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AT shifter will not lock in gear

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by hughesjrm, Feb 17, 2015.

  1. Feb 17, 2015 at 2:42 PM
    #1
    hughesjrm

    hughesjrm [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Michael
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    Hey TW I need a little assistance. I just completed my 4x4 conversion on my 03 DC, and now the AT shifter won't lock in gear. Actually there are three things going on. It also will not go into low gear, nor will it fully lock into park. I have to sometimes slam the shifter into park to get the key out. Any thoughts? I believe it has to be something in my linkage, but have adjusted several times with the same results.
     
  2. Feb 21, 2015 at 5:06 AM
    #2
    hughesjrm

    hughesjrm [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I'm surprised, nobody has any recommendation?
     
  3. Feb 21, 2015 at 4:49 PM
    #3
    gearcruncher

    gearcruncher Well-Known Member

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    STICKY SHIFTER / SHIFTER IS HARD TO MOVE
    Most of us would disconnect the shifter cable from the transmission lever and then verify the cable is free by hopping in the truck and moving the shifter from park to low . We should feel nothing because the shifter cable is no longer connected to the transmission . If the shifter is still tight to move , we know that the issue resides in the cable or the plastic shifter cover . A quick lube job is going to fix that up .

    Next , with the shifter cable removed from the transmission lever , try and manually move that transmission lever by hand . You should feel click , click , click and it should be fairly easy to move with your hands . If you cant move it by hand , remove the PRNDL switch shown on page 16 at this link , it shows the switch in question . Spray the heck out of it . Some guys actually have to replace the PRNDL switch becuase of corrosion .The PRNDL switch gets very tight when it corrodes http://www.toyotatundraforum.com/pdf/A750E.pdf

    When the switch is removed , you can spray the seal on the transmission that sits behind the switch to see if there are additional problems with the lever shaft since the lever shaft is also known to corrode .
    , then take a small screwdriver and pry the lever seal away from the shifter selector shaft enough to blast some lubricant between the seal until you get the lever to move by hand .Might have to work it back and forth a little but its going to free up . You should have the wheels blocked when you do this .Both of these issues are very common

    Next , place the transmission gear shifter in park and " REMOVE THE KEY "
    Throw the key on the drivers seat until your done .
    Go to rear of truck and manually push it by hand to verify the truck is actually in park . Go back under the truck and check to see if the shifter cable lines up perfectly with the hole in the transmission lever . If it doesnt line up , adjust the shifter cable until it fits perfectly into the transmission lever . The adjustment is under the shift counsole .
    Once the cable is aligned with the transmission shift lever , verify the truck will only start in park and nuetral .

    The links provided are Not for your 2003 but the rest of the information is universal .

    The last paragraph above is what you need to do to adjust your linkage . Make sure the key is laying on the drivers seat when you make the adjustment
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2015

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