'02 Prerunner automatic transmission question

Hello TW, First post for me. I have become the default owner of an '02 Prerunner, 2.7L, automatic that i'm beginning work on as a project truck for a grandson that'll be needing something to drive in a couple of years. The truck has been in the family for 19 years. Runs great after new plugs, coil packs, injector servicing, filters, and pcv valve, but the transmission is shot. Had it re-built back in 2018 but never felt like it was totally correct, and I do not want to have it re-built again. The existing transmission is an Aisin Model 30-40LE (suffix 35000 3G310), and referenced as A340E on the door jamb sticker. What I need to know, and the local Toyota dealer could not answer for me, is whether any 30-40LE AT from a truck of that vintage would be suitable as a replacement. I have seen a used one for sale out of a regular, standard cab, 2.7L truck, but the description indicates "not for Prerunner". Anyone have an idea why it wouldn't work?

 

Welcome to tacoma world
The prerunner is an odd duck, i have first hand experience, its a Six lug truck without 4 wheel drive, to replace your trans you have to find another prerunner with an auto trans or you have to be very mechanically inclined to make a A340 from another vehicle fit. A auto trans for the 4x4 is an A340F you have two wheel drive which is an A340E so the auto from a 4x4 wont work for you…..maybe. You could take the auto from a 4x4 with transfer case and drive shaft and put it in your truck providing its same body style ie single cab to single cab, or extra cab to extra cab the engine computer (ecu) may freak out a little bit but that may work and no, an auto from a 5 lug tacoma wont work. Its fairly simple to convert a prerunner to 4x4, its just a matter of getting the right swap parts and there are plenty out there, i haven’t done it because i dont off road anymore and my environment doesn’t require it. If all this is a bit to complicated I believe Toyota sells remans, a little spendy but if the truck is in good shape may be worth the investment, the search bar on here is a great tool as well to do some research, I use it all the time, good luck.

 

Any a340e would work. Can come from any Tacoma.

 

You’re gonna get the man very confused. He’s not looking to do a conversion.

 

So which 1st gen Tacomas came with a A340E……?

 

I understand that was offering solutions.

 

If I am correct all 2wd i4 2.7 come with a A340E

 

The intent here is to help the op with their transmission issues, not for you to learn more about 1st gen tacoma's
please use search bar.
R/

 

Thank you all for the replies first of all. I believe I'm going to like this forum stuff (all new to me as an old man). I failed to mention that my truck is a standard cab version, and of course, 2WD. I would expect that transmissions for extended and double cabs might have different tail pieces and possibly even longer bell housings, but I fail to see the external difference in the transmission that is currently in the truck and the four speed automatic transmissions I have seen for sale that come out of 2WD standard cab ones (for the 2.7L engine of course). The appearance between the two look identical to me only from pictures, and I have not done any physical verifications. Trying to find a used transmission for an '02 specifically out of a Prerunner has been a challenge except for ones that have a ton of miles on them that I'd be shy about buying sight unseen. I am averse to buying a reman because the expense is likely as much as the truck is worth...

 

Before condeming the transmission lets look at a few things first. Look at the trans pan, did the installer use a floor jack and cave the pan in? If so, replace the pan. The pick/filter is so close to the pan that there is a possibility of fluid starvation. On the throttle body there are 2 cables, three if there is cruise control, anyway, find the cable that goes back to the transmission, it comes out from under the firewall on the drivers side. Where it connects the the throttle housing you will see a rubber piece that seals the threaded end of the cable, slide it off and look inside. There is a metal crimp ring on the cable. This crimp ring should be flush with the end of the tube. Adjusting it is as simple as loosening the 2 nuts and sliding the cable. This is the throttle pressure control vale input to the transmission and it controls the shift points.

 

Thanks for the tip regarding the cable. The problem with the tranny is that it slips terribly. Prior user of the vehicle neglected maintenance for a very long time and the ATF was very low and burnt when I regained possession of the vehicle. The pan is in perfect condition. The problem I noticed after supposedly having had it re-built in '18 was a terrible shimmy in the truck at 50-55 MPH that didn't exist before the work, and even then, I thought that possibly the torque convertor was the culprit. The driver at the time was okay with it that way, so off he went. Knowing its history and how it well it wasn't maintained, all I have done to-date was to correct the fluid level along with the addition of stop slip (please don't gasp, I was grasping at straws). It allowed me to creep the truck to another transmission shop where I was told something had given up inside the transmission and he needed $3,600 to re-build it. So, I nursed it back home and here it sits. My plan after the temperature rises above the arctic tundra weather we're currently having, is to get my old body under the truck, drain the pan, drop it, and see for myself if it's full of metal shavings. If it is, I'm not eager to having it re-built a second time, particularly when I'm unable to verify the quality of the re-build. Remember the old saying: "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me". My purpose in joining this forum was to connect to knowledgeable folks like you simply to see if other A340E (30-40LE) trannies, out of similarly configured non-Prerunners, are interchangeable.

