Bad luck with my transmission.

[Odyssey 4x4]

I was driving my 87 Escaper (22re auto) when it acted funny shifting after an interstate drive of about 15 miles. Checked tranny fluid and it was about dry. I jacked it up and underneath saw that it was leaking quite a bit of fluid at the spot where the drive shaft goes into the transmission.

I pulled the drive shaft back and replaced the seal and seal housing or whatever its called.

Old seal vs. new.

The old seal did not look too bad. The problem I noticed was that the drive shaft seemed to have some wear in it. I'm assuming it would be from where it ride on the bearing? Anyway, I put it all back together and took it for a drive and it seemed okay. Fast forward to later that night and I'm driving home and it starts acting funny again. Sure enough I look under and it's leaking quite a bit of fluid at the same spot. So that leaves me to believe it has to be the bearing and or drive shaft.

I have never dealt with this type of problem before and figured I could use any advice anyone has to offer. I am going to mess with it this week and see what I find.

I will keep the thread updated with finds.

[waiter]

I recall this is a problem with the A43D. If I recall from the posts, it seems to be related with tranny fluid temperature, i.e. do you have an aux fluid cooler.

Anyway, here are the posts that I was referring to:

http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=268

http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=1793

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[Maineah]

The tail stock bushing is most likely toast. If it's only low you maybe in luck. The rings that people are talking about are governor rings they do not seal oil from leaking out on the ground but they can leak internally. They can not be replaced with out dismantling the transmission so if it's full of fluid and shifting funky they are probably broken worst case they have worn groves in the transmission case. The tail stock bushing is part of the support for for the out put shaft and the governor is right in front of it. The tail stock is easy to remove and the bushing is not hard to replace I would start there and hope for the best.

[waiter]

Just for self assurance, I crawled under mine tonite and wiggled the tail shaft. just a tiny bit of play, about what it was when I bought it 30,000 miles ago.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[Odyssey 4x4]

When the fluid is full it seemed to shift perfectly normal. Only time shifting got weird was when it ran out of fluid. I pulled into a gas station and saw it was leaking a big amount of tranny fluid in just the minute I had parked at the station. I checked level and it showed empty. With the amount of fluid it was leaking I had no doubt it drained the whole 2.5 qts during the drive there. I filled it up with another 2.5 qts and headed home. It shifted fine and I drove about 7 miles and then it started acting funny again but I made it home.

I am going to pull it back apart and take a look at the tail housing busing and see what else I can find.

[Maineah]

When the fluid is full it seemed to shift perfectly normal. Only time shifting got weird was when it ran out of fluid. I pulled into a gas station and saw it was leaking a big amount of tranny fluid in just the minute I had parked at the station. I checked level and it showed empty. With the amount of fluid it was leaking I had no doubt it drained the whole 2.5 qts during the drive there. I filled it up with another 2.5 qts and headed home. It shifted fine and I drove about 7 miles and then it started acting funny again but I made it home.

I am going to pull it back apart and take a look at the tail housing busing and see what else I can find.

OK good deal I would just go ahead and order a bushing I can almost assure you it's shot..

[Odyssey 4x4]

Thanks for the help. I already ordered the bushing and went ahead and ordered another seal kit too since I'm sure this one will get damaged upon removal. Toyota will have it tomorrow afternoon and I will pick it up and then should have the truck apart Thursday or Friday and will post my findings.

Thanks again

[Odyssey 4x4]

Also, the end of the drive shaft that slides into the transmission (the yoke maybe? I don't know what its called), seemed to have some wear on it from where it rides on what I assume is the bushing. How can I go about fixing this? I assume I would just have to locate that front part of the drive shaft? Are these still made?

[Maineah]

Also, the end of the drive shaft that slides into the transmission (the yoke maybe? I don't know what its called), seemed to have some wear on it from where it rides on what I assume is the bushing. How can I go about fixing this? I assume I would just have to locate that front part of the drive shaft? Are these still made?

Yes if it is worn it will have to be replaced the bushing is much softer then the yoke so it would not last long if the yoke is bad. I don't think it would be hard to find the basic transmission is still used today.

[Odyssey 4x4]

Alright I'm going to call a Driveshaft shop near me and see if they can help me out since I cannot seem to find the yoke alone online.

