RamblinVixen Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Greetings, I bought my my 1985 22RE automatic with overdrive New Horizon about 3 years ago. According to the person I bought my RV from, the transmission was rebuilt and had only 30k miles on it. Same person said overdrive didn't work, nor did the transmission cooler and it was not important. OD does work, the transmission cooler was/is disconnected. I've driven the RV about about 4000 miles since owning it. It has about 75 k original miles. I've gone over the grapevine probably 6 times. Taking it super easy, nonetheless it's a big long climb... sadly, I left it in OD going up the hill (I didn't know any better). Tachometer on, watching it, keeping that in check. The transmission acted up going into to reverse awhile ago. Now it won't go into reverse. And now it gets upset with staying in gear. It appears that I need a new transmission. I think the tranny is a A340H. I've been reading through this forum and many posts are from a long time ago. There are plenty of people ready to take $1800 or more to rebuild my tranny. It seems that rebuilding trannies is an art. Asking for advice and guidance. I love my RV and want to have it for a long time. I feel I need to understand when and when not to use OD. And I think a transmission cooler is an important thing to have functioning. How can i get the longest life out of a rebulild? How do I find a transmission artist? I am not a Gearhead... please use regular human language 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Well a transmission cooler is very important especially considering you have an A43D transmission not the A340H. Have you looked at the tranny fluid lately? If overheated it will be dark and smell burnt. Last ditch try before you head to the tranny repair place, a rebuild costs way more than 1800, change the fluid and add a bottle of Lucas transmission fix. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamblinVixen Posted April 15, 2021 Author Share Posted April 15, 2021 Linda, thanks for your reply! Yes, I check the transmission fluid regularly. Last I checked it did not smell burnt. Dip stick was not burnt. These are new things I've learned to look for. I was told that changing the transmission fluid would make things worse... though doing that before springing for a new tranny sounds like a good idea. And adding Lucas transmission fix is a welcome last ditch effort. Thanks. Yes, I feel a fool about the transmission cooler. The guy I bought it from used it to go to the beach and back. For him cooler unimportant. I've never had a vehicle that needed a transmission cooler. Expensive lesson! "you have an A43D transmission not the A340H". Are you absolutely sure A43D is the transmission? Getting accurate info is a challenge for these older vehicles! Some mechanics won't even work on them! Thanks again for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 You have a non turbo 22re. The only transmission you could possibly have is the A43D. The A340 was the 6 cylinder transmission. You also have to consider that the tranny rebuild the previous owner got was not a good one Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 If the cooler is disconnected it would have failed a long time ago. Quite often people added an extra cooler that maybe disconnected. If the trans has never been serviced changing the fluid probably would be a bad ideal however if you have no reverse it doesn't matter any way it won't "fix" it. Reverse needs to have more things happening then a forward gear does. Basically I believe your are looking at an overhaul that actually is a good transmission they are amazingly tough. I would look for an ATRA transmission affiliated shop to do the work for you. In the future don't use OD unless you are on dead flat roads the little 22RE's like to spin so it won't hurt the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Maineah is correct. The Toyota came from the factory with a trannie cooler built into the radiator, it works but barely so. A lot of toy home owners add a second cooler for more protection. If someone had added an aux cooler to your toy and the P/O by passed/removed it , then you still have the factory cooler. What ever happens with your existing transmission you need to add a cooler AND a transmission temp gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamblinVixen Posted April 15, 2021 Author Share Posted April 15, 2021 Thanks for all of this great info! My RV had 3 owners before me. The second owner had it the longest and I believe he put the additional cooler on. I'll definitely get that going again. Now for a stupid question... to make sure I understand OD. The OD button is on the gear shift top handle area. OD is on when it's pushed in or when it is out? I am confused and want to be clear! Agreed transmission rebuild was no good. I am hoping this guy is still on this forum https://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?/topic/268-the-a43d-automatic-transmission/ He seems to be a transmission Artist! I'm going to try emailing him directly. If anyone knows a transmission artist near Los Angeles, please let me know. I am willing to drive a distance for someone who is really good. Very grateful to connect with this wonderful forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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