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Help! 99 Auto Camry, no gear works.

The motor went out, presumably rod bearings based on the horrible noise it was making -- so we acquired another longblock and proceeded to swap it out. Unbolted the transmission, torque converter from the old motor, refilled the torque converter with fluid, attached the torque converter to the transmission, making sure the splines connected on both the gear shaft and oil pump shaft, bolted it all back together, and now it won't engage any gear.

Any ideas?

The transmission was working fine before. The 'new' motor sounds perfect. Fluid level shows full, the linkage is reconnected and appears to work properly. No fluid pressure exists. I can pull the top hose on the tranny oil cooler and nothing comes out.

I know next to nothing about auto trannies. They're magic to me. Did we neglect some important step? Is the oil pump trashed? Does it need to be primed in some fashion? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciate as I have no idea what to do short of getting a junkyard tranny and bolting it up instead.

Thanks!

Reply to
branden.hughes
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You did attach the torque converter to the ring gear, right?

Reply to
Ray O

I'm embarassed to say I know so little of auto tranny components that I'm not sure what ring gear you're referring to. I only noticed two sets of splines coming out of the tranny housing, both of which would move independently of one-another.

After refilling the torque converter with fluid, I slowly lined it up to the transmission housing, slide it onto the first set of splines (gear splines, I believe), then had to rotate it, wiggle it, and push it until it locked onto the second set of spines (oil splines). After that, we simply attached the transmission to the motor and bolted the torque converter to the flexplate.

Ray O wrote:

Reply to
branden.hughes

Reply to
Ray O

What I call the ring gear is the teeth on the outside of the flex plate. Flex plate is the more correct terminology. In your original description, it sounded like the TC was not attached to the flex plate.

The TC turns the oil pump, my guess is that it was not installed correctly if the transmission is actually not producing pressure. What is the ATF level and condition?

Were the shift solenoids plugged back in?

Reply to
Ray O

That makes sense. I'd take feeling retarded over pulling the motor again in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, we did bolt the torque converter to the flex plate and even watched the converter spin with the flex plate as we turned the crank.

The fluid level is sitting on 'cold full'. Additionally, we tried going through every gear with the top hose of the cooler disconnected in case fluid didn't circulate with the car in park. Also, the shift linkage should be okay, as the reverse lights do light up when the car reverse is selected.

I can't speak for the electrical connections presently, but it's something I'll thoroughly check later.

Mechanically speaking, for how well everything seemed to bolt together, it's hard to imagine that the crank isn't turning the oil pump. Is there an electrical component that would prevent the pump from circulating fluid? Do automatic transmission oil pumps require priming?

Thanks for the suggestions.

Ray O wrote:

Reply to
branden.hughes

I just rebuilt an extra automatic transmission and replaced the tired one on my 1989 v6 Camry . Did you also replace the TC or just did a drain and re-fill on the old unit? When sliding the TC back on you must make absolutely sure it is engaged with the front pump. It is very possible to slide it on without engaging the pump. The TC has 2 slots where it needs to engage. With the TC out of the transmission, you can see through the transmission front seal where the 2 slots must engage.

Reply to
Dennis Leong

Automatic transmission pumps do not require priming, and there is no electrical component that would prevent the pump from circulating fluid. At this point, I would borrow or rent a set of transmission gauges and measure transmission pressures to see what is happening. If it is indeed developing zero pressure, and the transmission worked properly before it was removed, then the most likely cause is that the torque converter did not engage the input shaft/front pump.

Reply to
Ray O

Well, it's certainly looking like the motor needs to come out again. Everything was triple-checked this evening to no avail. The old TC was reused -- drained and refilled.

Question -- Do either of you know whether or not it's possible to damage the oil pump by incorrectly installing the torque converter? The prevailing question now is whether to replace the transmission or to attempt it _again_ with the unit that isn't working.

Is there a way to test the pump with the transmission out of the car? Perhaps by filling it up and turning the torque converter by hand? Will that build up enough pressure to tell us anything?

Thanks aga> I just rebuilt an extra automatic transmission and replaced the tired one on

Reply to
branden.hughes

I recommend that you get access to a factory service manual. If you do not have one, yhou can get on line access at techinfo.toyota.com. There is a procedure for testing the one way clutch in the torque converter and for checking how the TC engages the transmission body.

Yes, I suppose it is theoretically possible to damage the oil pump by incorrectly installing the TC, but I would imagine that it would make a huge grinding noise if the notches in the TC didn't engage the notches in the transmission.

The factory service manual has specs on line pressures at the test ports on the transmission with the transmission installed. I recommend actually measuring line pressure before removing the transmisison again.

My guess is that the TC did not engage the front pump when it was installed.

Reply to
Ray O

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