Harbinger

Put her in neutral and pushed her backwards into my driveway.

Mine was missing several when I removed the grill a few weeks ago I just bolted it on with some short machine screws, nuts and washers.

Hi all, I know japan has strict laws concerning personal transport, and that all those 60k engines and transmissions are exported. My search for a HD auto trans from a first gen WD22 has left me wondering if it would be better to find a used VG33 and HD trans with less than half the miles on my current (and fried) drivetrain. Has anyone had any luck ordering these from an importer? The local scrap yards aren't very promising as of yet. Just want to explore options before I just replace the WD21 with something else.

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm going to have to wait for my student loans to come in to get this fixed, so it gives me some time to figure out what I want to do. Girlfriend A already told me I couldn't sell the motorcycle, so I wait! I'm really thinking a manual would be awesome, and there is even a 93 stick shift with 160k miles on it for $800 right now on CL. However I don't have a dedicated shop space to do the swap, and I don't mind buying new tools, but it's another expense. My gravel driveway where the work would be done would get cramped in a hurry with my truck, a parts truck, and then my roomies truck. That and I am the one who burned out the transmission in the first place! Not sure I should attempt such a huge job if I can't get filter lines right.

I concur! Take care of your little girl. I have a transmission to replace before I worry about installing more gauges that might not work.

Is it really cheaper to convert to a manual? I was assuming that with the clutch pedal, master cylinder and what not, that it would be more expensive. Currently 01-04 HD autotragic transmissions are running about 700-1000+ used. If a manual is really cheaper I'd love to drive a manual again!

The lines have been fixed, so very late, but I suppose it is better late than never! The cooler now gets hotter than before, and I was an an ignorant fool to not have realized it till it broke outright. I concur with the HD version, or simply rebuilding mine with a shift kit. Also soreley tempted to convert to a stick shift. Alas I am an umemployed soul that starts school in the fall. I don't expect the repair to come quickly.

Well we canceled going camping - all the gas is in the pathfinder and didn't want to fill the thirsty grand cherokee! So I did have the filter plumbed backwards. I plumbed it correctly, changed the filter and put in fresh fluid. I'm still getting the same behavior on the truck. R and 1 don't engage, and the other gears seem to require much more revs to get started. I guess I'll be saving my pennies and searching for a transmission shop....*sigh*

I'll swap the filter in/outs and change the filter. Then will check the fluid. Once I get back tomorrow that is!

I think you guys might be correct on the reversed filter. My B&M kit wasn't marked with what was what, so I copied the Transdapt mount for my oil filter which had the in port being the center. Well crap. I'll check the level in the morning. Until then I'm going to go have another shot and hope an oversight didn't just cost me the transmission I was trying to protect.

Today I installed another 8 port fuse box, this time in the rear of the truck. Wired up a 6" cheap light on the tire carrier, relayed off of the backup lights. Limped her home after my transmission decided to ruin our night. Blech. She still has never left me stranded though! *knocks on wood*

Things were warm under there, but the gauge I installed still isn't working so I have no idea how hot it actually got, in fact the cooler felt warm to the touch when we first pulled over but it wasn't an OMG HOT type of feeling. I had read that an 18000gvw cooler was adequate for these trucks? My AT Temp light never came on either. It's a spin on filter. Fluid comes out from the tranny, into the filter, out to the cooler and then back to the tranny. The fluid is cheap Valvoline Max Life. I haven't changed the strainer. I changed the fluid by pumping it out of the cooler lines.