[Maineah]

Try slip joint or ebay they have drive shafts it may not fit your truck but the yoke should. Your truck is a 137" WB so they may have the front drive shaft.

[Odyssey 4x4]

Update,

I got the drive shaft out and the rear of the transmission off. Here were my findings.

The shaft had some serious wear on it. I'd say it's certainly worse than when I had it apart the other day. I think it happened when I tried to drive it home because I definitely heard a new vibration that I had never heard before.

And also I noticed that the oil port hole in the bushing is not properly aligned with the oil supply tube. I am not sure if it was like that when I had it apart the other day or if it possibly happened on the drive home.

So I got a new seal kit and bushing. I'm finding the drive shaft tomorrow. I'll keep the thread updated when I have new info.

Thanks!

[DanAatTheCape]

there are machine shops that handle (specialize) in drive shafts - they can build up (weld) shafts like your then turn them down in a lathe.

Might want to do some internet searches & asking around - mechanics, machine shops, parts houses will have an idea who does such stuff in your area.

[Odyssey 4x4]

There's a drive shaft shop near me so I'm going to bring it by since they said they can likely order it. If I can find it online and order it myself I would prefer to do that to save the money but I cannot seem to locate just this part of it. If anyone knows the part number and could fill me in on it I'd be more than grateful. If I can't find it I guess I will be having one made for it. Any rough ideas of what that usually costs?

I also destroyed the bearings on the U-joint getting it off the drive shaft, so I plan on putting in a new universal joint and bearings.

[Odyssey 4x4]

I hit up two junk yards today and was basically told tough crap. Both places were super rude to me! I don't think those old long bearded junk yard guys take a 23 year old very seriously. All I wanted to do was give them my money! The second yard I went to even told me they don't sell Toyota parts anymore and all toyotas are sent overseas! I laughed and walked out.

[DanAatTheCape]

your profile says you are in florida?

I had my chunk (the internals of the differential - you can pull both axles back & pull the "chunk" out ) because it had a whining noise - turned out my main bearings were pitted.

Anyway , this is the kind of shop I would talk to ....

(this is an ad for yellowpages - but you can see the shop_

Advance Driveline

5512 Carder Rd, Orlando, FL ‎

(407) 299-1100 ‎

I was satisfied with their work & pricing. That was in 2008. I am not in any affiliated with these guys. The mechanic who pulled my chunk recommended them.

[Odyssey 4x4]

Awesome, thanks! I found a place that should be able to take care of it for me. They are about 35 minutes away and the business is called "driveshaft specialist inc", so I assume they should be able to get it. I just hope the prices are reasonable.

[Odyssey 4x4]

So I got the bushing, part number 90999-73139. I'm checking it out and something looks off with the oil channels. If you look at the bushing that's still on it, the hole is in the center of the oil channels. On this new one, the hole is in a completely different location relative to the oil channel. Is this A) a new design? B ) the wrong part number, or C) a manufacturing defect?

Current bushing still in extension housing...

New bushing, part # 90999-73139

I definitely wanted to make sure I have the correct part going in before I start putting it in. Thanks everyone.

[Odyssey 4x4]

I just took a look at powdrhounds write up and saw he has the same, answered my own question!

[Odyssey 4x4]

Made it to a heavy duty truck place and he took a look at my transmission yoke and told me the replacement would be part number 1303-41. He is going to order it Monday.

[Maineah]

As badly beat up as the bushing is it probably spun in the tail stock. Yes that is what it looks like when they are new. I would not put the tail stock back in until you have the yoke it may require a whack or two with a soft hammer on the side of the tail stock to ensure a nice free fit.

[Odyssey 4x4]

I will surely test the fit before installation. The shop is ordering the yoke for me tomorrow. I have also located a Dolphin being parted out near me that is the same drive train and complete. Should I not risk putting a used yoke in? For the price I think I will just put the new one in so that will be taken care of for good. The good news is that the Dolphin I found is being parted out and has yet to have any parts taken off of it! It has the awning and if it's in good shape I'm going to get it tomorrow possibly with some other parts. He told me he would do $225 for the awning, I'll decide the true value when I see the condition of it.

