1991 Camry All-Trac Transmission Engagement Issues - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

89AllTrac · 08-25-2011, 12:17 PM

Hey Guys,

I currently have a 1991 Camry All-Trac Automatic (117k on driveline and chassis) with some transmission engagement issues. The problem is as follows:

Initially, when shifting into reverse the car would make a light grinding noise and would hesitate to go backwards when giving it gas (i.e. it would free rev a bit before engaging and sometimes it would not engage). Sometimes reverse would work perfectly fine without any noises. No other gears would make any noises. All other gears worked fine, shifting was very smooth (i.e. no lurching, starting from a stop was smooth). Fluid levels and color are good.

Recently the car stopped making the strange reverse noises, but there is no longer reverse gear 90% of the time (i.e. the car will just free rev in reverse without going anywhere). When shifting into drive or any other gear, the car will occasionally engage and run very smoothly, but sometimes it will not engage at all and free-rev like reverse (~25% of the time). Sometimes when driving in stop-and-go traffic the car will disengage from the transmission and free-rev. At highway/freeway speeds, the car will never randomly disengage. Again, there are no noises to speak of and the car runs incredibly smooth when the transmission actually engages.
The problem has gotten progressively worse to the point where I’ve parked the car. I’m planning to go to the local junkyard this weekend and pull a torque converter to change out with mine to see if it makes a difference.

Does anyone have any insight into this problem? It seems like a torque converter issue to me as the car runs and drives very smooth when the engine can actually deliver power to the transmission. However, as I’m going to be pulling parts off of a car, any insight into any additional parts I should replace while I’m in there would be very helpful.

Also, does anyone have links to transmission removal or servicing for this vehicle? Are the torque converters/transmission components interchangeable between the FWD camry’s and the all-trac’s?

Thanks!

white90dx · 08-25-2011, 06:16 PM

You missed me junking my perfectly working Alltrac auto trans/torque converter by just a couple months.

The Alltrac auto (and manual for that matter) transmissions are more closely related to the V6 FWD transmissions than the 4-cylinder FWD transmissions. That said, there are some incompatible parts - one of which is the torque converter. It has a different stall speed, at the very least. It may bolt in place though...

Hopefully Doctor J reads this thread and can help diagnose too. My thought is that it isn't the torque converter, but part of the internals in the transmission. (the engine always spins the same direction - the torque converter acts the same in forward and reverse)

-Charlie

'88 All-Trac · 08-25-2011, 07:13 PM

I'm not entirely sure of the function of the Camry automatic, but my mom's Jeep did almost exactly what you are describing. Problem was traced to a faulty output shaft speed sensor and needing a fluid service. I don't know if these have such a sensor or one similar but you might check just in case.

89AllTrac · 08-25-2011, 09:01 PM

Thanks for the responses guys, any further input would be greatly appreciated.

Worst case scenario I'll just swap in a 3S-GTE and call it a day lol. Hate to do that due to parts unavailability for a perfectly running 117k mile all-trac though (sans transmission of course

).

atobe · 08-26-2011, 12:45 AM

^^ yeah because a 3sgte swap's so easy

89AllTrac · 08-31-2011, 12:18 AM

Just a bit of an update on this, I've managed to source and pick up a low mileage transmission + torque converter.

Are there any writeups or useful links out there on A/T all trac camry trans removal? Is it the same or similar to the equivalent generation all trac celica's? Any insight or input would be useful. I have a shop manual here for the camry all trac, but it really only shows an exploded diagram + torque specs and not disassembly/reassembly instructions.

Thanks again for the input guys, I plan on tackling this project this weekend.

'88 All-Trac · 08-31-2011, 01:12 AM

Almost exactly the same as the Alltrac Celica, but so far as I know that never had a manual. Drivetrain is identical save for motor... At least as far as R&R goes.

89AllTrac · 08-31-2011, 09:34 AM

Which generation Celica's should I be looking at in terms of similarity?

Thanks again for all of the help

'88 All-Trac · 08-31-2011, 11:19 AM

5th/6th gen, but we never had the 6th gen GT4 in the states because it was built solely to compete in the WRC and we weren't cool enough to get a shipment. eBay will likely have anything you need, they seem to get parted out quite often.

If you stumble across a set of bolt-on CV axles, let me know. I'm about to drop $300 to have my stockers rebuilt...