Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

I have all the symptoms manual people express here. Its a truck so I get that it is expected. However what bothers me more than anything is the rev hang in the upper rpm range. What is the point of this?

 

what rpm range? High like 5-6k?

I have shifted at 5k rpm only a couple of times, but generally 3.5-4k+, if I push the clutch down rather quickly as soon as I have my foot off the gas, there is negligible/manageable rev hang. If you do it too soon before you are completely off the gas there will be rev hang, if you wait slightly too long after letting off the gas there will be rev hang, and if you push the clutch in too slowly off the gas there will be rev hang.

I believe it is an emissions controls thing, making sure all fuel is burnt off before being dumped into the cats. There could be other factors at play as well.

Unfortunately rev hang is just a part of modern manual transmissions. Some other cars you can tune it out, but I don't think Tacoma and tune can be used in the same sentence.

 

That's right.

fixed

Ain't that the truth.

 

that's a bummer man

 

its annoying for sure. I only get it at the higher RPMS when hot rodding around 4250 RPMS plus. I find i can minimize it if I completely let off the throttle and allow RPMS to drop for a split second before clutching to shift. It does not eliminate it but it helps.

 

I really wish we could tune these things to get rid of those annoyances. Also seeing what Lexus mills are pushing out, I wouldn't mind a little more power too.

 

Emissions I think for the rev hang, but I'm not sure. I'm used to it; it's not the most fun manual I've ever driven but it's good enough and way better then an automatic.

But when towing 5k+ lbs the gearing and shifting behavior make a ton more sense then when driving around empty.

 

Interesting point on towing. I currently do not tow anything but when I do I will keep that in mind. Thanks

 

Around 4k+ I think. Hopefully it can be tuned in the future.

 

This was about 5k lbs. About 550 lbs in the bed (telescope (wooden box), 21 gallon air compressor, steel truck jack) and various stuff in the cab plus me at 250 lbs + the heavy uhaul trailer 6x12 which is 1.9k empty and was filled to the brim, double stack tool chest, summer wheelset + rims, bed, grill, books. Stock leafs sagged like a mother but it did 120 miles across the foothills of the mountains when I moved last January. Kept it about 60-65 mph in 5th, 14mpg. It handled it really well and you knew it was back there and while stopping took a bit longer the brakes didn't feel overloaded. Engine braking definitely helps, and while I loaded the trailer pretty nose heavy it towed very well.

 

I've been noticing some annoying sound in the lower gears when shifting. I really hope there isn't a little man with frying pans under my truck tho... But it does sound like it.. :/

 

Notchy/clunky/crunchy shifting has plagued all generations of Tacomas. My '04 has less than 35k miles on it and it's notchy as hell when it wants to be. I did add a bottle of Lucas transmission additive to it last week and it helped some. Especially going into 3rd (used to be the worst)...going into first is always notchy no matter what I do. Downshifting into first? Forget about it. Have to be rolling to a stop to get a smooth first gear shift, at a complete stop and it's notchy again.

 

Speaking of rev hang, does anyone else notice their RPM's actually climb a little before going down when pushing the clutch in? Especially if I shift around 2k, the RPMs will shoot up maybe 200-300 rpms before going down.

 

Do you seriously have a 1st Gen with only 35k on it?

 

Yup. Bought her this last March with only 24k on the clock. Put almost 10k miles on her since then, I feel kinda bad about it actually

 

Holy fuck. That was a find. I've owned 4 Toyota trucks, pre tacoma, 1st Gen, 2nd Gen, and 3rd Gen. 1st Gen was still my favoirite of them all.

 

Thanks, yeah I was looking for a few months pretty hard. Knew I wanted another first gen, I had a '99 Prerunner back in the day and I loved that truck. But hated that it was 2wd and an auto so I told myself I wouldn't settle for anything less than a 4x4 manual trans. Ended up finding this gem one night on Autotrader, 24k miles w/TRD package and the supercharger, headers and all. I was at the dealership 4 hours away the next morning before they opened lol.

 

HELP: I did a quick search and can't find any other postings. Here's my issue: I've taken my 2016 TRD Sport to the mountains here in CO a few times now. Had the following experiences.

1) July 23 2016: Exactly 1 month after buying, 1000 miles. Made a trip to Monarch pass, about 160 miles, did about 3 miles of 4LO on some good trails, real slow, higher revs in first gear. Came back the same night due to family emergency. Coming down the hill, not in 4LO, smelled clutch or brakes burning, thought it was another car. After getting down to Denver area, nearly impossible to get in/out of gear box. Cool-down fixed problem. Figured it was a one-time issue after using 4LO.

2) Labor Day:Trip to Grand Lake, maybe 3000 miles on truck. Driving around Denver for a couple hours, then headed up Berthoud. Coming down the other side of the pass, 3rd gear to engine brake down the pass 20-40 mph, same clutch smell, same shifting issue.

Took it to dealer after this second occurrence. Clutch was inspected, maybe scoped. Couldn't recreate (duh, not on a 2 mile test drive) and no visible issues. Got some condescending tech notes about "It's common to smell brakes/clutch from other cars in the mountains..... Clutches don't slip while coasting.... Some stickers are burning off" yada yada yada, like I'm a moron.

3) This weekend, trip to Blackhawk. 4300 miles on truck. Simply driving UP I-70 to Blackhawk and driving through the canyon, slightly rough shifting, no notable smell inside truck while driving.

4) Also, I get a bit of first gear shudder. Thought it was due to being a brand new vehicle as I've never driven a brand new MT.

Is this my clutch or tranny? The smell was definitely clutch, but I don't understand the possible root cause. I'm going to swapof swapping my MT fluid, but the dealer won't replace the clutch if they can't recreate the issue. I ski every week in the winter and I'm going to ruin my tranny....

PS. I experience the rev hang/shoot feature as well. Have to be very deliberate with the throttle and clutch at higher RPMs.

 

Have any of you 3rd gen guys with notchy gears replaced the trans oil, transfer case and front and rear diff fluids? Some guys in the DIY maintenance thread said it helped with shifting, rev hang etc.

 

The rev hang is just a normal characteristic of Toyota manual trans trucks, seems to plague every generation. My '04 hangs as well and even climbs a couple hundred RPM when I press in the clutch before it goes down, sometimes. I've heard that cleaning the throttle body helps but with your truck being brand new I doubt that's the issue.

First thing I would do regarding your issue of not being able to get in/out of gear is check your transmission fluid. I know the 3rd gen auto's are sealed units but I assume the manual trans still has drain/fill ports? Who knows, it may be under-filled from the factory. Not sure if that would relate to the burnt clutch smell you're smelling, but it's an easy thing to check up on for peace of mind (assuming you have the standard drain and fill plugs).