3rd gen 3.5L 6 speed manual owners

Hey guys and girls. I'm new to this website and I'm sure this subject has been discussed before... But last year I traded my 2017 Tacoma SR Access cab 2.7L 5 speed manual for a 2019 Tacoma TRD Sport Access cab 3.5L 6 speed manual. I noticed the 6 speed manual has a clunky 2nd gear. No matter how gentle I am on the clutch it always clunks into gear. I shift around 2.5K-3k rpms. I noticed if I give it a little gas as my foot is coming off the clutch, it will be a smooth(er) shift, but I don't want to wear my clutch out prematurely by doing that. So far the truck only has 5000 miles on it. Anybody else have this issue? Thanks!

 

The trans likes to be manhandled. Just shove it in, seems happier that way.

Members report general shifting improvement w/ the ADM and OVTune

Also, how do the motors compare? I’ve always felt the v6 lacks low down torque & is poorly geared (reverse! )

 

My 2.7 isn’t always the smoothest shift into 2nd either, I’m surprised you didn’t notice that as well before trading it in. Seems to by a Taco manual trans thing.

One thing that’s made it consistently smoother: as RPMs are climbing in 1st, right before I’m about to shift, a little extra gas bringing the RPMs around 3100-3200. Synchros seem to like that extra hint of momentum and slips into 2nd much better.

I’ll have to go test drive a 6MT today to see how they compare. You also have the actuator, so not sure if what I’m saying will help ya. Just a thought!

 

Typically I won't shift into 2nd until about 3.5k, also have the ADM done. With only 5k on it I think it has a bit of breaking in left to do as well.

 

Thanks for the reply, The 2.7L with the 5 speed manual (Discontinued) was a slug. I don't want to offend anybody but it was too slow for me, especially with 4x4 engaged, I felt like the engine would bog down. As for the 3.5L 6 speed manual... It is no race car but it is a lot quicker off the line. The power is more satisfying for sure. My wife claims the ride is smoother with the V6 too. Although the transmission is a bit clunky 1-2 gear.

 

Yeah it's a little clunky but you get used to it. Doesn't mean anything is wrong.

 

It’s a new trans, learning curve. It took me awhile, I have always have had manuals. I like this the best, the lower gears like a little higher RPM.

 

My tranny is clunky too... I personally do not pay much attention to it... but yes... i feel it....

 

You meant the accumulator?

 

Keep in mind the ratio difference between first and second. It's an almost 4:1 first going to a 2:1 second, treat it like shifting out of a granny gear in an old truck because you basically are. It's half of the speed, so shifting at 3k feels strange but 2nd wil be at 1500 so you need to let it wind a little before the shift.

It's a little annoying to get used to, i start in second fairly often. I was used to the subconscious logic from the NSG-370 i swapped in my old TJ and im pretty happy to have a real first gear in a modern truck. The double overdrive and short axle gears balance it all out pretty well, I think.

Edit for additional info:
Your 3.5 6MT ratios are:
1st- 3.98
2nd- 2.02
3rd- 1.32
4th- 1.00
5th- 0.85
6th- 0.71
Rev- 3.39
Axles- 4.30
T-case- 1:1 high/2.57:1 low.

That's some good stuff, but no one talks about the awesome details of these trucks, they just whine about how un-car-like they are. I bought it because of it

 

If you start in 2nd gear, does it lug the engine or give a jerky motion? I would think that would be hard on the clutch too

 

Anytime my wheels are rolling even the slightest bit, i always use 2nd. If im at a dead stop, no way, unless im at a red light facing downhill.

IMO this tranny is very smooth. Huge improvement over my 2007 rangers' MT. I really enjoy driving my taco.

 

As said above (and quoted below), you'll learn to judge the roll of the truck, decide for yourself how much additional slip of a barely-rolling 2nd gear start is worth the clumsiness of getting into 1st and all that. Drive your toy, the more you drive it, the more you'll find your best way to drive it.

Absolutely. I am very pleased with the transmission in this truck. The last few light truck manuals I've spent considerable time driving are a 1990 and a 2001 NV3500 and its brother NV3550, an ax-5, an ax-15 that was replaced with the NSG-370, now whatever the name is for whats in the taco. In between the ax-15/NSG-370 and the taco was two GM 4l60e transmissions... first one blew up as they are known to do. There was no question that I was getting a manual transmission after that truck

 

The only annoyance for me was the throttle pedal response. Really had to get used to it, after all the cable throttle vehicles i have driven. I learned to just mash the pedal when rev matching and it doesnt really bother me anymore. ADM made rev matching much easier as well, no more guessing.

Other than that, i dont notice any "crunchiness" or hard shifts. Most of the time the gear shift lever gets "sucked into the gears" on its own. Well one more thing is the super tall reverse gear, but my ranger was the same. 2WD LOW mod solves that, im waiting for mine still. Just my 0.02c.

 

Reverse is almost as steep as first but it's not the same so it feels really awkward. I got spoiled by having 2LO in a previous truck so backing a trailer up a hill is brutal in this truck.

And the truck doesn't lack power, you have to let it rev and you'll have all the power you want. I wish the switch in map wasn't so sharp when you hit 3k, though. Remember that trucks you drove that felt like they had a lot of torque had either a larger engine and higher fuel consumption or and automatic which benefits from the torque multiplication of the torque converter. With a manual, you have all of the power that the engine makes at that rpm, no cheating. Like in an automatic with the converter unlocked, the engine speed is considerably higher from a stop than a clutch-out manual would be so it seems more powerful than it is. Look at the power graphs of any engine and look at the power-at-rpm and it'll really surprise you.

Here ya go:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/enough-already-your-trucks-t-hp-and-rpm-explained.574429/

Also, www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html was such an awesome resource when sorting out the jeep and bronco gearing and a great place to compare transmissions. I learned that the reverse really is unusually tall. My 6sp nsg-370 in the jeep was 4.06, almost the same at first. The tacoma is somewhere between first and second, thats probably why it feels so strange. (The RC62F isn't on there, I should send the guy a message with the info out of gratitude. And buy him a beer or something, lol)

 

X2

I live in south Florida... dead flat everywhere... like you said... as long as my wheels are spinning I start on second... I prefer the “bogged” feel for a second or two than the “clunky” 1st to 2nd shift..

 

Just takes practice

 

i agree with everything posted above... good to know there's some consistency to be found.

i find that spinning the motor to 3-4k and then letting that into 2nd is what it takes to smooth the 1-2 shift. it's not totally natural for an experienced manual truck driver, you never had to spin up anything. but once i got it the truck is smooth, controlled, and very responsive to drive. super fun once you find the power. OVT & ADM highly recommended!!

 

Yes lol.

 

If you read these forums - there’s more people afraid to wind these motors up than the other way around. We all need to remember these aren’t V8s with gobs of low end torque.

they’re built (overbuilt and underpowered), to be wound up and hit their powerband higher in the RPM range.

Glad it’s going smooth for you!