Worth Keeping?

Tranny seems to be acting up in 4th. Two shops say it needs to be rebuilt.

200k on it. 2nd owner. The original owner said the truck was never used to tow, and it had the oil regularly changed. I saw the power steering was low, brakes were needing attention and the valves looked to be leaking a bit, so I got him down to $5200 for the truck.

Mainly used as a light hauler and have not driven it more than 120 miles round trip anywhere. The plan was to get another 30-50k out of it before it's all said and done or 5-7 years out of it.

Work Put Into It
- Timing Belt & Water Pump
- Lower Ball Joints
- Front Struts
- Power Steering Hose Leak, PS Fluid Change
- Valve Cover Gaskets
- Transfer case and differential fluid changes
- Alternator

Realistically, I'm now into the truck just over $7.5k. Most work was done at a shop, but I did do some myself.

What to do?
Naturally, I thought the clattering noise was nothing to do with a transmission. I was used to clunking, hard/non shifts, etc as transmission issues... sigh.

Do I fix the transmission and roll with it or sell the truck? I really like the size of the old truck, and I know the engine is in excellent shape.

EDIT - Keeping the beast. Thanks.

 

How’s the body and frame ? Do you really like the truck ? Look at it this way , you could sell it and buy another used truck and could end up having to do everything you’ve already done on this one and it would definitely be cheaper to get the transmission done in this one than buying a new one .

 

I’d fix it, since you’ve invested as much as you have basically getting it caught up on service.
Have you had a transmission shop diagnose it?
You mentioned doing the fluid drain and fill, I have never done that, but I seem to recall reading that there are wrong(?) ways of doing it, maybe try redoing that? If you think it’s on its way out anyway, you could try some type of transmission fix in a bottle (usually a temporary fix at best, but what do you have to lose?).
Maybe price out a reman, or good used tranny to see how that compares.

 

Body and frame are good. No rust, frame is straight, and no major damage. A few dings, dents and scratches, but no accidents according to the original owner and CarFax/AutoCheck.

And agreed. If I buy another truck, it'd almost certainly be new, so that's a major commitment (and not an investment)

 

Yes. It's been diagnosed by two transmission shops. Both reputable and well reviewed. I had a Sequoia guy that owns a small shop do my transmission fluid and he's a stickler for doing things the right way/using the right fluid. I feel confident that wasn't the issue.

It could've brought the timeline up on the transmission failing though. Maybe the original gunky fluid was keeping things together? LOL.

 

I would find a verifiable low mileage A340F (and by low I mean less than 150K miles) and put it in yourself...if you can do a timing belt, you can swap out a Transmission in a day if you can get a couple friends to help you. You should be able to get a used one for around $1000. Or you could get a Reman from your local Toyo dealer for $2500 +$1000 core charge.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr..._sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=a340F

https://parts.mariettatoyota.com/p/...matic-Transmission/69296650/350103422084.html

 

I would fix it. I personally don't think you're going to be able to sell it for $4-5K with a failing transmission unless you just lie and the buyers don't notice. The 4.7L's are known to last a very long time. While you have put a lot of money into it, nearly everything you've done was routine maintenance and normal for a truck with 200K miles. My guess is that once you replace the transmission you're about done with all maintenance for another 100K miles.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I certainly wouldn't lie about the transmission and you're probably right. Aside from a few more suspension wear parts, I don't anticipate much more going wrong. Continuing to move more towards repair vs replace.

Granted, I like the idea of a nice, new truck, but man I don't want to take on a payment with the current state of affairs.

 

The 00-02 trucks had a problem with the planetary gear set. It was updated late 02 I believe. Find a used 03-04 transmission and have it put in. There's a bunch near me around $500.

www.car-part.com

 

Check this out and read all the posts...there are only 14. I think I would go with a Toyota Reman for your 01 if you can confirm what he said about his dealer saying the remans had the updated planetary gear. You could go with an 04 used A340F, but you may have to do some wiring to make it work...

 

Well not totally worthless but it might help seeing the prize !

 

Local transmission shops can rebuild your existing transmission better than new. Expect to pay around $3500-4k for a total rebuild to your spec. That cost is about 4-5 brand new monthly truck payments these days.

Glad you are keeping her. What did we end up doing?

 

I just bought a 2015 a few weeks before all of this mess began and have not been able to sell my 2001 yet and the more I drive it the less I want to sell it now!
I have not been able to get the new one legal and on the road really as all State offices are closed and I have a pretty warm spot in my heart for the old girl that never seems to fade.

As much as I like to love the new one I still have true love for the old one so if its not broke why fix it?

 

Yep. The later gens just don’t ride as well. You’ve summed up what others have stated in their transitions but, alas, it was too late to return back.