Manual Transmission Getting Stuck in Gear

If this shows up on some trucks with higher miles then I can't imagine that is just tightly cut gears?

 

I would think tightly cut gears would show from day one rather than showing up 7500 miles in and would break in before 5000. I'm certainly not an expert though.

 

You are correct . End play is a one time adjustment when the trans is being assembled . You need some play to compensate for heat expansion .
Transmission end play is adjusted during assembly using shims under the bearings . All transmission gearing needs to be shimmed in order to operate smoothly when the gearing is placed into the aluminum transmission housing . In mass production , its not uncommon for a transmission to be assembled with incorrect shims or tighter tolerances than normal . This is a well known problem with the Toyota 5 speeds as well as many other manufacturers . Its not uncommon to see a transmission without shims . The end play is adjusted according to the size of the aluminum housing
If you have this problem , it should be noticed as soon as the transmission gets hot .
Other instances are when the transmission is assembled with too much end play causing the gearing inside the transmission to rattle or clunk when on and off the gas

I thought we had the issue fixed when the OP said his transmission exhausted air when he opened the fill plug . This means that the vent is plugged and there was no room for the air to escape . It would have explained everything but I dont think thats his problem . Keep this in mind for you guys who enjoy mudding . Those vents need to breathe

 

That's really great info, thanks so much. Can I infer from this then that if gearing is sticking like these folks are experiencing, it is directly correlated to overheating, rather than bad shimming? Or is it that some transmissions could have been undershimmed during assembly and are more susceptible to normal operating temps?

I'm hoping the breather vents in the transmission are difficult to plug in normal off-roading conditions (not submerged or covered in excessive mud)!

 

Overheating would make a lot of sense. The last 30% of my 600 mile trip was when the tranny acted up. Once I got into town and things slowed down the tranny cooled and went back to normal.... I hope this won't cause premature wear.....

Decembers build and 1600 miles. Started the trip with 1k

 

I am going with the transmission being too tightly shimmed rather than an overheat issue .
Its an educated guess from my computer chair mind you , I have not road tested any of these trucks.
A road test would answer soooooo many questions with a professional transmission technician driving the truck .
Long gone are the days when dealer technicians rip into a transmission , therefore , they have no reason to keep up with proper diagnostics .
If the dealer technician road tests a new truck and finds a problem that he believes is inside the transmission , they simply remove and replace with another transmission .
This is why I stress taking the truck to a transmission shop for a " FREE " road test . Those guys can diagnose far beyond the dealers .

Overheat ?
Whats the operating temp of a normal working transmission ?
Approx 170 - 220 degrees . It wouldnt take much to stick a digital thermometer at the transmission when you have the problem

 

I'm hoping the breather vents in the transmission are difficult to plug in normal off-roading conditions (not submerged or covered in excessive mud)![/QUOTE]

This is why Tacoma World Rocks .
Here is the link to the breather " MOD " page .
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-differential-breather-extension.15223/

And here is the link to my write up with your new transmission for the 2016 .
I havnt done much work to the post as I have been busy with the low fluid issues on the 2016 automatic .
I have the complete Toyota overhaul manual for your truck . 11,000 pages and I couldn't find the transmission vent . I believe its at the top of the transmission by the shifter
If any of you guys add a short throw shifter , please take pics and post them to the write up . If you are changing your oil , take pictures and post them to the write up .
I will take any info I can get to better serve this community .
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...in-the-2016-tacoma-write-up-with-pics.419112/

 

This is why Tacoma World Rocks .
Here is the link to the breather " MOD " page .
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-differential-breather-extension.15223/

And here is the link to my write up with your new transmission for the 2016 .
I havnt done much work to the post as I have been busy with the low fluid issues on the 2016 automatic .
I have the complete Toyota overhaul manual for your truck . 11,000 pages and I couldn't find the transmission vent . I believe its at the top of the transmission by the shifter
If any of you guys add a short throw shifter , please take pics and post them to the write up . If you are changing your oil , take pictures and post them to the write up .
I will take any info I can get to better serve this community .
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...in-the-2016-tacoma-write-up-with-pics.419112/[/QUOTE]

I would think that the breathers would be fairly difficult to plug since they are on the top of the Transmission towards the shifter. Great write it!

 

I really like your idea of having a Transmission shop diagnose it, but the problem is you have to drive the truck for 40 minutes or so for symptoms to start happening. I have a Temp gun that I could use. That could be a good experiment. On longer drives when the shifter sticks, I can take a reading from the drain plug on the transmission for example and then compare the temperature on shorter trips when the shifter doesn't stick.

 

Can you schedule a time, drive around for an hour before hand to warm up, and then swing by and pick the tech up?

 

Can you drive 40 minutes before taking it to the shop? ^ Damn you beat me to it.

 

Possible, but unless I jump on the I-17 for 20 minutes at 75 mph after picking up the Tech, there isn't a guarantee that it will happen. Even if I drive for 40 minutes, and then run into a store for 5 minutes, it will take another 15-20 minutes of driving before it will start acting up again.

 

You could let the tech take your truck home for the night depending on where he lives , he could get a good road test in .
This was common for those tough diagnostics

 

Just received an update from my dealership. They are waiting on the final approval from Toyota Corporate to replace the Transmission assembly. Once it is approved and an appointment is setup, I will post an update. Sounds like we are getting somewhere now.

 

Does the 2016 display on the center screen what gear the truck is in? 1-2-3-4 etc

 

No, it does not, but a quick glance at the shifter and you will know what gear you are in based on the position of the shifter.

 

No results from Thursday as the Tech could not replicate the issue and transmission tested well. I am in NY and purchased the truck in December, so possibly that may be why the issue did not present itself until 7,500 miles since it has been relatively cold. Will see if this gets worse once the weather starts to warm back up in the next few weeks...

 

That makes sense. It's 80 here, and the problem is starting to happen more frequently. I can only assume that the truck would be nearly undriveable in the summer here.

 

Should be easier to replicate for the tech no?

 

Here's a data point..

2016 DCSB OR M/T w/ 900 miles

I towed my boat from Tucson to Phoenix; constant driving for 2 hours. No sticking issues! Checked every 30 minutes