I have been searching and trying everything I came across in the forums the last 3 weeks. I bought a 1989 4runner 3.0 manual in really great shape. Only issue was it was hard to put into first while stopped. I replaced the gear shift bushing and it seemed to really help for about a week. Now it shifts great, and then once it is warm it is hard to get into gear maybe 1 out of 10 stops. When I say hard to get into gear its not that its grinding, it is just physically hard to get into gear. It will do it to all gears, but usually I can get it into 3rd or 2nd with slight force, again no grinding. After it goes into gear then it shifts and goes through the gears with two fingers, like new for awhile.

I have checked the trans fluid level and its good, no leaking at master cyl or slave either. The slave cyl seems to be moving correctly. I looked at the clutch bracket and I see no cracks. There is some flex to it, and will have a slight creak noise if I really put pressure all the way down on the clutch. If this was the cause, wouldn't it be grinding when I put it in gear? I also did all the clutch test found on this forum, seems to be working great. I also adjusted the clutch a bit to try that and did not seem to help.

I am looking around town for Redline MT-90 to see if that will make it better. I also did not install the bushing that goes on the end of the gear shift (the ball part) old one looked fine, only the bottom bushing was changed. It was completely wore out by the way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated of what I should look at next. I have had a lot of toyotas trucks/4runners and never had this issue.

 

It is not grinding just hard to get into gear ??

Fresh rebuilt transmission still really tight??

When you pulled the shifter out was the gear oil in the upper part of the transmission ??

If things worked good after the bushing change then got worse I would look at that again.

Did you use Marlins shifter seat and bushing although when that area is worn the results are most often sloppy shifting.

How do things shift with the engine off??

Have any idea when the gear oil was changed ??

Seems like as the gear oil gets hot Things are getting tight .

 

It still sounds like a clutch not releasing adequately, even though you've checked all that. Does it shift freely with the engine off? Also, try shifting to 2nd initially, and then moving quickly to first. That will allow the 2nd gear synchro to stop the shaft rotation and help out the first gear shift.

If the syncros and balk rings are working properly, it should never grind, even if the clutch doesn't release. Rather, the balk ring should physically keep you from trying to engage the gears, which is what you're experiencing. That's why it sounds to me like a clutch problem. As long as the input shaft continues to rotate, the balk ring won't allow the gears to try to mesh.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes no grinding what so ever, just pressure to get it into gear. If the truck rolls though, it will pop in easier when the problem occurs.

The shifter seat was not Marlins, not sure what brand it was. Does it make the difference? I was also thinking to pull the shifter and look again.

Yes, I could see gear oil making it up to upper part of the transmission.

Shifts super easy with engine turned off.

Not sure when gear oil was changed. Looked very clean, and the lady who had it was original owner and had it serviced regularly. Need to contact her to get the records, been busy.

I plan on changing the trans fluid as soon as I can find Mt-90 or order it, and I will pull the shifter again and take a look. Thanks again, wanted to make sure I am not missing something obvious.

 

Oh and I don't believe the transmission was rebuilt, the lady did not mention that at all. She knew exactly when the head gasket was replaced and timing belt. I am assuming she would say if she recently had the trans rebuilt.

 

My first thought is try additional pump n' bleed. I didn't read that you tried that but might have missed it.

I had an aftermarket clutch slave that i couldn't get good clutch action with, until finally replacing with an aisin brand and it worked great after that. But that replacement also included significant rebleed so i don't know if it was the part itself. But...

Good luck. I know it's annoying! Just had this issue with my vw but that was a stretched clutch cable... Definitely not your problem!

 

Possible pilot bearing dragging. You are not getting grinding but may still be getting torque on the trans not allowing to move a bit to align the syncros......

 

I did bleed the slave, sorry dont remember if I mentioned that. Only other symptom I can think of is that when I downshift it has the same pressure issue until I am going real slow. 2nd to first gear has the pressure until about 5mph then it will go and again no grinding. 3rd to 2nd will go at about 25mph.

Pilot bearing dragging is making sense.

Will try some of the other things this weekend.

 

I had a 2000 Toyota 4Runner 5VZ-FE 5 speed manual trans... the syncros went bad and I had issues putting the truck into gear.... SUPER frustrating, so I put in a new transmission. I have no clue what transmission comes in an 1989 3VZ-FE but I'm wonder if its not as robust as a W56 or R150....

 

Some flex and a creaking noise? How many miles? has the bracket ever been repaired or replaced? I'd revisit the clutch bracket issue. I don't think it should flex at all...

 

I believe I have this same problem. I have a 92 Toyota pickup 22re. Same deal here no grinding just hard to get into first. I have replaced the bushing and seat with Marlin products. Replaced the clutch hydraulic hose. Bleed the system numerous times. Change trans oil with Redline mt-90. Replaced clutch fork (it broke). I have not looked at my clutch bracket or pedal adjustment. I've learned to just deal with it. Would be nice to fix it

 

The flex and creak noise is only if I am down under the dash and pushing with my hand and really put a ton of force on it. It doesn't creak while driving around. The flex is very minimal and again when doing it by hand while I am looking at the bracket, at the very end if I push down probably too hard there is minimal flex.

I am going to try the MT-90 change. Going to take a week or so, since I have to order it and ship it here. Noone has it on the island. Then keep trying things one at a time. Will update as I do things.

 

I had the same problem with my 88 3VZ-E. Fixed it the same way. So yeah, I'm guessing this one's toast too.

BTW, it's a 3VZ-E. 3VZ-FE is a transverse mount DOHC version they used in Camrys and Lexus ES300s.

And the 3VZ-E uses the R150 too. Or I should say the 5VZ-FE uses the R150 too. Since the 3VZ-E used it first.

 

Just as a follow up, it took awhile to ship MT-90 out here to Hawaii. In the time it took to get it here, the issue fixed itself. I am assuming maybe there was debris from the shifter bushing disintegrating and falling in when I changed it. I still plan on changing the fluid, but the problem has not happened in almost two weeks.