Manual shift problem with 2001 Toyota Tacoma

Hi,

I'm a new member. I've had a manual shift (5-speed) 2001 Toyota Tacoma Xtracab with 152,000 miles for a little over a year now. It's in great shape but a few months after purchasing it, I started having difficulty shifting it into gear from a stopped position (such as at a traffic light). Getting it into first gear is really tough so I've been starting out in 2nd gear, or start it rolling a bit in second gear then downshift into 1st gear. This does not happen all the time. It is sometimes easier to get into gear than other times but is still a frequent problem. When the engine is off, it can be easily shifted into all gears. My mechanic checked the transmission and says it is OK. He has an '04 Tacoma and said he has some trouble shifting from one gear to another while moving. When my truck is moving, I have no trouble shifting from one gear to another. Any thoughts or ideas about what is going on would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Is it possible the clutch might not be completely disengaging and dragging a little?

 

First off Welcome to TW , Secondly have you tried changing the fluid? Mine was a bear to get in gear when I bought it, put in Redline MT-90 GL-4 fluid and it's been a completely different shifting truck since.



Also you might want to look into the plastic piece at the end of the shifting lever, as they have a tendency to disintegrate after awhile. https://www.marlincrawler.com/docs/shifter_seat/index.html

Hope this helps.

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

Thank you everyone for your tips! They are all possibilities and I'm going to give them a try.