The auto is whining !

[Tonz Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tonz]

The auto started to whine about three mounths ago , It was very slight , only in gear . I thought the noise was a bearing from the engine bay , but changing timing belt made me change water pump and adjustment bearings . Took off the the belts just to double check that the noise /whine is not from the engine.

Its the auto . the noise now is fairly loud . the auto has no failure in any way , lol just got back from frazer without a hitch.
i dropped in to a trans guy on the way home . he listened and said its clearly the trans converter .
He said i have two choices , take the auto out , and take the auto out.

He quoted just the converter $1100 or a full rebuild $ 2300 .

Its a shame as so far the old bus that is in great condition with 250k on the clock has been such a good buy of $5000 . im surprised the converter is failing. The mechanic was not surprised as its on its way to the 300 mark , thats a lot of kms he said . maybe hes right but then again ive heard of others with much more klms with the prado been bashed around for years and never needed to touch the auto.

What should i do the full rebuild of just converter.

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

First thing would be to get another quote.
That full rebuild price is almost $2k low so I'd be worried just what was getting rebuilt.
I just had mine done for $3800 and Wholesale Automatics is $4250.
You also need the upgraded torque convertor clutch and thrust bearing. Will probably be done anyway if it gets sent to the Convertor Shop but best to be sure as it's the only weak item in these boxes.
Oh and you don't have 2-choices, it's the full rebuild or it will be back again in a week. The whole transmission will now be contaminated with metal particles so it's a complete strip down, clean and rebuild with full flush of the heat exchanger.

[Tonz Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tonz]

oh carco $4250 ! , dont give me a heart attack , Yours must be a later model or something. mine is 1999

I think your right about not having choices . there may well be debris floating around , even though its still running perfect .

I will get another quote tomorrow , there is another around the corner from where i live.

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

Mine's a 2001 but I think the auto stayed the same until the 5-speeds. Mine is full electronic. (no cable kick down)
It's an expensive job which is why many will opt to swap in a 2nd hand unit, hopefully still with some life in it. Probably $500 instead of thousands but you still have the remove/replace.
The Wholesale Automatics price was exchange unit only, remove/replace on top of that.
Hop onto the mighty 90's Facebook page, there's usually someone stripping a 90. A lot of petrols are being parted recently, you'd need to check if the petrol and diesel use the same convertor. I would think the diesel would have a lower stall rpm than a petrol but just guessing.

[Tonz Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tonz]

Thanks for the tip on facebook , the mighty 90s hey , ill give it a look later.
Just got back from the second quote from mr transmition bundall gold coast .
He quoted $2540 for the full rebuild . And said also that it would be wise to rebuild as it would be rare that they dont find particles inside . But it does happen sometimes that the trans is so clean , but rare.
Yes i think the trans is the same till 2002 , when i think there was a change .
So i was expecting higher prices on the gold coast as it usually is more expensive here , cuz we are all so very rich here on the coast , its the mentality at times , i regret to say.... In a perfect world i guess , but for now it is what it is . The good thing also is that they both said the same thing , which is reassuring even if it costs a lot , at least there isnt scamming going on.
Ill take your word carco ,that the job should cost more and consider myself lucky. Hopefully in a few weeks i'll be able to get it done.
Im interested in keeping the little red prado for a couple of years at least so i think i would go for a rebuild rather than a second hand one , one i don't feel like dropping that box on the floor by myself and two i wont know what im buying till its installed . I if buy a lemon , its a shit load of work to do all over again.

Im sorry you had to pay so much for your repair carco , but at least i hope your is so nice now though.

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

They're good prices.
Plus getting it out, remove transfer case and so on, then put it all back.
I inspected mine when she was stripped and there's a LOT of parts that are replaced and yes the metal particles have to be cleaned out from everywhere.
She'll be so sweet once refurbished.
Do you have a transmission oil cooler? They're an absolute must.

[Tonz Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tonz]

They're good prices.
Plus getting it out, remove transfer case and so on, then put it all back.
I inspected mine when she was stripped and there's a LOT of parts that are replaced and yes the metal particles have to be cleaned out from everywhere.
She'll be so sweet once refurbished.
Do you have a transmission oil cooler? They're an absolute must.

Yes it seems like a pretty good deal ,Although i was warned to do it very soon cuz if the converter completely blows it could cause more damage to things like the pumps and the price tag will jack up . So they both told me not to wait till it blows .

I hadn't considered a trans oil cooler till now , i guess an aftermarket one that could be fitted easily would be the go,.... edit.....i was having a quick look on ebay and got a little confused to which and what type cooler would be suitable for the old girl , any suggestions?

[Tonz Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tonz]

also would anyone know if a 4 ltr 5spd 120 series auto fit the 90 series 3.4ltr ????It sure would be cool if it did.

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

30-plate Davies Craig, part No 679 is large and easy to fit.

[Tonz Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tonz]

wow that was quicker than my miss's telling me not to put my feet on the lounge...

Thanks that looks the go alright From around $170 and up a little .

There was one time it smelt like the trans was cooking a little when i was in a bother on morton island , the cooler sure would have helped at that time .

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

You can boil the oil in the convertor and then it will bugger pretty quick. But there's a dash warning light for over-temp of the transmission, might pay to check it illuminates when you first start each time.

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

For sand work I'd look at the unit with thermo fan so it's doing the job even when you're just idling through soft stuff.
It's a bit crowded out the front of a Prado but there is a slim fan model which squeezes in.
This topic has been on the site often, so if you do a search, should find just what you need.

[Tonz Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tonz]

You can boil the oil in the converter and then it will bugger pretty quick. But there's a dash warning light for over-temp of the transmission, might pay to check it illuminates when you first start each time.

Will do , i dont remember the light turning on , I was talking to someone that was with me about the morton trip and they reminded me that it really did smell quite a bit , not a little , so thats probably where i buggered it ,. it makes sense.

i will check on that start up light , and the heads up with the thermo fan oil cooler ,its a better idea .. just thinking about a trip to the olgas with a small camper in the later part of next year. These small upgrades will sure make a difference .

[Tonz Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tonz]

Well against the grain the auto got fixed , clearly the torque converter, they sent it to be cut open and inspected ,... cooked bearing was the result but clean . in fact so clean the auto didn't get rebuilt . they found no debris anywhere not even on the small magnets in the tray . so the decision of not rebuilding was made .

they had a nightmare with the exhaust stripping and snapping studs even with heat . the manifold had to come off and new studs drilled in . at a heavy cost that exhaust sure cost quite a few pennies in labor. All in all i got off cheaply with a taxed bill of $1600.

The auto feels quite a bit smoother , as the converter is now working with better pressure , i assume . More power , not sure but i'm happy enough with the result . The best decision was the full rebuild , but im happy they decided not to , as i hate waisted money , time will tell in the end if it was a wise decision.

For now a happy bunny that is thinking of the next little escape , i think rainbow beach and surrounding areas for a long weekend may do the trick.

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

That's good news, apart from the exhaust.
I've heard the V6 exhaust can be a nightmare and it has to come off even for a trany oil pan removal.
Was thinking of an Inskip trip this weekend as well but might give it a miss, it's sure to be crowded.
I just finished fitted a SPAL thermo fan to my Davies Craig trany cooler, have yet to notice any temperature improvement though.
Hell of a mission, the aircon pipes have to be massaged to give clearance when leads to new pipe brackets. Then the bonnet catch strut was in the way so that had to be remade. Bloody thing better make a BIG difference !!!