Hi all! So I loaded the pathy up with gear and the girlfriend and headed towards the hills tonight. After about 20 minutes of doing 75 on the freeway, we heard a very audible clunk, and pulled over to the side of the freeway. Transmission fluid was everywhere on the passenger side of the engine bay, looked like it spewed forth out of the transmission fill/check line. I wasn't able to find any lines disconnected or burst, and could find no active leak with the truck running and it being ran through the gears. We then limped to a rest stop and I checked the fluid level. It still read "full" for hot, and when I went to check the level I noticed the plug/dip stick being loose. Thinking it might have been a freak occurrence, we had dinner and got ready to continue on. That is until I put the transmission in reverse only to have the engine die. It still drove in "D" although it seemed to require a lot more revs to start from a stop. We pushed it out of the parking spot and set to head back home. Getting on the freeway I was running with my harzards, doing a max of about 45mph. Anything higher than that and it would seem to disconnect and just rev before settling back into gear. We are now home safe, and I tried reversing again when I got here. The engine stayed running but reverse did not engage. Is my transmission screwed? I just did a fluid flush + additional filter + bypassed the stock cooler for a new 18000 GVW unit about 80 miles ago. It had been acting just fine around town. The tranny is the original and has about 198K miles on it. I'm having bourbon and beer now, and we'll be repacking the girls car to head up tomorrow, but I wanted to pick your brains on this one.

I tried that today, and no dice. I'll be calling autometer tomorrow. Thinking I need a new sender but I've been wrong before!

I picked up and reinstalled my tire carrier from my welding buddy today. Had dropped it off to get high-lift mounts and a light tab welded on. I have the high lift mounted with a shiny new padlock now! Just need to sort out the new rattles now. Also, I was finally VICTORIOUS over the broken seat bolt that has been pissing me off for a few days now. Drilled it out and tapped it for a 10mm bolt. Will pull ECU codes and reinstall the seat tomorrow. Ran a specific ground from the transmission temp sender, but it didn't solve anything. Will order a new sender next week and cross my fingers. Oh yeah, I topped off the tank too. Am going camping tomorrow with girlfriend A.

Sounds good B. I need to double check the wire that I spliced into for the dimmer switch, or straight up contact autometer. Otherwise I may just wire it up to the parking lights - with a cover on the bulb it isn't that bright @ 100% anyway. I ran a shared ground for the gauge and bulb. Also have switches for my driving lights grounded off the same bolt. I'm having a problem with the gauge itself (or maybe the sender). My multimeter shows +12v when the truck is on (at the gauge I terminal) and grounds just fine through the G terminal, but the gauge remains dead. The sensor base has continuity with several ground points in the engine bay, so I don't think it is a ground issue there either.

Between last Friday and this morning, I wired up the Hella 500's on the bumper, and ran wires for the lights, future fog lights, and the tranny temp gauge sender. I have installed two switches relayed off the parking lights for the driving & fog lights. Finally put the bumper and grill back on too! I also wired up my tranny temp gauge, but I'm scratching my head on the bulb wiring. Wiring either wire to the dimmer and a ground results in them getting brighter when the truck lights dim. It's not overly bright though so I might just wire it up to the parking lights and call it good. Now to head back out and put together my interior....ick.

Hey B, did you ever sort out the reverse illumination issue? I have the same thing happening on my truck. The autometer instructions say to connect the white wire to 12v lighting and the black to ground or to the dimmer wire on some imports. I'm going to switch the dimmer/grounds around and see if that fixes it, but thought it would be good to have the answer in this thread. *EDIT - Changing the + and - on the light bulb continues to be the reverse of the dash illumination.

Sounds awesome. I can't wait to get this! Already thinking about a voltmeter, oil pressure and coolant temp since the 94-95 WD21 gauges are rather lackluster.

Today I: Installed a 8 port fuse box. Installed 4 relays. One for my driving lights, one for future fogs. Relayed my headlights with 12ga wire, high temp sockets, and slyvania xtravision bulbs. Installed a 150amp circuit breaker between the truck and the battery. Flushed and refilled my transmission. Installed a transmission filter and an 1800gvw tranny cooler. Just for extra flair I wrapped the engine side of the battery cable in 3/4 red wire wrap. (My battery is in the rear of the truck.) Still have so much more to do!

Bravo!

Today I installed my oil filter relocation, changed the oil, cleaned my air filter, greased the chassis zerks and otherwise just loved on the old girl a bit.