Issues with first gear when cold?

Just because you have done it several times doesn't make it a good idea. I could drive on pavement in 4wd many times before it would destroy things...just because something doesn't happen immediately doesn't mean it's not bad.

Yes second gear is tall but shifting into first should not be a common practice.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-manual-transmission-drain-and-fill.858474/#post-30620360

Post 4 and 11 which you chose to ignore

Cold cold 1st gear 'may' not improve much, but other shifts, up and down, will. Not instantly, but within a modest amount of use.

All I can offer is reports from fellow solo Il users in cold climates who felt great overall improvement.

 

4wd is obviously inherently bad because of the binding that occurs due to the different in front and rear different speeds on turns. There is no such obvious downside to downshifting to 1st gear in this truck. It is no different than downshifting to any other gear. The friction of the synchros spins it up to speed. In other vehicles I would agree. My old jeep does not like to be dropped into 1st if I’m rolling. The truck is fine, as have been all my other trucks (Ford Ranger and Nissan frontier). I’m not worried about it.

That said, with my 4th gen transmission I’m running and the correspondingly 23% lower 2nd gear it has, I don’t need to do that near as often as I used to.

 

Update the shifting is getting better with more milage maybe with new fluid it needed to break in . Thanks all for the info .

 

Wait you swapped to a 4th gen trans?

 

Yes.

 

I learned to drive a manual (vehicle not motorcycle) in a '69 F250 with 3 speed column shifter i.e. '3 on the tree'. 300CI I-6. My Dad's. Loved that truck. The only time it rode decent was when the bed was loaded with gravel,cinder blocks,etc. . And no it didn't have a bedliner.

 

Nice. Difficult? How's the gearing difference?

 

Not difficult at all, just a transmission swap. It is 100% bolt in and externally, the transmissions are almost identical. Dimensionally, they are 100% the same.

Overall drives pretty good, R/1/2 are 23% lower, 3rd about 10% lower, and 5th and 6th are 10% taller. Overall I’m happy with it.

Here’s the link to my long thread about it if interested.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...nsmission-for-the-rc60f.849671/#post-30359650