Standard tranny. No 5th gear. No reverse.

We bought a 2000 Tacoma in 2004. Its been great and has about 160,000 miles on it. However, a few months ago it lost reverse, then it lost 5th (1st to 4th is fine). You can shift into 5th and R positions (with difficulty) but you will be in 3rd in the "5th gear slot" and 4th in the "reverse slot". We've shifted into 5th out of habit a couple of times and the gear has been there, and when this first started happening you could find reverse once in awhile, but no more. I've dropped the transmission and have it on a cart, but am wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and can suggest where the problem might be.

 

syncros maybe gone?

 

There is a small switch on the back of the steering column, next to the blinker fluid resistor, is it on or off? That could be your problem

 

I'd hope not, looks like the trans is already out!

 

Follow this idea.

Probably find a manual tranny cheaper/less hassle than it would be to buy all the parts, take the time to remove/install everything.

 

My dad has a 97 5 speed. It got to where it would slip out of 5th gear. It was a bushing in the shifter that cost around $5 and took around 20 mins for him to fix. I doubt if its the synchros, I think most manual transmissions dont have them for the reverse gear.

 

Fix it?

 

x2 i have heard this before. guy told me if it ever wouldnt go into and out of gear like it should check the bushing located under the shifter. it is the pivot ball that the shifter rides on on top of the transmission

 

A bushing under the shifter. I wish I had known about this forum / posted the question before I dropped the transmission. I'm wondering now if I replace the cluth, pressure plate (since the thing is on the bench) and the bushing, then reinstall and see...

 

Since a clutch and pressure plate should cost $200 or less If it were me I would do change them now(unless the clutch was replaced recently) since you have the transmission pulled. If its the stock clutch 160k and it's most likely close to the end of its life anyways. Did you ever figure out if the problem was the bushing?

 

Well, I don't know if the bushing / seat is the problem or not. But isn't replacing them and putting the transmission back in the only way to tell? I'm planning taking the 65 miles trip to the nearest Toyota dealership to get parts tomorrow.

We bought the truck with about 85k on it and have not replaced the clutch since, so yes I presume its origonal. Plus in the last month we tasked our young daughter with learning a standard (planning to replace the clutch with this operation). She took a bit of life off of it in the process, but she has a better handle driving a standard now.

 

It should NOT be necessary to reinstall the transmission to find out if it will shift into 5th or reverse. Just bolt the lever back on and try it. As mentioned above, there is no synchro on the R gear, and in fact, the vehicle would normally be stationary when shifted into R anyway, which means that nothing is turning anyway. Might as well just try it on the bench.

 

Well, that sure makes sense - and makes me feel rather dumb. Now, it always slipped into 'a gear' in the R position, only thing was that gear was 4th and not reverse. I should be able to put it in a forward gear and see about rotation direction, but would you happen to know - if I actually make reverse and turn the front of the tranny by hand, will the drive shaft end rotate in the same direction or the opposite direction as the front end?

 

Lmao

 

Not sure about toyota's but on old chevys if you turn the input shaft with the trans in reverse the output shaft will turn opposite

 

Well toyotajeff and 2000GTacoma, you hit the nail on the head. The molded part of the shifter seat was gone - totally disentegrated. (All that was left was the flat rubber washer the molded part of the seat is glued to. I replaced the bushing on the end of the shifter since I had it apart, but the shifter seat was the problem.) After replacing these parts, the tranny sifted fine on the bench - and toyotajeff you were right about rotation direction - but I wanted to get the it back in the truck and test drive it before posting a reply.

The really disappointing part of this experience is the fact that, thinking it might be something simple, I called the local Toyota garage in San Angelo, TX a few months ago, and they told me they could troubleshoot it for $90. So I drove it in, paid the bucks, and was told the tranny needed to be rebuilt. (When I bought parts, the dealership had the shifter seat in stock, so I doubt it was the first time they had seen this problem...they had to order the clutch plate. Even if it was the first time, they are the dealership for crying out loud, shouldn't they have more Toyota troubleshooting resources then me? I guess I should smell the roses and realize that there #1 specialization is ripping people off.) Thank heaven I decided to try and fix it instead of having them do the work. And thank heaven for this TacomaWorld forum.

While I'm on a roll, considering their fix of "...a small switch on the back of the steering column, next to the blinker fluid resistor...", do you think Stubbs95tacoma and TACOMABOSS work for Toyota?

 

luckily that was the problem! better than rebuilding the tranny and still having the problem though right? Hahaha sounds like they do, maybe they should be banned for trying to rip people off

 

Lol I wish. Glad to hear you got it fixed

 

I know this is an old thread, but I am having the exact same problem with my Celica. The bushing your talking about? Are we talking about under the actual shifter or something on the transmission itself?

 

Under the shifter. You access it from inside the vehicle. Remove the center trim pieces and the shifter. There's a ball on the transmission end of the shifter and a seat down in the hole.