transmission rebuild

[one90gt]

im tearing into my gf's car tonight and think that the trans might be shot. wheres the best place to go to have a trans rebuilt? its in a 2003 corolla. manual trans.
thanks

[Mista Bone]

What are the issues?

I've done one Camry/Scion tC tranny, it wasn't hard but did require a few special tools.

Seems the issue is quite common

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Toyota/Corolla/2003/transmission/transmission_and_differential_failure.shtml

[one90gt]

im begining to think that the hub on the clutch is what the issue is. if the car is in the air the wheels will turn just fine. sometimes i let out the clutch and it feels like there is a wobble or imballance in the drive train other times it feels fine. if its on the ground it just makes a horrible grinding noise. tore into it a little already and eliminated the possibliity of the cv axles.
if the car is in the air an in gear and i rotate one tire forward the other tire rotates backwards.


also just found out that the clutch is original... 120k miles.

[Mista Bone]

the tire rotation is normal, all open diff do that.

In neutral, does the noise go away when you push in the clutch?

Any changes in the friction point in the clutch travel?

You may have spit a spring out of the clutch disc.

What part of Fairfield? I'm just south of the county line off 127.

[Dirtyd0g]

If it is a stock car you will be dollars ahead to pick up a used unit and put it in.
Alan

[Mista Bone]

If it is a stock car you will be dollars ahead to pick up a used unit and put it in.
Alan

That is the problem. So many are going bad a used one should be rebuilt before being installed.

I haven't searched to see what the issue is but $2500 to R&R and rebuild is a normal price. I'm thinking the car has a lower cradle and a lot of labor to get the tranny out.

I have a buddy that is a Toyota/Lexus tech so I'll check with him.

[one90gt]

there is no noise at all when in neutral, clutch in or out. it seems to engage at the same point where it did prior to anytihng breaking.

i bought a house a while ago and am now around tylersville and bypass 4.

[one90gt]

there is a lower cradle in the car. basically i'll need to support the engine and drop tha a arms and subframe to get to the trans. i've got no problem removing and reinstalling anything, i just dont go into transmissions.

[Dirtyd0g]

I just did a car-part search on that transmission and you are right. The transmission is obviously a piece of junk, plan B turn that toyota heap into a new stove and buy a decent car. Typically foreign manual transmissions cost more than parts to build the tranmission an then finding someone who is familiar is very difficult. I certainly wouldn't invest $2500 plus into a 4 cyl foreign based car transmssion. The entire car isn't worth that. Hopefully it is a clutch issue, they are cheap and easy. I have put a clutch in a few of those era cars, they aren't that bad. Have you checked the fluid levels.
Alan

[one90gt]

I just did a car-part search on that transmission and you are right. The transmission is obviously a piece of junk, plan B turn that toyota heap into a new stove and buy a decent car. Typically foreign manual transmissions cost more than parts to build the tranmission an then finding someone who is familiar is very difficult. I certainly wouldn't invest $2500 plus into a 4 cyl foreign based car transmssion. The entire car isn't worth that. Hopefully it is a clutch issue, they are cheap and easy. I have put a clutch in a few of those era cars, they aren't that bad. Have you checked the fluid levels.
Alan

I finally got everything out. cv's were a pain in my a$$....
to me the clutch looks fine, and the trans goes into every gear just fine and turns smoothly. no idea what the hell it could be. does anyone know of a way to diagnose this? Or someone who could take a look at it?