Transmission getting rough between the gears

Hey guys, i was wondering if anyone on here has had their 6 speed redone or if i should just try to find a refurbished one and swap it out. Mines got about 200k on it and its getting pretty rough between the gears. Any info much appreciated

 

Probably better to find a low mile one.

Before you throw yours away though try changing the fluid a time or two with Redline MT90 does wonders for the trans.

There's also a gear change shaft detent ball post on a spring thing that can get sludge build up behind it that can mess with shifting the 3rd gen uses one that's D shaped rather than O shaped so fluid can get around it without jamming up I put one in my 6MT.

What exactly do you mean by rough?

 

OP, I have rebuilt a couple of these and am going to give you a very long answer hoping it will help you and others who may later search and then find this thread.

There are two problems with this transmission as I see things. First, it only holds a paltry 1.9 quarts of gear oil, has no filter, and no internal magnet save a tiny one on the drain plug. And gear oil changes seem to be neglected by many. The transmission gets quite hot; that and the accumulation of steel particles due to no filter contributes to wear IMHO. The drain plug sits in the case in a bung that is a bit elevated and does not allow for the complete drainage of junk inside. My experience has been that detritus tends to accumulate at the rear of the transmission at the bearings of the counter gear shaft. Frequent gear oil changes would help reduce that.

Second, there have been a total of 3 versions of the transmission, all with different part numbers. Version 1 (first appearing in 2005) had lots of issues. I will post a thread at the end of a guy who described his travails with it and did a good job of addressing a few of the early issues. Toy tried to revise a lot of the internals (some being major) the first several years but then gave up and released version 2 instead in (2009? or 2010?). A good number of the parts, some major, such as the input shaft, do not back-spec to version 1.

Version 2 was then used in production up until around early/mid/or even late 2012(?) at which point version 3 appeared and continued from that time forward until the end of production in 2015. Off hand I do not remember what the major revisions were between version 2 and 3 and would have to dig for old notes and compare. Version 3 also had part revisions but nothing major, mostly small springs and such, until the very end. The entire transmission unit from all versions and years will interchange and bolt right up but it is the internals that may be different and many are not interchangeable, particularly with version 1 being the the most problematic.

Should you attempt a rebuild or replacement? I can tell you it is a big job, requires some special tools if you want to make your life easier, and parts seem very expensive to me. If you have someone do it labor would likely be very costly as there is not much that is easy on this transmission. For example, the snout (quill) on it is cast in place and if the front transmission seal were to leak you have to dismantle the entire transmission to get to it, starting at the back end. If its any consolation though I have never read of such a seal leak.

At your mileage if it has not had regular gear oil changes what I would do first is try to determine what the issues are you may be having. Is it low on gear oil? When was it last changed? Is it difficult shifting? Grinding and getting worse? Making noise? Is the shift lever sloppy? Try to be as specific as possible. You said it has rough shifting, what exactly does that mean to you?

You may also want to compare yours with another. Try identifying your location and perhaps someone with the 6 speed and high miles can assist. Perhaps put up a post for assistance in the local forum applicable to you here on TW.

Replacement. First ask yourself how long you intend to keep the truck. Also ask yourself if there are any other issues that may be in need of addressing such as the engine, etc. Also are you capable of doing a lot of the work or do you need to have someone else do the wrenching.

For me, I keep things a long time so I would probably only consider a '13-15 (version 3), and preferably a '14 or '15, as most of the problems had then been resolved. This has also been my stock answer here for awhile when asked the same questions. Always try to get one with as low of miles as possible. You can try searching at www.car-parts.com. I have had good luck there but there are other sites as well. Don't be afraid to try and negotiate price. Business may be slow and worst that can happen is they say no.

Here is the link about the 6 speed I mentioned at the outset. Don't be freaked out about it but use as for learning:

 

@gearcruncher You got anything to add master of the helical and straight cut?

 

Not much to add .
I beleive Taco 09 pretty much summed it up

 

Thanks for all the answers guys, the info is loads of help! I do most of the work on my truck with a buddy who owns a shop but I would personally probably never attempt major tranny work myself. As far as specifics go, i had the clutch done about 20k ago and i recently had the clutch masters hydraulic kit done, which got rid of that horrid squeaking noise and i definitely do not regret it. I do regular fluid changes in it with the redline mt90 every other oil change, and have since i bought the truck with 70k on it.

As far as shifting goes it seems to be a little irregular as far as shift points. It almost feels like there are certain points on a drive where i have to push the clutch in multiple times to get it to go smoothly into gear weather it be from a stop or just switching between gears and then when that does happen it seems to feel the same situations/ rpm/ speed every time. And getting into 5th and 6th at higher rpm (like getting onto a highway) grinds into 5th and 6th without fail.

I generally try to overfill the trans when i do change the fluid (like putting the plug back in when its overflowing), but i didnt this last time so i may try that to ease the pain a little bit. But more than likely ill try and find a newer/ low mile one when the old bank account allows for it!

 

Have you checked the bushings on the bottom of the stick shift?

 

Try double clutching when down shifting. Once to take it out of gear. Then release and blip the gas to rev the engine higher than it would be doing it normally. If the rpm change is say 800 rpm between gears, then blip the RPMs up a 1000. When it's up there, clutch and it should slide right in. If that works then your synchros are an issue