93 SC400 - No 2nd gear!
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93 SC400 - No 2nd gear!
Hello! I have a 1993 SC400, I'm quite a novice when it comes to cars and no shop has been of any help with me.
I got the car as a non driving with a bad A340E 4 Spd Auto trans not going in to Drive gear.
Included with the car was a LS400 Transmission A341E from 1993 As well not installed. (LS400 was parted out from a front end crash)
I Planed on installing it myself so i got the car and went to work.
After swapping over every single wire and connector i put the A341E Trans in my SC400 and started it up, I heard a ratcheting noise from the back of the transmission. I took out the rear speed sensor/gear looking thing to see if that changed anything and it did not. still have the noise.
No matter the fluid i added (Type IV Toyota) it always said it was overfilled, running, driving, hot or cold etc. always over no idea why. I put in 8.7 quarts first then drained 2 quarts, still overfilled. drained another 2 still overfilled and right now i think there's about 3.5 total quarts in the trans after dropping out about 4 from the pan and it still says overfilled.
I took it to a shop and all they told me was it doesn't have 2nd gear and nothing else, no codes, nothing.
It drives now but it still doesn't have 2nd gear.
I swapped the A340E Transmission Shift Solenoids (2/4) and it drove a little bit nicer but still wont go in to 2nd gear.
I'm really at a loss on what to do, Please help, Thank you!
I got the car as a non driving with a bad A340E 4 Spd Auto trans not going in to Drive gear.
Included with the car was a LS400 Transmission A341E from 1993 As well not installed. (LS400 was parted out from a front end crash)
I Planed on installing it myself so i got the car and went to work.
After swapping over every single wire and connector i put the A341E Trans in my SC400 and started it up, I heard a ratcheting noise from the back of the transmission. I took out the rear speed sensor/gear looking thing to see if that changed anything and it did not. still have the noise.
No matter the fluid i added (Type IV Toyota) it always said it was overfilled, running, driving, hot or cold etc. always over no idea why. I put in 8.7 quarts first then drained 2 quarts, still overfilled. drained another 2 still overfilled and right now i think there's about 3.5 total quarts in the trans after dropping out about 4 from the pan and it still says overfilled.
I took it to a shop and all they told me was it doesn't have 2nd gear and nothing else, no codes, nothing.
It drives now but it still doesn't have 2nd gear.
I swapped the A340E Transmission Shift Solenoids (2/4) and it drove a little bit nicer but still wont go in to 2nd gear.
I'm really at a loss on what to do, Please help, Thank you!
you need the rear speed sensor and reluctor ring (with 4 "teeth") for the transmission to shift gears properly. not saying that is the only thing wrong, but it needs to be in place and working.
It shouldn't be that hard to find where the noise is coming from.
I have heard of this issue before and it is usually due to low fluid and a clogged filter screen in the pan.
On GM's like my old th400, what would happen is the seal that holds the fluid in the torque converter would leak and let the fluid drain back into the pan making it look like the oil level was too high...
but once you start it the fluid goes back in the converter and if you drained fluid out, now the sytem is too low. so give it a check after its running and not sitting, cause after sitting it can read high but it's really not if there is a leak.
I am not 100% sure this is the same issue with the aisin a340 transmission, but torque converters do hold a bunch of fluid and I would think there is a similar seal somewhere.
I think you should drop the pan, change the filter, clean things up and hope that it isn't internally damaged, but it could be too late.
honestly I wouldn't trust such an old auto trans that has been sitting unless I could verify it was working, so many people abuse these transmissions and over time they develop issues if not maintained.
4runners have basically the same transmission, read here, post 9.
They also mention about the throttle cable line pressure needing adjustment for the OP's issue with fluid level.
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...gine-swap.html
It shouldn't be that hard to find where the noise is coming from.
I have heard of this issue before and it is usually due to low fluid and a clogged filter screen in the pan.
On GM's like my old th400, what would happen is the seal that holds the fluid in the torque converter would leak and let the fluid drain back into the pan making it look like the oil level was too high...
but once you start it the fluid goes back in the converter and if you drained fluid out, now the sytem is too low. so give it a check after its running and not sitting, cause after sitting it can read high but it's really not if there is a leak.
I am not 100% sure this is the same issue with the aisin a340 transmission, but torque converters do hold a bunch of fluid and I would think there is a similar seal somewhere.
I think you should drop the pan, change the filter, clean things up and hope that it isn't internally damaged, but it could be too late.
honestly I wouldn't trust such an old auto trans that has been sitting unless I could verify it was working, so many people abuse these transmissions and over time they develop issues if not maintained.
4runners have basically the same transmission, read here, post 9.
They also mention about the throttle cable line pressure needing adjustment for the OP's issue with fluid level.
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...gine-swap.html
When you hear the buzzing noise from the tranny, do you only hear it after its been sitting for awhile (like overnight or after many hours)? And does it go away after a few minutes?
My 97's original tranny made a funny noise (like marbles being tossed around inside) before I eventually started having my shifting problems. My truck would stay stuck in 1st gear until the tranny fluid would hit about 140ish degrees (not the normal 2nd gear no shift until warmed up that everyone is aware of). The noise went away after I dropped the pan and cleaned the filter/screen. It was all plugged up with brown clay (clutch material) from when I got a pink milkshake. After I cleaned it, the noise never came back but the shifting problems began.
Eventually it got worse and worse and I replaced the tranny. Another thing that I noticed when all of this was going on was my fluid levels were all over the place. Sometimes it would read way to high and I could check it a day later and it was back to normal. I did a bunch of research and found that there could be a bad seal or even the pump was failing which is what was causing my issues.
And I know its a stupidly obvious question but I'll ask it anyways, you are checking the fluid level while it is running correct?
And as others have mentioned, try backing off the kick down cable a bit and see if it smooths out your shifting. I had to adjust mine a little bit when I swapped engines.
I would drop the pan, inspect and clean/replace the filter. Get your fluid levels back to where they should be and see what happens.
Good luck buddy
My 97's original tranny made a funny noise (like marbles being tossed around inside) before I eventually started having my shifting problems. My truck would stay stuck in 1st gear until the tranny fluid would hit about 140ish degrees (not the normal 2nd gear no shift until warmed up that everyone is aware of). The noise went away after I dropped the pan and cleaned the filter/screen. It was all plugged up with brown clay (clutch material) from when I got a pink milkshake. After I cleaned it, the noise never came back but the shifting problems began.
Eventually it got worse and worse and I replaced the tranny. Another thing that I noticed when all of this was going on was my fluid levels were all over the place. Sometimes it would read way to high and I could check it a day later and it was back to normal. I did a bunch of research and found that there could be a bad seal or even the pump was failing which is what was causing my issues.
And I know its a stupidly obvious question but I'll ask it anyways, you are checking the fluid level while it is running correct?
And as others have mentioned, try backing off the kick down cable a bit and see if it smooths out your shifting. I had to adjust mine a little bit when I swapped engines.
I would drop the pan, inspect and clean/replace the filter. Get your fluid levels back to where they should be and see what happens.
Good luck buddy
Last edited by Ali SC3; Nov 15, 2019 at 11:02 AM.
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