 

Because it's probably a 5 lug truck (?). That would be my guess. Go hit up car-part.com and do a search using their site. When I did my swap to 4WD, I ended up finding a 1999 A340F pulled out of a 4Runner with nearly the same miles as my Tacoma. No issues so far. I did have to swap out my park/neutral safety switch from my A340E to the 4Runner A340F since 4Runners are slightly different (the PN switch that is). Point is, you can also look at 4Runner transmissions as well.

Just make sure its an A340E and from a 6 lug 4 cyl.

 

All good info above, I didn't want to get in the weeds earlier but this may help, the first gen Tacoma has two available 4 cylinders the 2.4ltr used in the 5 lug trucks and the 2.7ltr used in the six lug 4x4 and the 4x2 Prerunner
In the 5lug truck 2.4ltr often came with the A43D automatic trans which is totally different than the A340E so that's why they are not compatible, hope that helps.
What happens when You turn OD off and drive the truck? that would rule out lock-up clutch and 45-50 mph shudder?, If you don't find metal or lots of clutch material in the pan You could roll the dice and change the Torque converter but lots of work and $300 gamble. GL
R/

 

All the 2.4L/2wd's should have some version of the a43...

even the drive shaft attachment is completely different.....slip fit vs 4 bolt flange

 

Good info! Thx

 

Can't tell you folks how much I appreciate the responses. I would be leery of simply changing only the torque converter (in the absence of metal shavings) since it's such a big job for me and I'd rather go the whole nine yards with a complete swap-out. I didn't know that early first gens had a different transmission than the later versions, but the one in mine is definitely an A340E. A potential replacement for me is another A340E, but it is out of an '03 standard cab base tacoma with a 2.7L engine. I'm really interested if finding out if the two are compatible. The drive shaft flange is four bolt. I'm a little lost about why the number of lug nuts has any bearing on the issue. (Later this evening) In looking closely at the owner's manual, I did notice that maintenance on the automatic transmission requires up to 2.4L of fluid on "two-wheel drive models except Pre Runner", and up to 2.0L on "Four-wheel drive models and Pre Runner", so there apparently IS a difference in the transmissions between a standard cab, 2WD truck and the Pre Runner. Looks like I may be out of luck, huh?

 

We like to refer or identify our trucks by six lug or five lug, this refers to how many lug nuts that hold the wheels on, you can quickly identify a tacoma truck whether its a 4x4 (6 lug nuts), or not (5 lug nuts). The prerunner is in the 4x4 family frame and suspension so it is a 6 lug nut truck like the 4x4. The 03 trans (A340E) your looking at should work fine in your truck, the trans is controlled by the ecu, so make sure there is compatibility by doing part number checks, or vin look up. GL

 

Transmission - A340E or A340F? | Tacoma World



'.....1995-2000 2RZ-FE Auto RWD: A43D
2001-2004 2RZ-FE Auto RWD: A44D
2RZ-FE Manual RWD: W59

3RZ-FE Auto RWD: A340E
3RZ-FE Auto 4x4: A340F
3RZ-FE Manual RWD: W59
3RZ-FE Manual 4x4: W59

5VZ-FE Auto RWD: A340E
5VZ-FW Auto 4x4: A340F
5VZ-FE Manual RWD: R150
5VZ-FE: Manual 4x4: R150F'

think only thing different as you hop em around....
might have to change out to the old bell housing
that is going from 3rz to 5vz

 

Yeah im not as familiar with the 2001-2004 auto trans i know there were upgrades like trans temp light and at some point fly by wire throttle and if those later years use line pressure cable, thats why I mentioned compatibility check with ecu, incase of wiring changes. As far as using a A340 from a v6 to I4 id be careful there, often a larger engine requires a larger torque converter and longer pump shaft (input shaft) and deeper bell housing, ran into this with v8 swap, again im not sure you can or cant use the A340 from a v6 to I4.
R/

 

I appreciate both the advice and caution received from you both, along with an apparent compatibility chart. Also appreciate the 5 Lugnut/6 Lugnut pointer. As I mentioned earlier about the difference in ATF quantities required for maintenance on a standard cab, 2.7L truck versus the 2.7L Prerunner (2.4L vs. 2.0L), it'll drive me nuts until I find out why that is, particularly if an A340E tranny will work in both. I mean, why would the same transmission model be spec'd for different amounts of maintenance fluid? (Smaller tranny cooler in the Prerunner radiator? OD components? Who knows?!) In my OP, notice I have a couple of years before my grandson reaches driving age, so I think that means I need to not be so anxious about getting this transmission problem solved. I was just salivating over finding one that was affordable AND with low miles AND thought would work. Perhaps I need to take a dose of patience and wait for one out of a Prerunner to become available. There's many other things I need to do to this truck to make it gift-worthy (seats, jack, lug wrench, minor interior trim, tailgate handle trim, hub caps, tailgate straps, etc., etc., etc.). Again, thanks for the replies, and good luck with your own trucks.