ldcjmd

Greetings from the Great State of Texas. New to this Forum, but not others. Seeking input re my recent $500 ES300 VVTi purchase, and the bizarre symptoms in it's old-design U140E transaxle (with, yes, many now-known common issues they develop over time). This may be a 'long story' to begin; bear with me, please.
I am a confirmed Do-It-Yourselfer, with many years of Experience, working-on cars/trucks/motorcycles. Avoid the 'Stealership' if at-all possible. Have lots of good tools, and sometimes fabricate 'special tools'.
Within 5 days of purchase from a neighbor (who wanted NO part of a car that "had a sudden bang, then the tranny had 1st-gear-only and no Reverse"), had all 5 DTCs pulled, and fixed numerous things related to the Engine... to get that all fully Maintained and Serviced. Usual neglected-by-P.O. stuff. Purring nicely now. Including the previouly 'whiny' PowerSteering, which turned out to be just one source of that noise...
There were ZERO transmisison related DTCs. There IS a "whine" from the U140E, changing somewhat in pitch as RPMs are increased (parked). 268K miles on the old girl. When shifted into "D", there is a delay, then she thumps a bit into 1ST. Can drive the ES300 in that gear, with the Cruise Control engaged... all day long. 27MPH = 2750RPM, on a FLAT road. Any incline and the RPMs climb to 3400 for a few seconds then back to 2750. I.e. - the ECM "is" commanding the Torque Converter to do partial Lockups. An old Snap-On Scanner shows TCC% = 19% ... which would be the Duty-Cycle of the DSL pulse-modulated Solenoid.
*Noted that 'bumping' the Cruise Lever down 1MPH, the RPMS drop to 950... for some seconds, then back up to 2750. Interesting...
Did the usual Drain and Refill of ATF... drove the car for 4 Drive Cycles of about 16 miles each... then Drain and Refill again (to get the Torque Converter fluid changed out also. Added the famous "LubeGuard Platinum". Checked ALL 5 Solenoids. ALL resistances spot on. NEXT will pull the Pan. Comments???

Striker223

Check pump pressure and make sure the speed sensors are clean. Check the ECU as well

https://gearsmagazine.com/magazine/c...hift-troubles/

ldcjmd

Thanks for the link! Have read all the MagazineS Articles already. And done those tests. Good Info! >>> Yesterday decided to see what happens with Solenoids COnnector OFF the trans. Clue(?)... the "Whine" disappeared. BUT, there was NO engagement of 1ST or any other 'gear. Yeeha... the Saga continues.

Arsenii

Hello,

It honestly sounds like the common issue on those with the axis that hold the Planetary gears to the driver getting loose and eventually either falling out or snapping off, below is the video that goes into details about common issues with those transmissions. All you can do right now is to pull the pan off, and inspect the fluid and the magnets, if they are too contaminated, this tranny is likely doomed.


Other thing is the whine, does it sound similar to this thread? If so, it could mean the fluid is so contaminated that either the strainer or the passages in the transmission got clogged to the point that the pump is starving. If the sound is similar to this thread, it is the issue with one or more solenoids, though with that, both the whiny solenoid and the transmission are solid.

In either case, it doesn't sound too good, you will likely end up having to replace the transmission..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Striker223

Did you confirm pump/line pressure?

ldcjmd

Did not check line pressure... as assumed the likely-Original(!) Filter was clogged... it WAS. Pulled the pan and the Valve-Body yesterday. Smeared out the 3 piles of metal powder off-of the 3 magnets, to check for non-powder debris, and found 2 small slivers of steel (about 1/32" wide, concave-ish, and ~1/4" long). Yeah, take a guess... Valve-Body fun is today. Going to 'actuate&clean' the Solenoids... and see what comes out.
VERY likely will be getting the Sonnax Kit with all the known Fixes (and slide-in parts / no reaming required). *Noted that all the powder was on the magnets... unlike my 99 Avalon's A541E trans... which had seperate small 'dollops' of bronze-color powders in low spots of the pan.
THANKS to all who replied. Will post photos and further details... to maybe assist others who 'enjoy' having the old-design U140E in their vehicle (<sarcasm).
>>>Here's a Question for y'all: IF i go into the tranny "from the Rear Cover" (i.e. tranny in-vehicle) to pull and check the Direct-Clutch, with it's loooong shaft... what are the chances i can slide that shaft/Clutch Assembly BACK-IN... with the trans horizontal/in-vehicle... and not vertical on a Bench, as one would normally do.

Arsenii

Even if it is possible, somehow, it honestly sounds like something that would cause much more trouble than good, you will likely end up cursing every living being while putting the tranny back together, with no way back once it is dismantled. I once pulled the Overdrive gear assembly from the transmission while it was sitting flat on the bench, it took me a better part of an hour to finesse it back into place, since all the clutch discs kept spinning on me. The right way would've been to take the gear assembly apart and put it in piece-by-piece, but I didn't have the socked big enough, and I didn't feel like it was necessary ...... uh-huh, foreshadowing..

