Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

Do you notice any difference in shifting with that new stuff?? any smoother???

 

No. There was no difference. I did mine around 8,000 miles and the fluid was still in good shape though.

 

good to know thanks, was thinking of doing mine to help improve the shift from 1st to 2nd.. but guess its not worth it.

 

+1 for the Redline MTF.

 

Anyone on here in L.A. San Fernando Area (818)? I want to do some test fitments on on that small square bin between the shifter and the cup holders. I'll throw in a free bin when its done for your trouble.

PM me if interested.

 

This isn't a gripe, but...I wonder...
I've got the 2016 4WD with the V6 and MT. Shifting is "ok" but no better than "ok." I would describe the process as clunky. I really don't understand this. I've been driving standard transmission trucks, jeeps, cars, for many decades, and I can't recall one in which the shifting was anywhere near as clunky as it is in this truck. It obviously is not rocket science to manufacture a manual transmission to shift as smooth as a warm knife through butter...even Willys could do it with the old Jeeps. What are the dynamics that make this so difficult for Toyota?

 

Lower percentages of manual transmission sales decrease the engineering budget available. In five years the manual transmission engineering department will share the office of the sanitation engineering department... and he will get the desk.

 

MT's are a dying breed, they get no budget and are the dirty stepchild of designs.

I've gotten used to the truck, Redline MT fluid helped a little. Mine's only clunky if I'm trying to superman through the gears or if I'm being lazy with my clutch and shifting timing. Once I slowed down my shifting a little it goes much more smoothly. Definitely not a fast car transmission but the shifting and gear ratios (at least on the 2nd gens) makes a lot of sense if towing a heavy load (5,000 lbs) as I did twice.

 

When mine was new it was clunky and overall just tight. It loosened up a good bit and shifts great now. Still tight in the cold but otherwise is great. It's definitely not a fast box, need to be a little more thoughtful of your movement than a car.

 

Anybody ever try this one below in their MT?

http://www.royalpurpleconsumer.com/products/max-gear/

 

Best things you can do for shift feel in order of importance:

URD Short shifter all the way- goes from what i would call generally 'mushy' engagement in all gears to a very crisp, positive lock in all gears, as well as shortening throws by a good bit and in general giving the gearbox a sportier feeling

Redline MTL, MT-85, or MT90 depending on where you live. Mt85 is good balance between needing a little warmup time but not locking up when its too hot in average climates IMO, MT90 would be better served in colder climates, and MTL would really only be good in summer or where its warm year round.

Weighted shift knob... I have a flossy redhead thats good for 512 grams of additional weight. Highly recommend this upgrade, it makes shifting much more comfortable, as less effort is needed to shift into any gear. Also smoothes out shifts considerably.

Basically an after thought here but worth mentioning if you are REALLY serious about the feeling of shifting your truck, I have upgraded to SS clutch line and have noticed more sensitivity, as well as predictability of engagement point and consistency as far as the feeling in the pedal. It basically retains the freshly serviced feeling indefinitely, whereas with rubber lines that feeling only lasts a few days, maybe as much as a week.

 

Details please?

 

I used these: http://www.technafitstore.com/TOYOTA-Clutch-Line-Kit-p/toyc-530.htm

I personally got the red ones, this particular hose is very visible in the top of the engine bay near the firewall. I LOVE the red accent it adds to the engine bay and look forward to replacing most of the other hoses in there one day with braided SS ones in red as well.

Aesthetics aside, I would say that the SS lines are at the very least an important safety/peace of mind addition to my truck. Personally, I have noticed improvements in the feeling of the pedal as far as the consistency of pressure on the pedal is concerned (when its hot, your pedal won't get all mushy). I also have noticed that clutch engagement seems to be improved, as well as a subtle improvement in disengagement (a slight bit less rev hang, one more thing that helps with that). I paid somebody 160 bucks to do all 4 brake lines and my clutch line in one go and it took maybe 3 hours total for what its worth. I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself, it seems to not be worth the time unless you already own vacuum bleeding tools, as it can take hours without those.

 

Not to detail but I have been having trouble with my truck shaking while accelerating in all gears when pulling any kind of load or on strap grades. As soon as I lift the throttle shaking stops?

 

whats the rpms doing? maybe the clutch is slipping

 

It does it in all rpm, if the clutch is slipping it's not enough to see on the tac. It feel like an auto with a weak trans when it is being lugged in overdrive

 

Take it in into dealer for sure.

 

Have you checked your U-bolt's torque specs? Should be somewhere in the 50-60 lb range I believe, someone chime in and correct me if you know off the top of your head!

Also, have you greased the zerks on your driveshaft? Apparently its a common thing among third gens to have driveshafts with NO grease from the factory/ just the white assembly grease... Could be your u-joints have worn themselves out from running dry too, which could cause shaking under throttle. I would think one of these two to be most likely but thats just me. Another thing of note, my driveshaft came out of balance from the factory and I had to take my truck to a driveshaft to be rotationally balanced before my truck was running smoothly. I would think this less likely, however, because the symptom was more of a localized, rhythmic vibration with speed rather than being linked to the throttle input in any way.