01 Tundra Transmission Problems

[Sigr6]

So basically if your 00-02 fails you should get an 03 or 04 as replacement.

[Remerson]

This is very interesting...

The service manager who replaced my tranny at 65,000 miles informed me there were no upgraded parts in the rebuilt transmission. He also stated that the 2003 and later transmissions will not fit my 2002 tundra.

This was in 2005, could it be that these transmissions are now having upgraded parts put into them? And now the transmissions for the 2003 and later Tundras have become majically compatable with 2000-2002 Tundras? Or did the service manager want to conceal the fact that my replacement transmission had been improved over my original one which failed?

There is definitely conflicting information here...

[guyaverage]

Maybe he was just wrong, and you did get upgraded parts? Wouldnt that be nice for you. Not sure how you'd confirm that 3 years later though.

Originally Posted by longwoodklon

Here is my understanding of 1st generation Tundra tranny's:

'00-'02: 4 speed, original
'03-'04: 4 speed, upgraded parts for reliability, fits 00-02 models
'05-'06: 5 speed, won't fit 00-04 models.

/Mike

This matches what I have read in various places.

(Is it safe to assume that same-year Sequoias, V8 4Runners, Land Bruisers, Lexus 470's, etc. have the same issues? I always hear about the Tundra, but the Sequoias and 4Runners and others not as much, it seems.)

[ctbale]

I might start a new thread on this question, but: I have a 2001 tundra, just in case, can I install a 2003 or 2004 tranny on my 2001 if down the road my OD planetary gear ex-plodes?

[2XOverhead]

Originally Posted by ctbale

I might start a new thread on this question, but: I have a 2001 tundra, just in case, can I install a 2003 or 2004 tranny on my 2001 if down the road my OD planetary gear ex-plodes?

Pretty sure you can, but I'd see what others think.

[LGL002]

Originally Posted by ctbale

I might start a new thread on this question, but: I have a 2001 tundra, just in case, can I install a 2003 or 2004 tranny on my 2001 if down the road my OD planetary gear ex-plodes?

I'd bet the later model transmissions will bolt in OK but would have some concern regarding the ECM's compatibility. The electronic programming may have been changed between model years. Check with a quality transmission shop or your dealer to see if any of the external electronics interfaces remained the same.

Larry

[CATiger]

Originally Posted by Remerson

CATiger,

I was very concerned that my transmission failure was due to the fact that I have a snowplow on my tundra. I asked the transmission guy about this and he was absolutely certain that my plowing with the Tundra had nothing to do with the transmission failure. He sees many transmission failures due to plowing and pointed out that this kind of abuse causes damage to the first gear and the reverse gear. These gears in my transmission were in fine shape. He said that the only way plowing could have damaged the OD gear was if I were plowing at about 45 to 70 mph with the OD on. I of course only plow in 1st gear and have not been able to get up to 70 mph in my driveway - more like ... 7 mph.

I asked the transmission guy what I could have done to cause this failure and he said that if I towed a heavy trailer with a lot of wind resistance, the OD gear could have been stressed to failure. He said that this could happen with a lot of towing. I told him that I have never towed anything heavier than my lawn tractor on a 5X8 flat trailer, and that was not at highway speed. He then just shrugged and said it could be a bad design, but quickly added that he was surprised that Toyota would have such a problem. He then directed my attention to his lot full of Dodges, Fords, and Chevys.

I am certain that abuse of any transmission will cause premature failure. I am also certain that my transmission did not fail due to abuse. The 2000-2002 Tundra V8 transmission may just be a "bad design".

I've got 50,000 miles on my rebuilt tranny now.

I'm hoping this is one of the good ones...

That's definitely an good & valid point... no way 1st 2nd or reverse when plowing would affect the OD planetaries. The point I was trying to make is just what you said, if it's a bad design, it's much more likely to fail as you found out. Some of us just got lucky I suppose... and hopefully you will be better off with your rebuild!

[Sigr6]

Does the OD gear splintering not ruin the rest of the tranny in the process with parts getting pushed throughout the rest of the device?

[zig]

Originally Posted by Sigr6

Does the OD gear splintering not ruin the rest of the tranny in the process with parts getting pushed throughout the rest of the device?

I just went through this , my od panetary needle bearings failed which caused my od planetary to explode. ALL the damage was contained within the od planetary and ring gear. The transmission shop informend me that this is a common occurance affecting approx. 80% of the 00-02 tundras

[CATiger]

Originally Posted by Sigr6

Does the OD gear splintering not ruin the rest of the tranny in the process with parts getting pushed throughout the rest of the device?

