Problem solved....well, sort of. I pulled the inspection plate down today and had a look inside the bellhousing. During assembly, I got the two pieces swapped around. The crankshaft bush was on the outside of the flex plate and the ring was on the inside. This makes the flex plate/torque converter assembly "shorter". <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />
Ok, pulled all the sundry items off: driveshafts, linkage, electrical, etc. Unbolted the trans from the engine and with the trans on a floor jack, I slid everything backwards about 4". It was just enough to get access to the flex plate bolts. Got them out, swapped the pieces around in the correct order and got everything back together. Get in the truck, fire it up, and.......still no motion forward or back. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> I wasn't too happy.
I went back to the first transmission to check some things and discovered I was unable to pull the torque converter all the way out. It'd move about 3" and then bind. A couple of good tugs finally got it out and now I can see the damage. The bearing surface of the converter is overheated and the tangs that drive the oil pump are messed up. That's what was getting hung up in the pump body. I suspect the same thing has probably happened to the 2nd transmission. So even tho the converter never quite engaged into the pump, it was close enough to generate heat and damage the pump and the converter. Now it looks like I need to find another torque converter and have the front pump assembly re-done. Then another a$$-busting weekend swapping it all out....AGAIN!
Thanks for all your help. If anyone has a used converter to fit an AW372L, I'm interested. I'll have to check locally to see if anyone can redo the pump for me.

Thats a bummer. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Does Russell (rxinhed) have one?

You should have some DIY junkyards in your area where you might be able to find a used transmission for less than the price of repairs to yours. You'll have to do the work of pulling it out to get low prices, but by now, you should be able to remove one in reasonable time.

If you go that route, be sure you buy a warranty - usually not a guarantee that the transmission is good, but allows you to bring it back and get another one at no charge within a specified time. Yes, you'll have to pull the second one as well.

The odds of a bad A/T being the reason a vehicle finds it's way into a parts yard is fairly high, but not necessarily so with a Montero - with these trucks, it's usually an engine issue.

If you find a donor vehicle that has been wrecked, the odds that it was in running condition before the wreck are pretty good. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I don't know your local prices, but some yards sell used transmissions with a torque converter, 30 day warranty, sales tax and all - out the door for under $75. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Frank

Russell has one. PM'd you, Jim. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sucks man. Good Diagnostic work though. I know it was a pain. We feel your pain.

I did a post mortem on the first trans. Not pretty. The snout of the torque converter just touched the face of the pump, but enough to generate a crap load of heat. The snout is blue, the front seal is melted, the bronze sleeve spun in the bore, and the front of the oil pump gear is polished nice and shiny.

I suspect the 2nd trans will look the same way.

I think I remember a saying that "the first sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time". I sort of feel that way. Of course there's another saying that says "the third time is the charm".

Stay tuned. I'll get this bad boy on the road sooner or later.

-Jim

Jim, I toasted the km148 in my 87 by cracking the oil pump, trying to sock the bellhousing up to the engine without getting that third sock in to the pump with the converter. I whacky wrenched the lower bolts thinking it was just the locator holey dowels that were hanging up. This cracked the pump rotor. It finally jiggled into place and socked up. O/d lasted about 500 miles, as the pump was making insufficient pressure with a crack in the rotor. Then it broke the rotor, ingested rotor chunks into the hydraulic system, and died. I paid to get it rebuilt, and it was only after that rebuild failed that they told me "We found all the rotor but one piece.", which was still in the valve body, restricting apply pressure which fried the rebuild. I did the last rebuild myself at a leased bench in a tranny shop.

ATP has replacement parts of pretty good quality pretty cheap, and a pretty good book on the generic aw372 aisin tranny, aka the km148. The pump is pretty easy to swap, and you get the new front seal out of it. Do the rear at the same time, and it's usually useful to do the rear tcase seal at the same time.

I'd finally like to put closure to this thread. I was on my way to work about a two weeks ago and spotted a Gen I sitting in the local junkyard, so I stopped by at lunch to check it out. The owner was cool and he told me to go have a look. It was a LS model and although the engine was gone, the trans/transfer case and torque converter were still there. We negotiated a deal and the trans was mine for $300 including a 60 day warranty. I went back a few days later and bagged a bunch of other goodies.
This past weekend, I installed the whole assembly in my '91. Changed all the seals, pan gasket/filter, and shift cable while I was there.

I suspect the shift cable had a lot to do with the truck being junked. This is the 3rd cable I've seen that has the outer plastic sheath pulled out of the crimp(on the threaded end). When that happens, the effective cable length changes, and they start shifting very erratically. You'll think your transmission is bad. It ain't fun changing it(you have to remove the valve body), but it's a heckuva lot cheaper than a replacement tranny. Rockauto has the cable: about $50.

With the "new" transmission in place, I fired it up, crossed my fingers, and put it in reverse. Amazingly enough, the truck backed up! When I put it in drive, it went forward. It's pretty neat how that works.

Very long story, short: Pay very close attention where that crankshaft/flexplate spacer goes. Put it on the wrong side and it will toast your transmission and your torque converter. It goes in between the flexplate and the crankshaft.

Thanks for all your help and support. I'm back on the road!

-Jim

I love it when a post ends like this! Great job Jim, and thanks for the update. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />