RC60F Transmission swap including 4th Gen Taco

I worked as a transporter for Toyota for a bit and I can confirm all of the new 3rd gens would have a ridiculously difficult reverse shift. I've been driving stick for a lot of kilometers, and I always struggled with those. Never any other manual Toyota though.

 

It's like the engineers never actually drove the truck before signing off on that reverse gear lol

 

After finding this leak, in addition to a variety of other things I don't like about this truck, I decided I'm going to upgrade to a 4th gen. It's not immediate, but it will happen eventually.

In anticipation of that, I put out a WTT to trade my gears for some stock 4.30s (plus cash from them). I didn't want to put the transmission back to stock but keep the 5.29s, because that is just too low of gearing for what most people want (even if I liked it). So the first move was to get the gears changed back to stock to give me more flexibility. I found a guy on FB with a manual who wanted 5.29s, and we spent Sunday swapping. That was a bunch of work swapping diffs between two trucks.

Because of this, I am now able to provide valuable insight as to driving this transmission with the stock gears, which is how I imagine most of you wanting to swap transmissions would do it. I am on stock size 265/70R16 Michelin Defenders.

It's not as bad as I thought it would be. It's great compared to stock of course...the low gears are akin to regearing the truck to 5.29 axle ratios. The taller gears I am not a fan of, but it's not all bad. 6th gear is quite tall, just barely 2,000 rpm at 70. Very little torque to gain speed at that ratio. It seems like it may gain a bit of mpg, but I'm not using 6th much. We have too much speeding up and slowing down with traffic and if you get slowed down at all, it's just too much of a headache to have to downshift every time to regain a little bit of speed. I can see the value in this gear on a long roadtrip, but not really much other time. The good news, is that 5th is pretty much exactly where 6th was with the 5.29s, so it to me is a very good cruiser gear. Essentially, I am driving it like a 5 speed.

I don't think this transmission is a bad swap at all for those with stock gears. Your usage of 6th may vary, it doesn't suit how I like to drive very much, so I won't use it much, but the rest of the gearbox is good. 3rd feels strong, and is a very good passing gear since it now tops out closer to 100 mph, good enough for most passing. 4th is not a strong passing gear but it would be good for towing, like stock. The low gears are no longer stupid low like they were with the 5.29s, which I didn't mind but it was over the top, especially 1st gear. That would have been good for crawling, which I don't do.

For now I am monitoring the leak. Most likely, regardless of if the leak appears again or not, I am probably going to swap the transmissions back before trade in. I am tempted to disassemble the front case half and reseal it myself. I found the factory repair manual for the transmission and it's not that bad. Main things are getting the output shaft and counter shaft nuts off and back on. I won't be able to torque them but I would be able to get them off with an impact and probably on in a close enough spot with the impact as well. Then stake the nuts so they don't move. I don't think it will affect any internal preloads since the bearings are shimmed. In other words, I think fixing and selling this transmission is a real possibility.

 

I forgot to respond to this, but I did check the case half fasteners, the ones towards the bottom that I could easily get to were all tight enough. I actually wanted to find loose bolts because then I'd maybe have a chance of fixing the leak.

It must be a slow leak, because after wiping it, I have found no evidence of it coming back. I am just keeping an eye on it for now. I want to drive it for about a month and see if it comes back or not. That way I know if it's worth tearing down and resealing or not once I swap the transmissions back to sell the truck.

 

Darn
I would've swapped diffs in a heartbeat.

 

Swap done! Super happy with the new gearing.
Im on 33s and the stock axle gearing is perfect now.
This is the gear layout the truck should have had to begin with
In other news...anyone want to buy a 2020 gearbox with 55k on it?

 

Nice, glad to hear it worked out.

I am intending on selling/trading in my truck and so I swapped my gears back to 4.30 from 5.29. It drives great from 1-5, but I am not a fan of 6th. The only benefit I’m feeling from 6th is the low noise since it’s revving lower. It is nice and quiet. I just don’t like how gutless it is in 6th. A supercharger would sure help, and I’m sure that helps you like it too.

