TOYOTA COROLLA GEARBOX FAILURE

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2006 Corolla manual, 82000 kms, 50000 miles, engine serviced with synthetic oil every 5000 kms, Redline MT90 at 5000 kms and 50000 kms in gearbox. Input shaft bearing and oil seal just had to be replaced, out of warranty of course, 11 hours labour alone. Any thoughts if this failure just another example of Toyota poor build quality and poor components or could it be the Redline oil? Any thoughts, oh and I drive very gently.
Roger
 
My coworker had to change a bearing in his Corolla transmission prior to 100,000 miles also. He did the work himself so it didn't set him back $50 and a few skinned knuckles.

Maybe it's just a poor design resulting in inadequate lubrication.
 
Originally Posted By: tobysoph
2006 Corolla manual, 82000 kms, 50000 miles, engine serviced with synthetic oil every 5000 kms, Redline MT90 at 5000 kms and 50000 kms in gearbox. Input shaft bearing and oil seal just had to be replaced, out of warranty of course, 11 hours labour alone. Any thoughts if this failure just another example of Toyota poor build quality and poor components or could it be the Redline oil? Any thoughts, oh and I drive very gently.
Roger


Here is the place to join and ask:

http://www.corolland.com/forums/index.php?/forum/74-corollas/
 
Not sure I agree with your assessment of Toyota's build quality being "poor" (and no I don't own a Toyota), but 50K is too soon. Even whatever car line you personally think is the best have parts failures.

Was it the seal that failed and the bearing replaced as a precaution, or did the bearing get noisy (and you always replace a seal that you molest in the course of other work)? If the seal, they can get nicked on assembly. Bearings are vender sourced and made by the millions but surprisingly, few fail prematurely. If the bearing, was the bearing really toasted and failed in a major way, or just noisy?

I suppose the bottom line to your questions is, "Could this have been lubricant related?" IMO, doubtful. Mostly likely it's just a "lucky you" moment when the universe takes a nip out of yer bum for fun.

Other possibilities? In my experience, input shaft bearings fail earliest on cars that idle a lot. The input shaft and bearing is turning when the engine runs but, generally speaking, does get much lubrication until the tranny is fully in operation, car going down the road. Essentially, it relies on the lube it gets going down the road to carry it during idling periods. If the car idles for inordinate periods, the bearing can fail sooner than it might normally. There's very little load on it at idle, so even if idling a more than "normal," it's not a terribly likely cause. I do not know the exact internal layout of the Corolla tranny and am speaking generally.
 
Crazy.. That really is low miles.. The Saturn 5 speeds have weaknesses too, all do I guess. (Not bearing, but diff pin is a common failure)

My Nissan has other issues all together, the trans feels pretty much fantastic except 3rd gear (almost all other 02/03 6 speed owners would agree)

I guess putting in the highest quality bearing and some clean fluid is all you can do.
 
I can't believe it was the Redline. just bad luck on the bearing you got. it happens occassionally - even to toyotas. a friend had it happen to his nova (toyota) at low miles.
 
Some people also say that the Honda Civic has a weak Input Shaft Bearing but many people go 200K miles with no problems...... other have it replaced around 100K miles. Our old 1998 Civic had 3 drian / refills with Honda MTF and still going strong with around 240K miles on original ISB.... not to mention clutch/PPlate, TOB.

Maybe you just had an ISB that wasn't manufactured correctly to spec ?
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If you have a bad ISB no synthetic fluid will save it in my opinion.
 
A single bearing, out of how many in that particular trans?

If it was a lubricant issue, I would expect more than a single bearing to have failed (or show signs of wear). Indicates to me that either that particular bearing was already compromised or that particular bearing is placed in a bad spot for lubricant to reach it (at no fault of the lubricant).

This isn't uncommon...the NV5600 in my truck has a known weakness where a bearing runs "dry" of fluid when pulling/descending steep grades, and the "fix" is to overfill by a quart.
 
Deeter is right. Lube failure would cause multiple issues.

Your tranny had a bad bearing since new.
Hope you replaced the clutch and extras while that tranny was out.

Input shaft seals/bearings aren't 'ghost' failures. They are pretty common single POF on many manual transmissions, and the cause of many whines/rattles from a transmission.

Make sure your cold gear oil level is correct, and maybe even a few ounces overfilled.

What were your symptoms?
 
Parts can have infant mortality, and die right away.
They can of course wear out normally.
But your tranny went out early.

I think an original part was a bit faulty, and your good care extended it's life beyond what it should have lived.
Sorry - you did everything right, and were subject to failure anyway. It has to be faulty part.
 
just think, if you'd used an inferior lube, or factory fill, it may have failed under warranty. ouch.
 
I have owned several Toyotas over the years and had good luck with them. Yes they have IMO gone down hill to the point that they are not really any better than the best of the other brands.
 
Originally Posted By: meep
just think, if you'd used an inferior lube, or factory fill, it may have failed under warranty. ouch.
I have stated this before and to the internet oil experts who have their preconcieved notions about oil, It is not the oil that causes failures in transmissions it is poor quality cheap parts. Yes the trans oil needs to be changed to keep the trans from wearing out prematurely.
 
Check your manual to see if Toyota allows GL5 gear oil in their manuals(like Mazda and others). If so, an upgrade to a GL5 might reduce a lubrication failure. The extra additives in the GL5 might help an area with poor oil flow. Pick a GL5 that mentions manual transmissions or lacking/requiring LSD additive. If a GL5 requires LSD additives, then its usually lacking it which is what you typically want for a manual.

GL5 that work well with manuals:
Redline 75w90NS
Motul Gear300
RoyalPurple Maxgear
Eneos MTF
Silkolene Silktran
Torco SGO RTF
Ford XT-75W90-QGT
Neo 75w90HD
Amsoil FGR

Its also important to top off your manual and check its cold level regularly throughout its life. I've seen too many failed transmissions caused by a unseen leaks or improper level checking. Oil seals can leak slowly for a while and suddenly you're running it a pint or quart low. Lucky you only had a bearing failure.

MTF usually gets changed every 30k-50k miles which might take 3-5 years. So check the level yearly so you don't have surprises.
 
Originally Posted By: meep
just think, if you'd used an inferior lube, or factory fill, it may have failed under warranty. ouch.


I wanted to say this also, but did not because of the huge 'ouch' factor.
 
Mechanic just told my sister that her 2005 Corolla (manual) has failed bearings. It's got about 70K miles. I told her to get a second opinion as it's not a cheap fix. The mechanic said they don't even replace the bearings, but they can put in a new trans.

On one hand, putting in another trans is a lottery as you don't know how long before its bearings fail, too. On the other hand, just replacing the bearing on the existing trans may not completely fix the problem - if the bearings shredded, chances are the shreds got into other trans areas and damaged them too.
 
If you look at the forums this is a known issue that periodically strikes. It was one of the main determining factors for my getting the boring but bullet proof automatic in my Corolla.
 
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
If you look at the forums this is a known issue that periodically strikes.

Right, so what is the recommended course of action? Getting a brand new gearbox would likely exceed the value of the car. Getting a used gearbox is risky as the issue may pop up again. Can the existing box be effectively fixed?
 
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