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Gears hard to engage and grinding


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888qqq
Novice

Apr 23, 2012, 5:30 PM

Post #1 of 9 (9843 views)
Gears hard to engage and grinding Sign In

I have a 1992 Toyota pickup, 2WD, manual transmission, 4 cylinder, with 178000 miles on it. It is difficult to engage all of the gears. Until recently only the reverse gear would grind when putting it in gear, but last night when pressing down on the clutch pedal there was a crack noise and then it became difficult to engage all five gears. That crack noise when pressing down on the clutch pedal has always been there but has recently become worse. Before yesterday the reverse gear would grind when engaging it sometimes, but there was no problem with any other gear. When I would press the clutch pedal down hard the reverse gear usually would not grind at all. Now I have to have the engine off to get the the truck in reverse gear then start the car and go in reverse. With the engine off I am able to to engage all five gears. Once I start driving I am able to engage all other four gears but with difficulty. I bought the truck used and the previous owner said that the clutch had never been replaced. I checked out the shift lever on the transmission, and it feels pretty loose. Also, the large bolt in the center of the four rear mounting bolts is so loose that I can turn it by hand. The clutch pedal feels mooshy and light. I inspected the pedal but can't see any problems with it. The clutch is hydraulic and there is plenty of brake fluid in the reservoir. Thanks for any replies.


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

Apr 23, 2012, 5:47 PM

Post #2 of 9 (9817 views)
Re: Gears hard to engage and grinding Sign In

More than likely the clutch disc isn't disengaging all the way from the flywheel. This could be a mechanical problem with the clutch assembly or a hydraulic problem. You need to get under the vehicle and watch the clutch fork movement while someone presses down on the clutch pedal.



The sloppy shifter is probably from worn out shifter bushings. You can get the bushing kit from Toyota parts.


Quote
Also, the large bolt in the center of the four rear mounting bolts is so loose that I can turn it by hand.


Not sure what you mean here.





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(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Apr 23, 2012, 5:54 PM)


888qqq
Novice

Apr 24, 2012, 5:31 PM

Post #3 of 9 (9755 views)
Re: Gears hard to engage and grinding Sign In

The large bolt I'm talking about is in the center of the rear transmission mount or support-to-crossmember. There are four smaller bolts at each corner of the support and one large bolt in the center of the support that threads into the transmission. That large bolt is stripped and completely loose. If the rear transmission mount is not secure could that cause the gears to grind and be difficult to engage? There has recently been a clattering noise like metal hitting metal while the truck is stopped with the engine idling and at other times. Could the clattering be from the transmission being loose? Should I just buy a new rear mount bolt from Toyota and see if it will tighten in place or should I first try to clean the threading in the transmission with a thread cleaner (A reamer?). Hopefully only the bolt is stripped. If the threading in the transmission is also stripped should I take the truck to a shop to have a new mount bolt installed? Thanks again for any replies.


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

Apr 24, 2012, 5:42 PM

Post #4 of 9 (9750 views)
Re: Gears hard to engage and grinding Sign In

I don't think a loose transmission mount will cause your symptoms. It could be allowing the rear of the tranny to lift up and it's banging around on the bottom of the tunnel. There is an exhaust pipe clamp that bolts to the bellhousing that likes to fall off and makes your truck sound like jingle bells.

You would have to drop the cross member and pull the mount off to see if the threading is damaged. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to determine what is going on with the clutch first because if you have to remove the transmission for clutch component replacement, you can fix the mount at the same time.





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briando
User

Apr 25, 2012, 5:27 PM

Post #5 of 9 (9726 views)
Re: Gears hard to engage and grinding Sign In

i just got told by the hyundai dealer that something broke loose in my transmission and shredded the rest of it. there's 3800 dollars out of my pocket


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

Apr 26, 2012, 4:32 PM

Post #6 of 9 (9707 views)
Re: Gears hard to engage and grinding Sign In

Taking your old Toyota to Hyundai dealer???

I find that hard to believe. The tranny in your Toyota is fairly reliable. The clutch, clutch release, or pressure plate could of come apart.

How did they determine that the transmission came apart?

$3800?? That's way off





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.

(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Apr 26, 2012, 4:34 PM)


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Apr 28, 2012, 2:19 PM

Post #7 of 9 (9672 views)
Re: Gears hard to engage and grinding Sign In


Quote
i just got told by the hyundai dealer that something broke loose in my transmission and shredded the rest of it. there's 3800 dollars out of my pocket


This dude isn't even the OP. He just threw that nonsense in there.



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888qqq
Novice

May 9, 2012, 6:02 PM

Post #8 of 9 (9601 views)
Re: Gears hard to engage and grinding Sign In

The problem was the clutch but the bracket that the clutch pedal attaches to was broken as was the point where the bracket and firewall connect. The mechanic had to replace the bracket, make a U shaped piece of metal and weld it to the firewall, and connect the new bracket to that piece he made. Total bill was $1100 which was very reasonable because of the amount of time he spent on the job. I probably broke the bracket and where the firewall and bracket meet because I kept slamming down the clutch pedal to get the truck in gear. On the other hand a broken bracket or breakage where the bracket connects could have made it more difficult to get the truck in gear which could have damged the clutch, but the truck had 170,000 miles on the original clutch. Cars are purty complicated. It still grinds in reverse sometimes, but he thinks that could be caused by a bad master clutch cylinder. Someone lengthened a clutch cylinder rod or something like that to try and stop the grinding he thinks. I'm going to take the truck back to the same mechanic to diagnose whether the rear gear grinding is from a bad clutch cylinder, transmission synchros, or whatever. He was able to tighten up the large bolt in the rear transmission mount. Nothing was stripped. I guess it just came loose from vibration. Thanks for all the responses. This is a very helpful site.


(This post was edited by 888qqq on May 9, 2012, 6:04 PM)


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

May 9, 2012, 7:05 PM

Post #9 of 9 (9594 views)
Re: Gears hard to engage and grinding Sign In

Some grinding going into reverse is normal on those because reverse isn't synchronized.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.






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