Of course the OD shattering could ruin the remaining gears and/or muck up the internals.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by zig

I just went through this , my od panetary needle bearings failed which caused my od planetary to explode. ALL the damage was contained within the od planetary and ring gear. The transmission shop informend me that this is a common occurance affecting approx. 80% of the 00-02 tundras

Apparently the damage is contained.

In case there is confusion, in my previous I was just confirming that towing with OD off would not ruin the OD planetary gears and that the cause of failure in remerson's case was a faulty transmission, not usere error. Unfortunately it sounds like there are some TS memebers who can confirm that....

[kathyricks]

Originally Posted by longwoodklon

Well, this guy came here and posted with tranny problems. So someone else getting 200k on their tranny is a moot point to him, isn't it? Do a search, not everyone is lucky enough to get 100k, 200k, 500k out of their tranny.
/Mike

Today HiVolt gave us another 200K testimonial. He wrote: "I have an '01 with 315,000KM ( 200,000 + miles ) and it is still going strong. Regular maintainence/fluid changes are key to long life."

Thus we are starting to see a pattern - the '00 & '01 owners who changed the fluid periodically and kept the fluid level correct and who did not abuse the tranny via towing in overdrive are getting over 200,000 miles (and counting) out of the transmission.

[Hi Volt]

The fact that I have such high mileage on my '01 transmission as others do is not meant to rub it into someone that is having issues. It does show that these transmissions can and do give high mileage life. I also do not baby my tranny. I have towed in OD before, but now prefer not to simply because where I tend to tow is fairly hilly, and staying out of overdrive keeps the shifting down. As well the cruise works better in this case as well. Having planetaries explode should not condem the design of the transmission outright, but cause discussion on the cause of the failure. It is all to easy to simply say it is a bad design. I have owned Toyotas all my life and done my share of maintainence and repairs, however for any part failure I cannot say that "it just failed" there is always a cause. Some of the little things we least expect can be damaging in the long run from simpy having larger tires, yanking a buddy out of a mud hole, or pounding up the hills with the trailer to get there first. As we will still continue do these things, we also must be aware of the extra maintainence and upkeep sometimes required. I will still stack up my Toyotas against any other brand trucks for the same given use.

Lubrication is paramount for transmission life, this can stem from regular fluid changes, to the care of the fluid between changes, namely oil temperature or contaminats. Lubrication failure on the planetary needle bearings for example can lead to gear misalignment and excess stress causing failure. Contaminants in the fluid will range from normal wear particles from the clutches and gears to the extreme case of water entering through a breather of poorly sealed dipstick tube ( latter case seen during engine cleaning ). Towing conditions, especially in summer will shorten oil life as higher temperatures decompose the oil, more frequent changes under these conditions should be considered.

Rough or delayed shifting should not be ignored as this is usually the first sign of solenoid problems. One common cause is the buildup of particles ( from normal wear ) causing an obstruction on the port and slowing fluid pressure buildup, thus delayed shift ( sometimes felt as slippage ) then the thump of the shift. This shock causes extra stress on gears and bearings. A sticky shift valve can also cause similar issues. These issues are easy to repair and access is as easy as dropping the pan ( and valve body if necessary ).

When any of these symptoms arise, simply doing an inspection by dropping the pan can tell the story. For those not comfortable doing the job, a reputable transmssion shop can drop the pan and show you the contents of the pan, and any buildup around the solenoids ( all viewable by removing the screen).

One last thought on lubrication, I would be curious for members to chime in as what mileage they have, tire size, type of driving, if having/had any problems (brief detail) what brand of ATF they use, how often they do a fluid change, and if they have ever dropped the pan and cleaned the screen. Perhaps we may see a pattern that will explain more than "bad design". This may help some avoid unpleasant problems.

I will be first....
200,000+ miles
close to stock size tires ( Goodrich A/T equiv.)
towing, drag racing, occasional pounding onto highway (also civilized driving)
occasional rough shift very lately between 1st and 2nd
Castrol ATF changed every 25-30,000 mi.
never dropped the pan yet but plan to in very near future.

[Remerson]

I took good care of my transmission before it failed me. You may also want to consider the "pattern" emerging with a number of people who did have transmission problems.

Toyota certainly acknowledged the problem with these transmissions. If these transmissions were such a good design, why did Toyota redesign them for the 2003 model year? Toyota certainly would not do this if there were simply a few unlucky people who experienced problems.

Oh, and frankly... any suggestions to me that the failure of my tranny is due to poor maintenance is offensive and ignorant.