Bellhousing issue? Is this common?

Hi there,

I brought my 2002 V6 TRD 5sp MT tacoma into the shop because I was having trouble getting it into 1st gear and reverse from cold stop. Every other gear felt great when shifting, truck has 130K miles.

The shop now says they need to replace the bellhousing to get the tranny back in - is this common? I've never heard of this issue before.

The truck is stock as far as I know.

Thanks

 

I would ask for a better explanation to why they are requesting you replace the bell housing .
Tacoma bell housings are known to be very tight when mated to the engine block . When replacing the clutch , you pry the bellhousing away from the block with care .
Subbed to hear more

 

He's right. I had to pry one apart before, but I was still able to use the transmission and bellhousing. Sometimes they get a bit stuck due to galvanic corrosion. I think they effed up and want you to pay for it.

 

Thanks so much for the quick replies everyone! Very helpful.

@High Noon - after stalking this and other forums I mentioned to the shop that it might be the shifter bushings. As far as I know they completely ignored me, but I didn't realize that until they'd gotten the tranny out and now "can't get it back in"... never again going back to these guys.

Anybody have recs on a GOOD mechanic in the San Francisco Bay Area???

 

Demand pictures of the housing

 

Maybe they don't have the clutch disc centered properly. That's the only thing i can think of that would not allow it to line up right.

 

Every Toyota truck with a manual tranny Ive driven (3 of em, varying from 92 to 08) was hard to get into 1st and Reverse from a cold stop. Double clutch it real quick and it pops in just fine.

 

In most cases , you begin a first and reverse diagnosis by replacing the clutch master and clutch slave cylinder .
This way the hydraulic components are new . From there , a fresh shifter bushing should be installed
Next , When you Push your clutch pedal to the floor using a stethoscope , you can hear the transmission input shaft come to a stop . If you cant hear the input shaft come to a stop in a timely fashion , replace the clutch

 

As was said before could have been the shifter bushings that were really the root of the problem, however I've removed the trans and reinstalled another one in my 98 3.4 MT. They're in there tight but I got the original out with a friend and the new on in by myself with no help, so no need to replace the bell housing unless they mangled it - you have to see where they broke it. Even with the clutch off center it wouldn't matter about the bell housing!

 

I have seen transmissions come into the shop where the guy accidently forgot to remove a bellhousing bolt and began prying . Needless to say , a new bellhousing was ordered .
Thats only 1 instance , there are hundreds more with automatics

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

Update for you all:

I went in to the shop to have a look and it turns out the guy on the phone wasn’t clear on what happened.

the clutch fork was messed up (which seems like a common issue) and managed to shear off the part of the bell housing where the fork attaches. So it looks like getting a new housing is the only option :/

something to keep in mind for people with similar symptoms. I took it into a different shop early this summer when I first noticed the issue and that shop said the hydraulics looked good and that I should just replace the tranny fluid which makes me think they didn’t take the tranny out??

Have people seen this before? I’m surprised this happened at only 130k, I guess that’s what I get for buying a used truck without demanding full mechanics records *face palm*

 

All I see is a fresh break in the aluminum where the release fork mounts .
Somebody correct me if I am wrong

 

Go with your gut, you can always tow it to another shop. Generally you can tell if people are being honest.

 

This! and Redline MT90 and fresh shifter bushings help but don't make it go away.

 

If that was the root problem I think you'd have had more problems that 1st and reverse.

 

it does look like a fresh break.


the left side indicates that it was cracked previously and gear oil seeped in but the right side where the bright aluminum is seems to be a fresh break for sure.

 

right??? I just got back from a 1,500 mile road trip and the only problem was sticky first/reverse. I don’t understand how I could’ve had no trouble with most gears if that joint was toast.

anyone have experience w something similar? Would it have been drivable?

 

1st and reverse gears don't have synchronization and the others are easily rev matched without your knowing unless you downshift.

 

Agree !!

I gotta ask just how did that get broken??