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Has anyone rebuilt your AW4? Good or bad results?

Jon, have you had good results with your AW4 rebuilds?
 
Not to get off the subject. I'm installing a trans cooler, and the instructions say to put it in the return line from the factory cooler. Which is the return line, top or bottom? I have a '93 with the 4.0.
Thanks.
 
The AW4 is a fairly simple box - and a "Master" rebuild kit (including clutches, steels, and whatever) goes for about $300 locally, or a "Overhaul" kit (basically a reseal kit and components to renew the valve body) for about $90 - both at the tranny shop up the street from me here.

You will need two "special" tools that I was able to make from bulk stock - there are some very large snap rings (which won't work with standard snapring pliers - I made a part of "chopsticks" using 1/4" aluminum round rod and D&T for #4-40 setscrews) that worked well, and get a decent bit of barstock and some M10x1.5 and M8-something (I don't remember what) and some 1/2-20 allthread to make the bridge puller to pull the planetary sets out. If you need me to, I can probably dig them up and take digipix for you sometime in the next couple days.

Total cost for "special" tools - about $20, all up.

You MUST have a camera capable of giving you pictures straight away for any valve body work - since there seem to be a few revisions of what goes where, and the manual isn't always right. I should have the ATSG AW4 manual around here somewhere as a .pdf (it's the one I used - and I found it online somewhere. Probably at Strokers - groups.yahoo.com/group/strokers) which has everything else correct - I've just never trusted manual pix of valve bodies (and I'm usually rewarded for that lack of trust.)

The three valve body solenoids can be readily checked with an ohmmeter - as I recall, 13 +-3 ohms is nominal. Hopefully, they're fine - they're spendy to replace (and I haven't been able to build up a stock.)

With either renewal kit, you WILL have valve body gaskets left over - it's a kit for all AW4 variants (Celica, Supra, Pickup, Van, XJ, MJ, ...) and you will match the gaskets up against the old ones to select them.

Results? I did the transmission in my wife's 89 about 80Kmiles ago - no complaints.

5-90

I know this is a old thread but I was hoping someone still has a copy of the ATSG laying around. I just bought a 96 and after finding the head was bad and repairing that the trans went out. The trans shop wants way to much to rebuild with new parts and I don't trust them to rbuild with used parts... besides I figure for the money I can give it a go twice and still buy a used one from the junk yard.
I searched for the file online but couldn't find it. I'll keep looking but if someone has it at hand that would be great.
Thanks
 
1996%20xj%20Classic
 
nice red X
 
I am so glad you are going around randomly resurrecting threads to post pics of your XJ. Are you confused or intoxicated?
 
I am not sure I would pay that much for one, simply because I am somewhat of a calculated risk taker, I can get 15 AW-4s from my local you-pull-it for that much even without shipping. And if I hit my chapter's classifieds, I can pick up at least two for 75 each and probably another few for around that... pre-pulled.

It would be real nice to have a known-good brand new 0 mile AW-4, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's worth THAT much. Definitely fairly priced compared to a transmission repair shop's price however.
 
The AW4 is a fairly robust transmission. Most problems such as shifting are relatively easy electronic issues and not mechanical. Why are you looking to replace it?

If you truly need to replace it, I would recommend getting a used lower mileage tranny from the salvage yard. Rent a tranny jack for the weekend and spend a saturday swapping it. $100-$300 for the tranny if they pull it, less if you do, $50 for the tranny jack rent, couple cases of beer for the mechanically friend(s) you invite over to help.
 
The AW4 is a fairly robust transmission. Most problems such as shifting are relatively easy electronic issues and not mechanical. Why are you looking to replace it?

If you truly need to replace it, I would recommend getting a used lower mileage tranny from the salvage yard. Rent a tranny jack for the weekend and spend a saturday swapping it. $100-$300 for the tranny if they pull it, less if you do, $50 for the tranny jack rent, couple cases of beer for the mechanically friend(s) you invite over to help.

Cyborg Jeepers? :D
 
While it says new, it is likely to have been sitting for many years, unused, which is not good for floating rubber shaft seals, etc.

Too rich for my blood, think how many years it may have sat in storage.
 
While it says new, it is likely to have been sitting for many years, unused, which is not good for floating rubber shaft seals, etc.

Too rich for my blood, think how many years it may have sat in storage.

Kind of like a virgin old maid? Sounds good until you try and give it a good romp? :D
 
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