6 Speed for 1999 Tacoma?

I'm new to the forum as of this morning. Does anyone know whether a new 6 speed manual transmission (for the 4wd V6) will fit into a 1999 Tacoma 3.4L V6 4wd? My 5 speed is popping out of 1st gear occasionally and mostly when warm. Dealer says change the transmission, but do I really need to change it? Is the dealer looking for more income? Is there anything I can do to stop the popping out of 1st? Admittedly, the pickup is now approaching 297,000 miles. As with other owners, shifting is not the most pleasant if I get in a hurry, but that apparently is normal. I just don't see Japanese manual transmissions as all that good; that goes for their clutches as well.

 

Whoa!!
didn't even finish reading your post, dude... don't yank that transmission yet
popping out of gear is a VERY common problem with these, especially with near 300k, cause the seat and socket get chewed up

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

Install these:
http://www.marlincrawler.com/transmission/shifter-parts/heavy-duty-shift-lever-ball-seats

http://www.marlincrawler.com/transmission/shifter-parts/heavy-duty-shift-lever-socket

If That doesn't solve the problem immediately, you won't be out that much $
heck, you could probably resell them to someone on here inside of a day

 

I would try a shift seat and socket like above, if that doesnt fix it, i would bet the 1-2 shift fork is worn and not capable of fully engauge the gear. If that is the case, you can fix it, but you need a press. You can google R150 shift fork and see what I am talking about. If you google Toyota tacoma 6 speed, you will also see that it has had a lot of issues... The R150 is a SOLID transmission, but like anything else its all about how it was taken care of.
Its funny you would say something is not all that great but has nearly 300,000 miles on it.....

 

Like mentioned before, don't yank the trans until you check out those links.... but as an FYI, the 5 speed 1st gen transmissions are a reliable unit and are better than most american manual trans out there. The 6 speed, on the other hand, tends to be a little more delicate, if you ask me.

*side note* As for clutches, exedy is one the best brands out there and they're Japanese. Check out their twin and triple disk clutches... they can handle over 1500 ft=lbs of torque on a daily driver.

 

I've been meaning to do this for awhile. thanks for the links!!!!!

 

IMO 300k is pretty damn good.

The Toyota E153 (MR2 Turbo) transmission will also hold 800rwhp unopened...I'm kinda curious now what you consider a "good" transmission.