Manual transmission stuck

Hi, after a recent passing in the family, we have acquired a 2000 Toyota Tacoma with a manual transmission. It is stuck in reverse, shifter locked in place. I have somewhat moderate mechanical skills so with some help guided, hopefully I am able to fix. I was told by a friend of theirs that it sounded like a simple fix, but who knows.

Where do I start looking?

Thanks

 

its far from a simple fix, unless im missing something specific to toyota that I wouldnt be aware about...
Was a engine line mechanic for ford for 30+ years, manual trans was something that was part of my job description, Ive rebuilt many...
Most likely related to a damaged synchronizer, entire trans has to come out & torn down,
the main shafts / gears need to come apart, etc...
Unless you can just tear the back of the trans apart & cheat it out, that would take toyota specific knowledge I dont have.

Start by looking for trans leaks, oil level, drain all the oil into a clean pan & access the condition, even if theres no metal in the oil, means nothing...
How many miles on the truck?

Look at the shifter assy, worn shifter or bushings???

Theres nowhere to really start looking other maybe tail tell signs from the trans oil condition, smell, color, level, glitter / metallic sheen & metal content, etc...
But end of the day, 100% internal to the trans case & need to be removed & torn down, if it's locked into gear with engine off.....

 

Well that sounds like a nightmare. The line is drawn on my mechanical skills if it requires tearing down an engine or transmission. I was hoping for something along the lines of a linkage issue somewhere. If there’s nothing simple that can be checked, then I suppose selling for parts is our best avenue. I have enough projects around here and having zero knowledge of its history doesn’t help at all.

Thank you for the reply.

 

Drop a message into this thread

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1st-gen-lunchtable-thread-general-discussion.551852/

If anyone knows about this kinda stuff, it's these guys
Or that's who I'd ask

 

How's the frame? Looks like the bed is detaching away from the cab...

 

Haven’t gotten around to inspecting that yet. Right, it does look like it may have become detached. There’s body damage on the opposite side of the bed so it likely broke something loose.