[Odyssey 4x4]

I went to a junk yard today that had an 88 Dolphin that was being parted out. I got the tranny yoke out and it was in fine condition but they wanted $75 for it since they said the whole drive shaft is useless without it. I decided to wait since the new one a guy ordered for me was only $95. But on the good side it had an awning it beautiful condition that even matched my Escaper's colors. I opened it up and it was in perfect condition and opened really nicely. I got the awning for $200, a Bargman door handle for $30 (around $200 on Ebay), and a curtain set for free that is in decent condition and a way better color than my ugly ones.

The yoke is on order and I decided I am going to have the bushing pressed in by a machine shop since I don't feel like screwing it up.

[DanAatTheCape]

sounds like u r making progress.

[Odyssey 4x4]

The most time consuming part of working on these things is waiting for parts to come in.

[Odyssey 4x4]

So after a slight delay I was able to get the Toyota back together the day before a 900 mile journey. Unfortunately I was in focus mode and didn't get to take any pics of the finishing of the repair. I found a heavy duty truck parts company in Tampa and they ordered me the new Transmission yoke for a grand total of $85. The bushing was ordered from a Toyota dealer as well as the seals needed. I got the old bushing out without a problem and did not cause any nicks or scratches in the housing itself where the bushing rides. I was going to attempt to drive the new bushing in myself but did not want to risk a $60 bushing. I found a transmission shop near me while driving to pick up the yoke and stopped in. The guy was nice enough that he grabbed the parts, got the special drive made just for that bushing, and smacked it in with a hammer within a few swings. I was a little worried when I saw him grab the hammer and he informed me that this is how he has always done them and they cannot be hydraulically driven in (I'm not sure if that is true). He drove it in in no time and handed it back to me and said no charge. I gave him a $20 tip because I was blown away by the gesture, I guess I am too used to rude people around me.

I went ahead and stopped and got a new U-joint as well ($8). I attached the new yoke to the drive shaft with the new u-joint, test fit the yoke into the bushing to feel a nice tight fit. I lubed EVERYTHING up with tranny fluid. I then scraped the remaining old gasket material off of the back of the transmission as well as the front of the extension housing. Be careful not to gouge into the soft aluminum while removing the gasket if using a blade or scraper. I got everything into place, it was a real pain getting the extension housing in place as well as the tranny support pieces. It was like a puzzle, a very frustrating puzzle. I finally got everything where I wanted it. I then used Permatex gasket maker and put the extension housing into place and tightened all the bolts by hand. I then finished tightening in a cross pattern with all 6 bolts. I then tightened all the transmission support bolts. Unfortunately one of the support bolts (1 of 4) snapped off while torquing. I was not too worried considering there are 3 other strong bolts. I then lubed and reinstalled the speedo gear. Slid the Yoke into place and re-bolted the transmission carrier bearing support into place. After driving for about 300 miles I crawled under it to see that there was no leaking from the extension housing and tranny fluid was at proper level.

This entire repair was a pain in the butt but absolutely necessary. The fit of the yoke into the housing is super tight now.

The few pics I snapped are already in this thread.

This is the positioning that the new style bushing needs to be put in.

Here is the transmission extension housing removed, sorry for the dark picture. This is viewing it looking at the front side, you can see the shaft lube supply tube on the bottom right side

Once again sorry for not having any pics, I remember taking more than I have but for some reason they are no longer on my phone!

Everything seems good with the truck now as far as that repair and if anyone has any questions regarding to install I may be able to help.

It has been driven about 900 miles since this install within a weekend and tranny fluid is still at proper level.

[waiter]

Tony;

This is great, I'll see if the other moderators want to PIN this.

I've been following your writeup with great interest. I knew there was a problem with the bearing, and I specifically looked for this when I bought my Toyhouse. I believe the theory is its heat related, and an aux cooler could reduce/eliminate the problem.

Heres my take from following this tranny thing for a couple years, tell me if this is correct.

1) The rear yoke bearing and the yoke seal can be replaced, and the old Yoke may be re-used, if its not destroyed or chewed up from the bearing going bad. (i.e. replace the bearing before it fails)

2) If the yoke bearing goes bad, the yoke wobbles and destroys seals up inside the tranny, and now the tranny needs to come out. those seals (I guess they are the shifting seals, can only be replaced by disassembling the tranny. This is a very big job, but doable by owners, if they have the mechanical skills. (Note, housing may be trashed, and may need new housing)

I have a feeler gauge and will climb under mine and measure the play in the yoke. it does have a small amount of play, it doesn't seem to be getting worst, but a "small amount" need to be measured so others know exactly what it is.

