Question: I have a 1996 Tacoma that I bought new. In the intervening time, I’ve put close to 220,000 miles on it. Around 4-5 years ago, 1st and second gear began popping out especially during warm-up. Fearing that the repair for the problem might be extremely costly, I put off the inevitable for several years.The problem grew worse until I found I was holding 3 of the 5 gears in place.
Manual Transmissions
Answer: After some research on Toyota manual transmissions, I discovered that the problem is very common on these trucks and to my surprise, the fix was not only inexpensive (about $20) but easy.
In order to perform this repair, you will need a Philips head screw driver and some general purpose grease. The job takes 30 minutes. You will also need to order parts from a Toyota dealer or equivalent. The parts you need are: 1 shift lever seat and 1 shift lever cap. Bring your VIN number as there were slight variations.That’s it! So here it goes.
Step 1: Removing the shift lever to get access to shifter seat.
First, you’ll need to get at the screws that hold the rubber boot cover to the transmission tunnel. They are underneath the carpet, so you’ll need to pull the carpet back.
Step 2: Removing the shifter lever retainer cap.
Then next step is to remove the shift lever retainer cap. The cap is spring loaded and the spring presses it into interlocking pins. Use a shop rag and press down and twist.
Step 3: Inspecting, removing the old Seat.
Ah-ha! As suspected, the old hard rubber shift lever seat is completely worn out. Not only that, but it was actually crumbly. The reason it causes the problem of having gears.
Step 4: Installing the new Seat, Cap, and Seal.
Installing is pretty much as simple as it gets. Just install the new seat and seal- seal first into the shifter socket. No special tools required. Next- complete reassembly and test drive.
The other option would be a good used or rebuilt Toyota Transmissions. For more information concerning this issue or if you need a replacement transmission, Call GotTransmissions.com @ 866-320-1182 and speak with a down to earth representative who has plenty of time to help you out with your transmission problems.
