2003 Toxic Tacoma

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Fred
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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by Fred »

Backwards? :-/ These things have their own pumps in them, right? You're miles ahead of me on autos, btw, so nail me to the wall ruthlessly if need be. I understood that the "right" way was to intercept that pump's flow path and let it pump clean new fluid in, and pump the old fluid out. Certainly this is what I did on my power steer. I connected a vessel to the input to the system and filled it with brand new synthetic ATF (amsoil) and the output to a drain tray. I then worked the steering until the fluid going into the drain tray was brand new stuff from my vessel. As I understood, the same approach, on a larger scale, was used for properly clearing out the torque converter and other lines in an auto. Correct me if wrong :-)
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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by ToxicGumbo »

You are correct. Most machines just plug into the lines and let the running engine/torque converter do the work. These machines vary a bit, but there can be debris backflow.

I'm stuck a crossroads with this transmission rebuild. Lots of vendor trouble.

I discovered when it came time to put in the new valve body gaskets (of which there are four), nothing in the kit matched. This led to a few hours of research and numerous back and forth e-mails with RockAuto trying to prove to them that they've been marketing a kit designed for '95-'99 Tacoma A43Ds inappropriately for the '00-'04 trucks. In the end they used my information, corresponded with their vendors, eventually conceded, and promised to de-list it and stock a separate kit from ATP. That's all I was after since my kit was bought nearly a year ago, but they sent me a discount code for future purchases. Definitely cool, but mostly I wanted to make sure some poor guy trying to fix his car and save money to feed his wife and kids isn't financial SOL because of a vendor mistake.

This still left me with bad gaskets and also an incorrect o-ring for the center support kit.

I hit up ToyotaPartsEast for the gaskets and what I got was a bunch of plastic wrapped gaskets crushed into a UPS box by a sloppy parts grunt. Most of the gaskets have veined creases and one has two punctures in it. They responded to feedback and I've sent photos with the request for replacements. Resolution pending.

The o-ring was ordered from ToyotaPartsZone. What arrived a week and a half later ended up being an inner piston o-ring, not an outer piston o-ring. This was a revelation of sorts and explained why the ATP kit had one o-ring that didn't fit. I looked through ToyotaPartsZone and other Toyota parts reseller sites and discovered that the outer o-ring I've been looking for has a matching stock number to an inner o-ring used in various locations. So even if I wanted to re-order this part using the proper Toyota part number, everyone who sells it inherently trusts the upstream provider's stock number matching of a 3in o-ring where it should 6in. I've contacted ToyotaPartsZone twice through their feedback form without any response. I also wrote ATP about the o-ring in their kits and their customer service rep forwarded it on to a manager (I haven't heard back from him yet). Until progress occurs with these two, I ordered an outer piston o-ring from a different piston hoping the size and tolerances are close enough to not matter. Both pistons exist on either side of the center support and are likely identical in diameter. The rings in this transmission are all round and made of the same rubber, so while a gamble, it's not much of one. And oddly enough, one vendor matched stock numbers with these outer rings for an A43D in certain Celicas, so they might have run across the same issue with a grumpy Celica customer and modified their inventory to provide the closest match.

Once the o-ring and gaskets come through, the transmission will only take a weekend to finish putting back together and reinstall.


-Jeff
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Fred
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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by Fred »

What a rigmarole! :-/ I'm looking forward to hearing it run like it never has before :-)
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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by ToxicGumbo »

I'm looking forward to hearing it run like it never has before :-)
You mean like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03XHLHvv7sw



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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by Fred »

No, more like this.
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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by ToxicGumbo »

Despite a few vendor setbacks and personal complications, I was able to get back on track with the rebuild. So close I can smell the charred transmission fluid.

Image

^ Fully cleaned, gasketed, and torqued valve body.

Image

^ Transmission back together with all internal subassemblies.

By tonight I'll put the top in the bottom and bolt the pan on. Unfortunately, some of the sensors are sitting in the locked truck. Couldn't find the keys and discovered them in the ignition cylinder. Lovely. Hoping this trick works:

YouTube: A Method how to unlock your car in 10 seconds


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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by Fred »

I hope that you're never going to actually drive it again; it's too pretty now! :-p

Good work! Keep it up :-)

Fred.
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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by ToxicGumbo »

Good work! Keep it up :-)
Thanks for all the encouragement both here and elsewhere.

Image

^ The string technique actually worked!

I was able to break into my truck (without getting the attention of a passing cop), grab the keys, and pick up the remaining transmission sensors. The little bastard will be 100% complete as of tonight and ready for re-installation on Sunday.


-Jeff
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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by Fred »

The stunningly high definition photographs constantly leave me with a sense of awe.
ToxicGumbo wrote:and ready for re-installation on Sunday.
Drum roll PLEASE! :-)
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Re: 2003 Toxic Tacoma

Post by ToxicGumbo »

I'd like to say everything worked out, but the rebuild had some problems. I haven't been updating this thread out of embarrassment.

Specifically, nothing happens in R, though the car accelerates immediately when shifted into D. Since that's happening without the gas pedal being depressed, I'm wondering if 1st gear is out and it's starting at a higher gear. Very frustrating as I checked everything multiple times during and after assembly, but it wouldn't be "DIY" without a few hurdles along the way.

Here are a few action shots from re-install day:

Image

^ Because of the (highly-annoying) rear mount crossmember, we had to angle the transmission up and over it. Once level, there wouldn't be enough clearance for the ATF-filled torque converter, so the whole thing had to be awkwardly manhandled for about half an hour.


Image

^ My friend Anthony helped out with the installation. He's just as invested in this truck as I am since it could mean frequent trips to the local Pull-A-Part or LKQ yard.


Image

^ After many bolts, scrapes, and the mild onslaught of Tropical Storm Debby: installed and torqued.

Despite the lack of success, it was time well spent with a friend and fortunately we were able to run through the entire install process with all the necessary tools, maintained proper torque ratings, and returned every bolt and nut to their original places. That in itself is a good feeling.


-Jeff
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