Starting to get hard to go into first (manual trans)

We all know that this transmission is not the smoothest... well, lately, mine's been giving me a hard time getting in to 1st from a full stop. I usually have to try twice to get it to go in, and even then, it feels harsh.

It has one year old Redline fluid in it.

I'm wondering if it is an issue with the transmission itself, if the clutch isn't opening the proper amount.

Also, while we're at it- are there any transmissions that I can drop in that are not this transmission? Like a performance upgrade of some sort? This transmission is a dog.

Or perhaps it's just time for new fluid? Maybe different fluid- the redline didn't make any difference for me in terms of smoothing things out. thinking of either royal purple, amsoil, or that stuff that Jay Leno likes- I think it's just called manual transmission oil.

 

A lot of people have reportedly fixed this issue by replacing the bushing in the shifter assembly, Marlin Crawler sells them here:

https://www.marlincrawler.com/transmission/shifter-parts/heavy-duty-seats

The factory bushing breaks apart over time and makes it hard to shift in gear, particularly 1st gear when you're at a stop.

 

Could possibly be a throw out bearing issue. Does it make any noise when In neutral?

 

I had the same issue and was the bushing as stated. Trans is definitely lousy and would love to know if there is an available upgrade out there because I would be all over it.

 

I have always had the same issue and just thought it was because the manual transmissions in these trucks were anything but smooth.

How difficult was it to replace the bushing, assuming you did it yourself?

Also, did you get the white one in the link posted by eon?

edit- so I'm watching some videos on how to replace bushings. One of the videos showed a shifter missing a second bushing altogether. Apparently there is supposed to be one up top and one below as well. Just something to look for...

 

I have this issue as well. My throwout bearing is bad, it makes a noise every time I release the clutch. Also I think my master cylinder is bad. So... it could be either of those...

 

I had an issue like this, it ended up being 2 problems. All of this about 15k or so miles after I put in an LCE Pro Comp clutch kit.

Timeline
-My master cylinder was leaking in the cab. (It was after market when i bought the truck so got another.)
-Problem came back so warrantied it.
-Problem came back again followed by my clutch fork splitting in half and leaving me stranded
-Replaced fork,pivot,throw-out bearing, and clutch with another LCE Pro Comp (I had it all apart anyway).
-Replaced Master and Slave cylinders with OEM Aisin. Clutch felt smooth as silk. Better than ever before.

Problems-

1) New clutch plate was stiffer with a different release point. 300k Miles on an OEM clutch fork which after the new clutch most likely began to crack. This split allowed for less travel of the fork not allowing the clutch to disengage all the way. (hence the difficulty putting it into first)

2) This added more stress to the master and slave which were of poor quality and they started to leak. I thought that this was the problem, however, after putting new master/slave on 2 times after that the reason of them all leaking was because I had to adjust them to such an extreme to get the clutch to disengage properly (not knowing about the fork) that the master began leaking out of the front seal causing me to lose fluid and almost immediately not having enough travel for disengagement.

I kept adding fluid (thinking bad master again) I pulled of the highway and came to a stop, tried to go, and my foot went to the floor. Started it in first got it to a parking lot and my clutch fork in my bellhousing was like taking an empty pea can putting a spoon in it and shaking the can around.

Sorry for the long winded story, but, I just wanted to kinda give you perspective to look at it at all angles. It is not always as simple as it seems.

-Note: I had greased the fork prior to new clutch install the first time. Guess the grease I used was junk.

If you don't grease your fork, you're gonna have a bad time.

 

Write up for bushing replacement:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Toyota-Tacoma-manual-transmission-pop-out-of-gear/

Check the torsion spring and clutch pedal position too.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/clutch-squeak-linear-spring-swap-tw-how-to.159429/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/clutch-pedal-truffle-shuffle.499079/

Finally after all that it could be a hydraulic or throw out bearing issue, but start basic and get more complicated to cancel out any easy fixes.

 

when's the last time you replaced the clutch fluid?

 

I think that has happened at one time or other on all my Toyota stick shift trucks.

I would just slip it into 2nd with the clutch depressed and the truck stopped. Then it would go into first easily. That usually helped quite a bit.

 

I have heard about this shift fork splitting problem. Does anyone make an aftermarket shift fork that is beefy enough to never break? I don't have any clutch or shifting problems at 166,000 miles. I'm just planning for the future. When I do need a clutch I'd like to be able to replace everything that I can only replace while I have the tranny out for the clutch replacement. It would really suck to replace the clutch and then a year later realize you have to drop the tranny, transfer case etc., etc. to replace something else.

 

I'm having the same problem, sometimes it gets a little hard to put the first or second gear, and when the clutch is not pressed has a little sound, some salesman who sells clutch kit?

 

TRVLR500 I replaced the clutch fork with an OEM replacement and pivot. Mine was just old never lubricated in the past and eventually rubbed through to the point of cracking after being weak.

The new one I got from the dealer looked a lot beefier than the one that split. I have a feeling they redesigned it.

31236-30060 - OEM Clutch Release Pivot
31126-26020 - OEM Clutch Fork Boot
31204-20071 - OEM Clutch Fork


Was less than $50 total.

FYI Here is an amazing parts diagram resource by VIN if anyone wants to share.

https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine/locate?c=Toyota

 

Thanks man

 

No Problem,

Keep in mind that the part numbers I listed are for my truck 1995 Taco. There are a few different variations of pivots and forks. Be sure to look it up by your VIN.

Also,

Rockauto has OEM master and slave available for our trucks lower than dealer cost. If you need those look for the ones made by AISIN.

LCE Performance makes an awesome clutch kit (make sure to get pro comp not like a stage 2 or something) It has Twice the holding power of stock clutch and has great drive-ability for a daily. All the parts in the kit are quality except 1 thing they cheaped out on. The throwout bearing is chinese. I ordered an SKF throwout bearing and kept the one that comes in the kit as a backup in the future.

And be sure when you get a new flywheel check the back of it where it mates up to the crank. I had some casting i didn't see when installed and got pretty major clutch chatter since it was a touch off and I had to use my 12 Ton puller to get it off. If you see any loose casting just use a file to knock it off.

 

Good replies and some great info gentleman . Too bad the OP hasnt touched base since July 2017.
Think I will add this info to the transmission diagnostic page for the W59 transmission .
Big thanks to
Russianman92 and
Dalandser
for the wealth of good info posted above
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...on-your-5-speed-transmission-write-up.338836/

 

Thank you @gearcruncher

Always here to help!

 

Hi guys I exchange the clutch using this kit, but the truck has the same noise clutch release I don’t know why because everything is new, any one here with the same bad experience?

 

What sort of noise are you referring to? What does it sound like? When exactly does it happen?

 

The sound is when the truck is neutral