The feel of a first gen manual transmission?

Nah, they are just that way, most Toyota trannys feel a bit notchy, even supras (they had a truck transmission). Most sports cars I've driven had hydraulic clutches too. It is when you're switching gears at however fast, it just has a little click and maybe some resistance going in. I've yet to feel a Toyota without a bit of that.

 

Thanks for the advice guys, I have more peace of mind now...I'll check out the things mentioned, since the truck did sit for such long periods of time (apparently) just to be safe

 

Ah ive only had 2 toyotas and my first was an auto, but I dont think mine feels very notchy tbh. Only when its cold and I dont let it warm up first.

 

It's sorta weird even the MR2 I drove was a bit notchy, but the Nissan 300ZX and Subaru Forester aren't at all.

 

My old MR2 (AW11) was pretty notchy just with really short throws. You could always replace the bushings and add a short throw shifter

 

Best thing to do is drive another Tacoma of the same year. Compare the differences.

 

x2- I think perhaps you're just not used to the feel of a truck if the scion is what you have to compare it to. I learned to drive stick in my friends '87 Wrangler, and my first car was a '91 Toyota pickup. It was several years after those two vehicles that I drove a small manual car for the first time- it's definitely different. I may be biased/dumb but my '04 shifts very smooth IMO and has 4x the miles as yours. You'll get used to it.

 

Yeah I think I'll give that a go if I get an opportunity, going to a local meet with some other first gen owners in about a month and I'll see if I can compare mine with another. Thanks for all the input!

 

Yeah I'd have to agree. Relatively new owner of a 2000 with 110k. It doesn't shift like a car. The long throw is crazy. Definitely going with a Marlin short shifter.
https://www.marlincrawler.com/transmission/shifter-parts/short-throw-shifter-kit-r150f-34-liter

 

Pardon my noobiness but this is my first manual. When referring to a long throw, what are you talking about?

 

The shifter is much longer than that of a car, so the movement or "throw" to get from gear to gear takes more time than a short throw shifter

 

Okay thank you. So what is a short throw shifter then? Is it just a shorter stick?

 

Pretty much yep! That's my understanding of a short throw shifter anyway, if there's more to it I'll defer to someone else here who may know more about how they work.

 

ok. i might accidentally pour some fuel on the fire with this but overall I don't think it's your transmission.

quick crash course on how a tranny works because it's always good to know your vehicle . trannys have synchro gears (the synchro/baulk ring) for every gear that isn't reverse.


when shifting into any gear, the sleeve & hub (see pic) slides and SMASHES the synchro gear (in the pic) against the actual gear's synchro cone (in the pic, you get the idea) which is a part of the gear. in this process, the synchro gear slips between both the sleeve and gear cone until their RPMs sync with each other. When synchronized, the sleeve becomes aligned perfectly with the gear and is allowed to slide over the synchro gear right onto the gear itself. youve just engaged into the gear of your choice.

It might actually be a good thing if youre having a hard time shifting into gears. That would mean the synchro gear isn't as ground down from milage as ours are. my tranny for instance, really smooth amongst all gears. but it has over 200k miles so the synchros are a little worn.

if you force the gear, it causes the sleeve to attempt to catch the gear before it syncs RPMs, causing the grinding you've, im sure, heard about in many manual transmissions.

NOW! for the issues that may be related to what your describing..... honestly I don't think the clutch is adjusted or your clutch isn't fully disengaging when you depress the clutch pedal. think about it. your gears cant sync if your clutch is still trying to turn 1 gear while the other is still turning from being connected to your drive shaft. Or perhaps youre just not pushing the clutch down far enough? I know I don't all the time.

but then again I don't usually need to since I know how to sync the tranny and engine with the clutch fully engaged. a trick you learn over time I can literally drive my truck without ever pushing in the clutch.

enough bragging though. If your truck isnt in tip top shape, and there really is an issue somewhere, I would place my bets it's somewhere in the master/slave cylinders. whether it be lack of oil, lack of pressure, the slave cylinder isn't pushing the clutch fork enough, youre not pressing the clutch far enough, or youre trying to get into the next gear WAY too quickly. keep in mind, this is still a truck. it's NOT supposed to go into the next gear quickly at all by any means. I had a scion XA before and it went into gear much quicker than this truck. totally normal for both.

Good luck with the info I've given you

 

Here's a video about how a 1992 toyota R-150 manual transmission works. I think this video is awesome, except for how much the guy friggin clears his throat..............

 

Wat. Isn't that bad? Please explain.

 

Very informative. Thank you.

 

lol ok. so lets see if my slightly drunk ass can explain it. you know from the video that the input shaft has to match the output shaft for the gears to sync. that happens freely when the clutch isn't disengaged.

and have you tried going into neutral when pressing the gas or letting off the gas? when there's torque applied to the clutch, the gears are holding themselves in place and wont move, you cant move out of the gear youre in. this is what would happen if you let off the gas and tried going to neutral without depressing the clutch when trying to shift into the next faster gear

BUT! if you manually control the input RPMs by pressing the gas and revving the engine just right, you can allow the tranny to slip out of the gear you were in. and in addition, if you sync the engine to the appropriate RPM that the ratio'ed output shaft is going, you can put the tranny into gear just by controling the RPMs relative to your speed without bothering with the clutch.

you have to sync everything manually beyond using a clutch!

not sure if I explained that drunkingly properly. but there it is. maybe ill have better clarity tomorrow when im sober.

 

Thanks @CodeSeven! A lot of good info there I wasnt aware of.

lol I understand! I go into neutral all the time without pressing in the clutch, have to do it at the right moment though otherwise it won't happen...I haven't tried finding a gear yet without using the clutch but I get how the concept is the same.

 

Neagtive, it actually makes your shifter a bit taller. What is does is make the actual length of shifter movement shorter. so when you go into 5th your not stretching your arm completely out anymore, you maybe move your arm half as much now because the new shifter base moves more with less actual "throw" I have the URD one and its pretty nice. Almost wish I went with the Marlin one though.