the very first time. I'm fine paying someone 175 or so to see it being done first hand (helping a little here and there) to learn the process with an actual shop lift and all the exact tools required.

And regardless - it's still a FAR cry from the 1500+ rebuild.

Seriously appreciate the info though, and you're right - no CEL's at all.

CLRH2O

The new Torque Converter didn't fix anything. Considering this, wWhy hasn't my car thrown any CELS?

PLEASE READ THE FIRST POST FOR THE UPDATE INFO ABOVE.

KC95SC400

iTrader: (3)

Couple of things.

There are not many trans codes for an OBD 1 system. Every clutch in the thing could be fried and it will never throw a code. It will throw codes for speed sensors and solenoids.

You should be able to get a rebuild for way cheaper than $1500. I pulled mine out myself, brought it to a local (non-chain) trans shop and had them rebuild it with a performance rebuild kit from IPT for $350. I think the kit itself was around $400 bucks so around $700-$800 total with performance parts and pulling it myself.

And you could find much cheaper rebuild kits I'm sure.

CLRH2O

Good to know - this tells me that the shift solenoids on my 93' ODB1 car aren't the culprit... or at least not by way of that indicator.

So far the pricing results I've found in town here in Tampa Florida are heinous. The absolute cheapest one was from a company called JESTO for $1475 Plus tax. Granted that included towing, removal, all rebuild parts including a new Torque Converter (which I don't need now as I already have a new one in there after the *test*), all new fluid and reinstall with a 2-3 day turnaround and a 12month 12k mile warranty on parts and labor... But still. That is the LOW END price I've been quoted after having gotten 4 quotes. Tampa for rebuilds is looking bleak to say the least.

I've been leery of calling any old local mom & pop for a rebuild because of a very bad experience with a Cadillac Trans rebuild in 1995. I assume rebuilding Transmissions is not an everyman's job so I've been *trying* to look for reputable shops. But the prices!!!

As it stands I at least have my girls car to use for as long as I ferry her around to each of the things she needs to do on a day to day basis - but really, that will grind us down eventually.


One thing I'd like to know a little bit more about with this 4 speed auto trans is this: What causes all four clutch and brake packs to die at once? It seems like an unbelievably huge failure. I'd have expected to loose like 2nd gear first as everyone else does it seems. And then maybe over time loose more gearing positions no?. But all four AND reverse at once blows me away and makes me want to know A LOT more about how these things actually work mechanically.

I haven't reached out to performance shops because just on the word performance I again assume even higher prices. Maybe that's an angle I should be looking into and stop *assuming* things

At least the engine it's self seems to still be ok LOL