Thanks for the writeup and the photos.

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[Odyssey 4x4]

Not a problem, this has been a great community since I have joined and I enjoy sharing my work with others as well as following others write ups on here as well.

If it is any help, I crawled under mine and wiggled the yoke to feel quite a bit of play in it. Obviously I already knew it was shot at this point but this just reassured me on that. While I was looking at the Dolphin at the junk yard with 60k miles (if i recall correctly) I crawled under it and wiggled the yoke to find NO play whatsoever.

As I posted before you can see how badly the old yoke got chewed up here.

And here you can see the old bushing still in place and can also see how badly it is worn. Also notice that the bushing had rotated and was no longer properly aligned with the oil supply hole.

Regarding the two things you said, when you say bearing I assume you are speaking of the bushing? In that case, yes it is what I replaced and was the cause of the failure. The bushing, yoke, and two seals were all replaced. I assume that reusing the old yoke if it was not damaged should not be a problem as long as it looks and feels okay. As you can see in the pics, mine was totally destroyed. When you get a new bushing slide it over the yoke and make sure it is a good tight fit. I have a feeling if your yoke was in bad shape you would know it by looking at it since there should be no wear in it.

Regarding question number 2, The bushing went bad, causing the yoke to spin inside of it damaging the yoke, I felt when this happened as there was a new intense vibration. The only part of the tranny I removed was the extension housing and that contained all parts that were replaced inside of it. After reassembly the transmission seems to be doing fine and I do not see any other leaking other than a very small amount where the one tranny pan bolt snapped off.

Hopefully that helped you somewhat.

[Donnie]

The hole in the bushing needs to be lined up with the channel in the housing, this hole looks to be blocked in your photo?

The hole in the bushing allows oel into the bushing & the x channel's in the bushing allow it to spread & lube the yoke.

If this hole is blocked your bushing will fail sooner than you would like it to............Donnie

[Odyssey 4x4]

The hole in the bushing needs to be lined up with the channel in the housing, this hole looks to be blocked in your photo?

The hole in the bushing allows oel into the bushing & the x channel's in the bushing allow it to spread & lube the yoke.

If this hole is blocked your bushing will fail sooner than you would like it to............Donnie

These were the old pictures that caused it to fail in the first place before the repair.

[Donnie]

The picture on # 26 is the old bushing??? The photo in # 26 looks like the oel hole is not in line with the groove in the housing..

Am I not seeing this correctly?

[Odyssey 4x4]

If you are speaking of the very most recent picture posted, that picture is of the old bushing before removal showing how it has rotated away from the port and is quite tore up.

[Donnie]

I am speaking of the post # 26.....the one with the claw hammer.......THIS BUSHING IS NOT IN THE CORRECT POSITION...

The hole in the bushing MUST align with the slot in the tail housing, that is how the oel gets into the bushing..in this photo the hole is BLOCKED????????????..................am I not being understood???????????..................Donnie

[Odyssey 4x4]

ahh I did not see where the post number was located. I do not recall the exact positioning of the bushing but when looking at the parts and mechanics involved it is simple to understand the positioning the bushing needs to be in, obviously aligning the hole in the bushing with the oil port in the extension housing. I believe there was another post on this forum that showed exact positioning of the new styled bushing because it is crucial to put it in a certain way for the rotation direction of the shaft and oil distribution.

Thanks.

[Sunnynshare]

I do not recall the exact positioning of the bushing but when looking at the parts and mechanics involved it is simple to understand the positioning the bushing needs to be in, obviously aligning the hole in the bushing with the oil port in the extension housing. I believe there was another post on this forum that showed exact positioning of the new styled bushing because it is crucial to put it in a certain way for the rotation direction of the shaft and oil distribution.

Thanks.

I am very confused. What I thought was number 26 post where it said "This is the positioning that the new style bushing needs to be put in" meant that. Last week I saved that picture for when I do mine. But now I think you are saying that is not the position. Do you have a pic of the actual position? And can someone edit post 26 cause that is confusing. Thanks, Kim.