Manual Transmission - 1st & 2nd Gear

It rattles over a bump and isn't as quiet as a BMW... it's a truck and works fine. What are we expecting a dealer to do?

 

I read this entire thread and I still can't figure out what people think is wrong with the truck aside from "it makes some noise sometimes when I don't drive it smoothly."

 

I must of gotten a good one. My truck shifts no different than any other manual truck that I've owned. No different than my 84 2wd 5 speed 22re, 84 4x4 22r 5 speed, 89 22re 4x4 5 speed, 90 3.0 4x4 5 speed 4runner, 94 3.0 4x4 5 speed 4runner, 03 3.4 4x4 5 speed tacoma, 2004 2wd 5 speed 4 cyl ranger, 2005 4x4 6 speed 4.0, 2010 2.7 5 speed 4x4 tacoma, 1993 W250 5 speed getrag, 2018 6 speed 4x.

 

It shifts better than most of the trucks I've driven, admittedly I've driven a few trucks with blown synchros. Or no synchros.

 

Mine shifts fine, it is Buttery smooth, the only complaint I ever had with it was early on it did not like to go in Reverse.

 

RWD manuals feel 'rough' in general compared to a FWD manual, if you're coming from one of those. Notchy shifting is just the nature of Toyotas. I know that on 1st gens there's a bushing in the shifter assembly that goes bad over time, easy and cheap to replace and really helps smooth out shifting. But I highly doubt that would be an issue so early on a new truck, if it even has that same bushing. Redline gear oil MT90 helps it feel smoother in the trans.

 

I'm not saying mine is the slickest shifter I've used in a vehicle, but it's as good if not better than any other truck ive driven. I'd imagine the complaints here stem from first manual/first manual truck owners. Though to be fair every manual I've ever driven make funny noises with clutch depressed going over bumps, that's because the clutch plates aren't pressed together I think

 

This *seems* ridiculous, but tightening the rear axle u-bolt nuts to at least the spec 52 ft-lbs tightens-up an astonishing amount of shift slop and low-speed rocking. I don't completely understand the physics behind it, but I think it has to do with axle assembly torsion affected by perpendicular force of the driveshaft and leaf springs. Either way, you will immediately feel a difference at least in the 6MT TRDOR. My bolts went about 3/4 turn to reach the 52 ft-lbs.

 

Yes. This trans is clunky...

 

I'm gonna install the Core/Hurst short shifter on my 2.7L 5spd MT at some point. I will be curios to see if it reduces the clunk.

 

This truck takes time and patience to get right. Mine used to clunk a lot until I realized I wasn't taking my time with the shift or I was coming off the gas or clutch too fast.

I shift every gear at 2.5K. Take your time and you'll be fine.

 

My wife usually complains how rough the shits are from 1st to 2nd. One time she said “ this thing feels like an old farm truck”.

 

My truck only has 300 miles on it, but it already shifts better than it did when I drove it off the dealer lot. 3rd gear was very "notchy" or "crunchy" at first, but is a lot better now. I figure by 1000 miles this thing should shift like butter. If not I'll try a synthetic at 5000 miles.

I do notice that first gear either wants to be shifted right away to second or rev to at least 2500 before shifting for the shift to be smooth, but I think that's just the nature of the beast. I haven't tried starting in 2nd yet, I'll wait until at least 1000 miles before I mess around with doing that.

I haven't really driven a manual since I got rid of my '02 Mustang GT back in '04, but I'm liking it. I hope the novelty doesn't wear off and leave me regretting getting a manual for a daily driver again, but I just don't care for the 3.5 with the new automatic that much. The 4.0 and 5 speed auto in my '15 worked great with the relatively torquey 4.0, the more revvy 3.5 feels sluggish to me with the auto. The 6MT feels a lot better, but not perfect, IMO 6th could be a little more of an overdrive, and reverse could be a little lower. I dig it though.

 

It really does until you get used to it.

Started driving a big Sterling dump truck for my dad on my days off from the fire department. It's got an 8LL transmission in it. After driving it for a few days, my wife noticed I'm getting much smoother in the Toyota. I suspect it's due to me actually taking my time with the shifts.

 

Interesting...

Mine has always been a little bit clunky down low and sure enough, my u-bolts were pretty dang loose--25-30 ft lbs max. Torqued them to 52... I'll report back tomorrow AM and see if there's any difference.

 

Hey everyone I just got my 2018 mt and thought I would share my experience up to this point. As I read through this thread I do see it covers a few different problems and most are answered. I think I have experienced all of them and just thought I would share. In my experience each mt vehicle has its own unique learning curve and takes some finesse. So to start the first problem I encountered was depressing the clutch to come out of first gear. I would say on avg 1500 or 2500 rpm it sounds like loose parts clanking around its just embarrassing. I have found depressing the clutch pedal slower solves this completely. The gas pedal in 1st is sensitive and requires a timed and delicate touch and transition but once understood becomes very easy.

Second issue that I found can merge or be confused into the first problem was getting into second gear. When I first got in the truck I took off in first, pushed the clutch down fast. I hear clanking, then throw it into second gear and feel a notchy crunch - just a mess. It was confusing until I realized I had more than one problem going on. With the fix discussed above in problem one, I then realized I need to learn how to put this transmission into 2nd gear. The solution I found was to not force it into second. Bring the stick down out of first and just go easy and let it fall in naturally. This helped but it was annoying because I am at a stand still waiting every time when I want to be accelerating. So the next problem I realized, I was grabbing the shift knob full hand and bringing it down but with some force to the left. So to put an end to that I now use four fingers on the front side and just glide it down with ease and it falls right it.

I noticed as I read this thread some would claim to have no problems at all and others the same as I described. It really comes down to your past experiences and what you got used to or what bad habits you have developed. Mastering the solutions for my problems really came together to make a nice smooth ride. I can get out of first gear silently and smoothly transition into second with out down time. I felt really frustrated until I got a handle on this so for anyone who is still going through it I hope this can help.

 

I've got 35k miles on mine and have no real complaints about the transmission. Sure it feels like a truck but it's supposed to. I shift into 2nd gear around 2500-3k RPMs and have no complaints about jerky shifts

 

Seems like a lot of yall don't know how to drive stick...

 

Naw, I can go through the gears on my 97 Civic like a formula 1 racer.

Our Tacos have boat oar shift throws, throttle-by-wire lag and clutch accumulators. Clunky Shifting Inside™