If you know what you are doing, it shouldn't take you more than a work day to pull the transmission out of that car, which will make your life that much easier, let alone the fact that there is a pretty good chance you will end up pulling the whole unit out anyway..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

LeX2K

Could be less work to do this
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...541e-swap.html

Auto transmission work requires experience, a whole lot of it

ldcjmd

>Attaching photos from inside 2000 ES300 U140E pan, as promised. More background: this car had 1st gear and would engage Cruise from 26MPH (2600RPM), and was cruised at speeds up-to 40MPH for several trips. Nary a whimper from Engine or Tranny. For the $500 price, i could-have driven the ES300 as-is to 2 Grocery Stores, 1 Gas Station, and 1 Silver Fern coffee shop, all within 6 miles... for the rest of my days.
>Being the hard-head that i am, dug into the Engine first, spent money on parts (yeah, that A/F Ratio Sensor was expensive), fixed and rebuilt Parts, replaced leaking / dried-up hoses, replaced some connectors, etc. Total = 938... good chunk of that Title/Tax/Inspection/Registration. Engine purring like a kitten (if one with 1 speed). And both outside Mirrors already re-painted "Milllenium Silver Mist", and Clearcoated... by me; the hood is next.
>Having lots of Experience building/racing cars and motocycles (in my youth), Earning my living building and fixing Computers for 34 years (including PCB repairs, and SMD replacement), and owning over 30 vehicles, all repaired and maintained by myself... and having the past 2 years experience of my 99 Avalon losing 1st&Reverse (but still Driving it "forward" with NO issues)... decided to dig into the tranny, and spend 'reasonable' sums. Hey, i'm semi-retired...
>The Filter is likely Original, as Owner Books in glovebox show car last(!) Serviced at 27,000 miles at Dallas Dealership. No other records or receipts in car or from Previous Owner. After experiencing his sudden 1st-gear-only, he did bring it to a local tranny Shop... was told the usual bad things about U140E transmissions... and declined to have ANY work done on it. Sat in his yard for 4 months, until one day he posted that $500 ForSale Sign that i spotted same morning. An irascible 'neighbor', 1/4 mile from my home. Turns out he used-to drink Coffee with my Dad. He was 'cranky' when i wanted to bring my Code Reader and pull codes first, before purchasing. Until i handed him a 100-dollar-bill. Then he put a battery charger on it's battery, and we made an appointment for the next morning. Got 5 codes (none for Tranny), all easily fixable and known to me from experience with my Avalon et al. Bought it then and there.
>THANKS for the "Warning-Will-Robison!" about taking out the Direct Clutch 'horizontally'. Hoped someone in the Forum had attempted that 'non-standard procedure'. YES, i would likely be offending the ears of the Neighbors, as Daddy was in for 8 years, and taught me to swear like a Sailor, from when i was born at Annapolis, his 1st TDA.
>But 'sideways work' would be something for the future... IF Servicing the Valve-Body with the Sonnax Kit, the New Filter, New ATF (twice!! ... with some run-time between drain-and-fills), LubeGuard Platinum, and an In-Line Filter in the cooler line... don't get acceptable results. [That whole drop the sub-frame et al procedure is something none of us should ever have-had-to-do... BAD design from the engineers... all for the sole benefit of 'faster' Assembly Lines at the factory. Je viens de refuser!]

ldcjmd

NOTE that this part of the Saga occurred BEFORE removing the pan/fluid (as in previous Post)...
>>Well, the eBay Seller of the $164 Sonnax Valve Body Rebuild KIT did-not actually HAVE the Kit "in-stock". The Charge Card was charged 1st day after Order was "confirmed" by Mr. eBay (auto-robot)... but NOTHING shipped! Had to find the physical address of those bozos, phone them, and confirm the Kit "is on back-order" (from their local Warehouse Jobber). SO had-to do the entire eBay Dance, to get the Charge OFF the Card (it's against eBay and amazon Rules to charge-before-shipping any product). AAARGH!
>>While wasting time(!) with bozos... decided to pull the Solenoids Connector off the U140E and then TESTED each Solenoid with my trusty Fluke. ALL ohms values were spot ON. ALL solenoids "activated" / audibly clicked without having to use a Stethoscope, when 13.8VDC from Battery was applied (quick milliseconds only).
>>THEN the hardhead decided to try "operating" the ES300 down the local 25MPH subdivision roads... assuming that with the solenoids OUT of the loop, the Tranny would be in some type of Factory Limp Mode. SO, started up the engine and held Idle up until fully warmed 180F on gauge. Then placed shifter into "D"... immediatley noted NO WHINE. That was UN-expected, but can only be a useful "clue" as to what is going-on inside tranny.
>>Pressed down accelerator, and got very liitle actual movement of the Lexus. OK... then pressed down further, and repeatedly up into the 3K RPM range, and she moved on out of the circle driveway, and down the hill. OK, that was different, i thought... maybe we can learn something new on this drive-cycle.
>>Around 2 bends, through a stop-sign (no traffic anywhere), and then UP a slight incline... and THAT is when i discovered this trip was a BAD idea. Baaaarely made it it the top, and was now 1/2 mile from the house... so decided to do a quick bat-turn at the nearest intersection with enough turning room (no Reverse, remember).
>>Again repeatedly pressing throttle down to 3K RPM, got her going "downhill" and back around 2 curves... but NO progress up the last hill to the house. Had to put her in Neutral, and roll her back off the road into a little dirt enrty to an empty lot. Turned OFF the engine, and walked up to the house to get some tools. Came back, disconnected the battery for 15 full minutes... did some KOKO stuff, re-connected the solenoids-Connector (got the "Whine" back right away)... and baaaaarely made it back to the house. Phew!
>>Found out the hard way that there was NOT a 'Factory Limp Mode' in this specific/broken U140E, with the solenoids disconnected (as there IS in my 99 Avalon with it's 541E tranny; have been driving it that way for quite some time, but only when 'necessary', like on Heavy Rain days). LATER, when i got around to removing the nasty ATF and the obviously Clogged filter from the ES300's U140E... "that 'splains it, Lucy". With fresh ATF and Filter, maybe she WOULD have had a "Limp Mode". [But am NOT going to test that.]
NOTE: later DID find a "real" Seller on amazon that DID have 2 "on the shelf" at THEIR facility... just cost $238 for the ($164) Kit! Yeeha!