2013 MT shifting problems

Intro first: I just joined here but I was a member of TTORA many many years ago and it seems to be all but dead. Tacoma World seems to get a lot of traffic and I'm glad to join the community. This current 2013 is my 4th Toyota truck, all have been manual transmission. This is my first 6 speed.

I bought the truck a few months ago with 90k miles on it. I didn't notice a problem with shifting on the test drive. On the long highway trip home, there was no way to get the truck into 5th without some grinding. Something wrong with the synchro. After driving it the last couple months I've come to the conclusion that there is no problem shifting into 5th for the first 15-20 minutes of driving. After that it grinds and I've just gotten used to skipping 5th gear altogether.

I replaced the oil with Redline MT90 and it made no change.

I don't know if the problem is due to the oil heating up and changing the viscosity or due to the gears themselves heating up and expanding. Would I damage anything (other than mpg) by running a heavier oil in the transmission?

FYI new synchros and bearings are about $1k, and the labor would put me around $1500-2k total for a rebuild. A new transmission is $3500ish and I could swap it myself. I am still coming to terms with the fact that a Toyota transmission didn't make it to 100k miles before needing any kind of work. The 2004 5 speed I've got went 270k miles before I even changed the clutch and that was only because the pedal was getting heavy. It shifts like a racecar compared to this 2013.

Any advice?

Thanks
-Dan

 

The 6 speed tranny’s in our trucks SUCK IMO. Third gear grinds on occasion in mine but it sounds like your 5th gear is completely shot.

 

My 3rd grinds as well. The 6 speed definitely isnt the smoothest manual out there

 

The 6 speed in the N200 Tacos is kinda booty from what I've heard. Unless you're planning on selling soon I would start considering the rebuild.

 

Sounds like you need to go the rebuild route: synchronizers, bearings and at least the 5/6 hub and slider. I talked to a trans shop about this last year and he said to definitely use the OE bearings from Toyota as the aftermarket ones don't last nearly as long.

 

It really is a terrible transmission, both in feel and apparently quality too. I didn't think twice about buying a manual Toyota because I never dreamed they would build something this bad, but now I know. I think I'm going to try a Hurst shifter to get some better "feel" back and eventually plan on replacing the transmission. It's got a pretty loud whine in all but 5th gear. Research says that some people have a noticeable whine and some don't. None of my previous 5 speeds have been even half this loud.
-Dan

 

After owning mine for 10 years I don't really think the transmission itself is that bad - it's the electronic throttle that sucks.

 

I have had the same issue in my 2013 six speed. Do yourself a big favor and buy some Lucas 85W140. Get a quart of that, and a quart of the Lucas Heavy duty oil stabilizer (pic below). Mix them 50/50 and drain/fill your trans. The problem i was experiencing (and i think you are too) is that the trans only holds 1.8 qts of fluid. So when you first start driving, it's nice and cool, but after you drive 20-30 mins, the fluid becomes very hot and no longer offers the same level of protection. I noticed this start up after i supercharged my truck. It'd be good for the first 20-30 mins, and then start grinding shifting into 3rd. I seriously thought it was something i was doing.. After swapping to a much much heavier fluid, all of my grinding has stopped completely. I highly recommend doing this before chasing any other avenues, might be a cheap fix for you as well

 

I'm so glad I asked this question and you saw it, lol. That gives me hope. I'll definitely give this a try. Thank you so much.

-Dan

 

@ddavis8 The only downfall of going with a heavier fluid is that it will be notchier and harder to shift when the trans is cold, and it's very cold outside. I've found that if the trans doesnt want to shift when cold, i double clutch it, and then it goes right into gear. After a couple minutes driving, it should shift very nicely and stay that way

 

Best of luck Dan! Hope you get it sorted out, i was very disappointed at first when this started happening to me and i thought id need a new trans. Was very pleased with the outcome, hope it works for you too buddy

 

I live in South Texas where we typically get less than 24 hours of anything below 32 degrees for the entire year. The cold shouldn't be too much of a problem, lol.

-Dan

 

I’ve had way better luck with motor craft

$34 XT-M5-QS Full Synthetic Manual Transmission Fluid - 1 Quart, Black

XT-M5-QS MTF. Can usually be had for about the same as redline, and has proven to work exceptionally well in both the 2nd gen and 3rd gen 6 speed manuals.

 

Awesome, im in central TX and I havent had any issues.. I started out wiht just 85w140 but that only helped a little. After adding stabilizer and thickening it up a bit more, it was good to go

 

Any luck @ddavis8 ?

 

No luck. I think the heavier oil blend might have bought me a few more minutes of smooth shifting but when it hits whatever critical temp it still grinds going into 5th. It was worth a try and didn't cost much but looks like this POS is going to need a rebuild or replacement. Thanks for all the help everyone.

-Dan

 

This is a long shot, but give it a couple of weeks and change it again. IF someone used something in there they shouldn't have, it might take a little time to 'season' it off of the wear surfaces. Again, long shot, but when I first changed to Lucas, then Royal Purple, it seemed like mine got smoother over the course of a couple of months.
It might be pissing in the wind, but it's cheap to try.

 

I added some Lucas to the MT-90 in my trans and noticed it shifted a bit smoother. My guess is the thicker fluid helps the synchros do their thing. Its still an awful trans to shift.

My old 85 BJ60 Landcruiser with the H55 5 speed shifted like butter..... I miss that truck.

 

Did you guys having issues both buy your trucks used? I've heard that these transmissions weren't up to snuff for years now, but I've never had a single issue with mine. I bought my truck new, and changed over to the redline MTF at 30k. (Currently creeping up on 80k) Mine still shifts smooth like when it was new. It could be if your trucks were used, that they were driven by original owners who thought they knew how to drive a manual properly, but really didn't. The day I purchased mine, I remember the salesman (an older gentleman) telling me that I'd better push the clutch all the way to the floor and be deliberate with my shifts if I planned on the truck lasting a long time. I recall thinking that odd that he'd say something like that, but there must be service cases with people abusing these things to warrant such a statement. I just remember thinking to myself "Well shoot, why would you ever NOT push the pedal all the way to the floor when changing gears??" Must be some people out there not doing it correctly for them to feel the need to warn new owners about it I suppose.

 

Definitely doesn't sound normal. I know a couple guys with the 6 speed. The throw out bearing issue is the biggest pain but haven't heard much about synchro issues. FWIW, I replaced the OEM fluid in mine at about 34k with a different fluid. Made shifting smoother particularly when it cold. Synchro issues sound like bad driving habits from previous owner(s).