Other than 6th, I mostly like the stock gear and transmission match.

One of these days I’m going to remove my transmission and sell it to @daveeasa. No way I’m trading the truck in with the transmission still in it. I’m just dreading getting back out there to do the work.

 

@BLtheP
Yes, i have a magnuson with a stock pully.
And that reaally makes the swap worth it, the lower low gears get me to boost faster and the better torqe down low from the SC make 6th actually usable.
Ive only just finished the swap and drove on flat highway, but im 2k rpm at 70 mph now. First gear does not feel low, it feels correct. id probably still need to drop a gear or two to pass in 6th on the highway, but it does not feel like its struggling. it will accelerate back to cruise speed without difficulty.
Im in ohio so i can't test on hills or at altitude yet.

But by far THE biggest change is to reverse, i dont have to dump the clutch every time i backup now. that alone would be worth it to me.

 

Makes sense. Even with the NA motor, I don’t mean to say that 6th is “bad,” but it definitely had no ability to pick up speed even slightly unless I’m on perfectly flat ground. Whereas with 5.29s and the stock trans, I was always at high rpm and it picked up easily which was nice.

Pros and cons but with more torque than stock, I think your setup is ideal. And I agree, 1st is not too short at all IMO…it is very nice. 2nd is nice but definitely was nicer when paired with 5.29s. Reverse is great and was even greater when I had the gears. Overall I prefer this trans with 5.29s, but since I want to ditch the truck I wanted my money back and I wanted it stock for the next guy.

I’ve driven plenty of highway since the regear reversal, but tomorrow I’m driving 5 hours. So I can finally see how it does on a long trip. My commute has gone from 16 mpg up to about 19 mpg most days, so I’m definitely getting the best mpg in the current configuration so far.

 

So you’re saying I need a SC?

I had eyes on a 2017 QS Tundra, so happy it sold. Price wasn’t even so bad. I’ve wanted QS for so long now. I’m sure I would have hated the fuel economy but the roomy interior would have been so nice.

My ‘05 RC prerunner really satisfies on gears and MPG. But shifting it isn’t nearly as smooth. If I could figure out how to convert it to seat 4-6 comfortably and safely in the back with music and screens I’d drive it everywhere.

 

Everyone could use a little forced induction

 

What's a QS tundra?

 

Well. I guess this transmission has the ability to achieve good mpg in the right conditions.

Went about 70 most of the way. Tank average was 21.6 because I got 19.6 on the way out. Not bad at all, this is my record for sure. I had 25.4 on the screen at one point but lost it.

 

I speak Dave…my money is on quicksand

 

I had assumed quicksand as well.
Now that i have the supercharger and RC60F, ill call my trucks color fast AF sand

20+ mpg is awesome, i haven't driven a long trip but i can already tell my hwy mpg is a few better

 

Nice.

I got 25 MPG once when I was going 55-60 MPH, about a 30 min drive on the highway. I did have 265/65/17 E rated Ko2s, otherwise truck was completely stock.

Now with the bigger tires and mods its 16-19, depending on season and terrain. Still not bad.

 

Are you being sarcastic?

 

I tow a lot and I would not want my first to be any higher. I actually prefer if it was even lower.

Even when driving unladen, i dont mind how low the first gear is at all. But again, I drive like a grandpa so maybe that's why

Its shocking the amount of grown humans pass me, mean mug me then race me to the next red light. I just roll up in neutral, light turns green, i throw it in second and all good in the hood. I live in a small town too, like where is everyone going...

 

Lower numerically or a lower ratio? As in you think it revs up too quickly as it is and want it to rev less than it currently does?

 

Lower ratio. I dont think it revs up too quickly at all, i like that "torquey" feel and i need it while towing.