Okay, here's the deal: 1989 4Runner, 22RE, W56 manual trans, 280,000 miles. 5th gear has developed a nice rythmic noise, which gets louder under power, and quietens down when you let off. Downshift into 4th, the noise is gone.

So, the question is, should I try to rebuild the trans, or try to find one in junkyard? Transmissions around here go for around $700-$900. I looked in the FSM, and the rebuild instructions require a lot of tools that I don't have (and there's a lot of parts in there, too!), stuff like pullers, and presses, etc. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but I'm not sure how much parts would cost or if I can get them easily.

Advice?

Might've answered your own question. Junkyard trannys here go for about what you pay for; rebuilds done locally are around $2K. Get in the Yellow Pages and shop around for a rebuild and warranty. Sounds like it's time for bearings.

Only problem with a junkyard tranny is there's no guarantee that you're getting anything better than what you're pulling, so....

i'd say it'd be good to be fairly adventurous if you want to rebuild your tranny.

have you looked into having marlin do it for you? for what a tranny goes for in your area, you can have a top notch "new" one for the same

Marlin Crawler does transmission rebuilds and we are much less than $2,000!



Our W56 rebuilds run between $799 - $849 depending on year.

We build the best manual Toyota transmissions and at a great price too!

See our transmission rebuilding page here:
http://www.marlincrawler.com/trans.html

FAWK. I needed to know this 2 years ago. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" /> Figured you guys just did crawler stuff.

mine has been making the same noises for 30k

I got a rebuilt tranny from t&m trans exchange out in california for about $1000 including shipping. I wanted a marlin HD, but the lead time was around 6-8 weeks at that time (1.5 years ago). I've heard they now have them ready to roll though. Been very happy with my T&M so far.

Mine started with noise in 4th and later 2nd and soon after that I lost 4th and 2nd. I know some people go years with noises, but it was only about a month (~500mi) between noise and destruction in my case. Had to drive her with 3 gears for 5 hours through the mountains to my buddy's shop to do the replacement and the clutch started letting go 1/2way through the trip.

You went here, right? Not very many specialty tools, not terribly difficult, and the press should be in your garage anyway. Nowadays Marlin is a good source for parts, except for a shim assortment (inexpensive dealer item, especially if they are ok with ordering an assortment, you use what you need and return the others - please check first with them as a courtesy - or make close friends with your local Toy tranny rebuilder).

If you do not feel up to it, Marlin is a good way to go.