Anyone Know About The Auto Box

[lutonmatt]

i have a mk3 400 and this morning i drove it down to work went to go back in to my space and i could not so i had to push it (a lot easyer then i was thinking it was going to be )

i have topped the fulid up as it was low but still no reverse it is strange as when i put it in netural it drives forward i have had a look at the box and i cant see anything wrong with it

any one hear of this or know what it could be or have a box for sale

and i any one know if the mk1/2 boxs are the same

matt

[ROYT]

If it drives forward in neutral, has the gear lever itself slipped or something and you have lost a position in the 'gate'?

[lutonmatt]

thats what i was thinking but not i goes in all the gears ok and are all there just some dont work as they should

[ROYT]

If you start in L and change gear manually do they operate correctly?

Is the overdrive on/off light flashing?

[lutonmatt]

i have not driven it since i found out i could not reverse but it does drive in all gears l-d

and as for the o/d light i have not got o/d button

but the power mode light was flashing the other day for about 10-20 secs

[steve2006]

i have not driven it since i found out i could not reverse but it does drive in all gears l-d

and as for the o/d light i have not got o/d button

but the power mode light was flashing the other day for about 10-20 secs

There's no overdrive switch on the series 3 autobox as it's a straight 5 speed only the series 1 and 2 had the 3 speed plus overdrive giving a 4 speed box.

The series 1 and 2 boxes are different to the series 3 because of the above mechanical and electrical differences.

There should be a way to diagnose the fault electronically and I will have a look on my database or you could pop into the Lexus Stealers and ask them to do it.

Have you checked the selector switch for correct alignment?

Steve

[ROYT]

I looked in the w/shop manual and there is about 100 pages of info on the auto box,

most of it technically hair raising.

This one point might be worth a look..

Neutral start switch

The neutral start switch detects the shift lever position and sends signals to the ECU.

The ECU receives signals - R, NSW,2 and L- from the neutral start switch.

When the signal is NOT sent to the ECU from the neutral start switch, the ECU judges that the shift lever is in the D range.

Is this why it drives forward in N ??

Clutching at straws here......I have series two.......

[lutonmatt]

Have you checked the selector switch for correct alignment

i have a look inside at the stick and uner at the box and it all looks ok nothing as moved or broke

and roy thanks for that bit i will try and start it in neutral tomorrow as if it is some thing like that it will not start as i only start it in park

and i will see my boss in the morning as he used to do auto boxs years ago but he had the day off today but i thought i will ask on here as someone may of had the same problem at sometime

thanks

[lutonmatt]

i have spoken to some auto box people and they said it needs a new box as the forward clutchs are stuck on and not allowing the reverse clutch to engage

so i am looking for a new box now if any one as one or now a good scrap yard with mk3 400s in thats whould be great

i am planning to get it all done by next week ready for xmas day

matt

[GoldfingerLS]

Matt,

This might be a silly question, but is the forward cluch not a serviceable part ? i.e. can you get away with droping the box and re-building ? The repair manual gives 5 pages with diagrams on how to service and rebuild the forward clutch. Might not be worthwhile taking the chance if your going to be paying labour to get it done but if your up to the challenge it might be cheaper than a replacement box.

Shame the auto box has gone, never heard of this on an LS. Have you been using Toyota type IV fluid in the box ?

Also, I thought the Mark 3 had a 4 speed auto box (i.e. the A340/A341E) transmission, the 5 speed was introduced with the Mark 4 LS (i.e. A650E) ?

[GoldfingerLS]

Also forgot to ask if the car starts in N and P but refuses to start in the other positions ? and if the selector indicator on your instrument cluster correctly shows the position you have selected on the gear stick ? Reason why i ask is because there is a proceedure to adjust the shift lever position and the park/neutral position switch.

.....but in the meantime will also keep my eyes peeled for a replacement box.

[lutonmatt]

thanks gold finger i have found a box 200 plus vat out of a 30k mile car so i will go for that

and i will be doing all the work myself as i am a mechanic just a dont know to much about auto boxs just not to touch them and as for repairing my one my work shop is to dirty to do it in as it has to be spotlessly clean

the mk3 as got 4 gears and i was using the trades version of IV fluid but its was my fault as it had a leak and i never done it