Did I buy a damaged A340F Transmission?

So I'm buying parts for my PreRunner conversion, most notably a complete A340F tranny and t-case off of a 1999 4x4 2.7l with 150,000 miles on them. I bought this stuff from a full service scrapyard. All of the fluid from the transmission and t-case were drained before I bought it.

I get home and I notice the torque converter fell off the shaft on the bellhousing during transit. I pick it up and some fluid spills out. I wipe it up with a towel and it's this dark black color resembling motor oil. I didn't realize this was ATF until now.

I went back and took another sample of ATF from the torque converter. This is what came out. Before you ask no, there is no noticeable burnt smell. There is some very very slight smell difference between the new ATF I opened and the sample, but maybe I'm just imagining it. Smells just like the new ATF to me.

I haven't taken a sample from the transmission itself since the dipstick tube was sealed and the new tranny didn't come with the dipstick tube assembly. This is simply what came out of the torque converter shaft hole.

Did I buy a bad transmission?

Here's the torque converter. The shop towel is filling the hole where the ATF spilled out of.



Here's what came out of the Torque Converter in a cup:



And some brand new ATF next to the sample:



Here is the sample in a plastic bag held up to a PC monitor:



This may not be accurate, I took a paper towel and crumpled it like how an inverted cone would look like. I then stuffed it into the torque converter shaft hole to soak up some fluid. After that I unfolded the towel and this is what it looked like.

 

At the very least I'd say you got one that was not well maintained.

Some folks actually believe that 'fluid never needs changing' malarkey.

Let's see if @gearcruncher has some thoughts on how to proceed.

 

I agree with Bill .
Looks like the trans was never serviced .
Dark fluid implies the fluid was never changed or there was an issue with the transmission cooling system components causing the fluid to darken
I suppose you've got a couple options .
Pop the pan off and check the magnets and the screen mesh filter for contamination or call the wrecking yard you purchased it from and ask if they have another 340F with lower mileage . Most wrecking yards offer at minimum , a 30 day warranty with a 2nd hand transmission . Did they guarantee the transmission functioned fine ? Some trucks are smashed far beyond a quality test drive before the wrecking yards begin selling off the parts .
If you remove the pan and do a visual inspection for contamination , you will have a better idea on how to proceed .
Got some info here that may help
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...sions-write-up-your-4-speed-automatic.325531/

And here
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/transmission-swap-write-up-s.384303/

 

I wouldn't worry about it the torque converter can't be drained so there's always going to be some dark crap in there. It's not a Volkswagen automatic.

 

Looks about normal to me. New fluids and go another 200k.

 

The A340's are tough as nails. I'd drop the pain and replace the filter before install. You'll get a better insight into the transmissions life there.

 

I don't know if magnet accumulation is a hard indication.

My 1998 Tacoma went 300k with no fluid drains. There was very little accumulation of material on the magnets.

My present Tacoma had 40k on it when I dropped the pan. There was much more material stuck to the magnets.

I don't know if this tells you anything or not.just an observation.

 

How does fluid even get inside the torque converter in the first place? When looking at the bell housing and shaft it looks completely sealed to me.

 

I'll call them first thing tomorrow when they opened. I made the mistake of telling them what I was planning on doing with it (PreRunner conversion) and the manager said since it's not going to be replaced part for part there won't be a warranty, but to call him if there's any problems and he'll see what he can do.

He assured me everything was thoroughly tested before selling them. This was a scrapyard with a good reputation so I took his word for it.

Is it true you can't get the fluid out of the torque converter? Because if that's the case it makes sense why it's so dark.

 

Thanks for all the helps guys. If they can't do anything for me warranty wise I only spent $275 on the tranny.

Please chime in if you have any other advice. I don't want to pull the pan until I talk to them (all the bolts have tamper seals on them) but I'll see if I can get some kind of residual ATF from a dipstick or the drain plug.

 

Take what you got and run with it. Drop the pan and inspect and if all looks fine, if you have the competence for it, do a master rebuild using a Sonnax Zip Kit. Maybe even a shift kit to firm up shifts some and decrease further wear on the clutches.

 

While the converter doesn't 'drain' if you do just a one time drain and refill, I've drained them (in various marquees) at least 3 ways I can recall.

Drilling a small hole in the converter, draining it, tapping the hole and fitting with a tiny pipe plug. Then rotate 180*, drill/tap/fit again, so the weight is still balanced. Very old school, pretty effective if you are a patient worker.

A transmission flush with a tool like BG. It will remove/replace everything.

And the most common way (for me) is multiple drain/fills in the driveway. You get about 50% total transmission capacity each time, meaning the converter gets cleaner and cleaner, as you can visually tell with each drain cycle. 4-5 times and it's pretty good shape. This is much less riskier than the drill/tap routine, and a whole lot cheaper than paying for a flush routine.

But I agree with a mix of @gearcruncher and @koditten. Pull the pan and look it over. If it appears reasonable, clean everything up, button it up and reassemble. Chances are it will be fine.

 

No reason to believe you have a trans problem based on the fluid- just needs to be serviced. Now is the time to do it.
$275 was a great deal.

 

Almost all transmission shops have a converter flushing machine that,s used to clean the converter while removed from the vehicle . I charge 20 bucks and run the cleaner for an hour as the converter is spinning .
Or as Bill mentioned , a couple of transmission fluid changes over the next year or two until the fluid looks red again .
Keep in mind that the transmission fluid in the converter is the same fluid that was used throughout the rest of the transmission and judging by the pictures , this unit has never had a fluid change . $ 275.00 was an excellent deal for a 340F . I would spend the extra $4 bucks for a pan gasket to have a look at the magnets and give them a good cleaning . If a planetary is slowly coming apart , you will see it . This way in 3 years when you remove the pan again , you will know what the contamination looked like the last time you had the pan off .
Your transmission filter is re-usable .
Are you replacing the pump seal ?

 

I am planning on replacing anything that isn't hard to service, the placard the junkyard gave to me says to 'replace front seals' and to 'replace axle seals'. I do plan on getting this tranny properly flushed by a shop once I put it in the truck. I might as well get the torque converter flushed while it's separate from the truck.

 

Are the a340f tranny's compatible for both 4 cylinders and 6 cylinders?

 

Don't think so. I think they are a 2.7 support unit.

And they have dipsticks and drain plugs.

 

fluid doesn't smell burnt? Fill with fresh ATF and I would run it.

 

thanks for the response.

I know its off topic but I was looking into parts collection for the 4wd swap, what manual transmission code should I look for specifically for the 3.4 v6

 

No discernible burnt smell at all. The smell would be very obvious right? I sniffed that sample up and down and it smelled no different than the brand new ATF I opened up.