Transmission issues... - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

12-08-2002, 02:56 PM

To those of you with stick Cams, has this ever happened to you: On a cold morning, I always give the car time to warm up... but when I take the car out of gear to let it sit after just starting it, you can plainly hear gears gnashing. (This occurs after it's already in Neutral.) I know the fluid level is fine, the clutch is less than 5 months old, and I have no clue what the deal is. These S51 gearboxes suck! I also notice that it's impossible to engage First sometimes- but right now this happens rarely althought it troubles me. Bad synchro perhaps? Thanks in advance for your help. I hope the trans is OK because I have to dump a couple hundred dollars more in this ol' heap in the next month!

white90dx · 12-08-2002, 04:03 PM

I don't know what the gear sound in neutral could be. It might be related to the synchros though.

I also have a bit of trouble with first. Try putting it back into neutral, the taking out the clutch and trying again. Sometimes that work.

Now that you know your tranny is sensitive, just be careful with it. Do a little work on rev matching, don't downshift to slow down, etc. Treat it nice so you don't have to rebuild the tranny! That's what I'm doing until I can afford a new one myself... (on my way to a 3s-gte swap, I mean)

-Charlie

SpectraBlueCam · 12-08-2002, 05:31 PM

Toyota manual transaxles use 75W-90 gear oil as lubrication. So it's normal that your gears will grind a bit on cold mornings, if your tranny is a bit older. It happens on mine too.

That's why I just switched Castrol Syntec synthetic gear oil. Synthetic oil is supposed to be perform better in lower temperature range, even though it is the same 75W-90 viscosity. The best synthetic MT fluid one can buy is Redline.

1987camry · 12-08-2002, 10:00 PM

You might want to check the clutch slave cylinder fluid, mabye the system needs a bleeding (i. e.- the clutch isn't quite disengaging.)

Or:

When I start my car I usually hold the clutch down to start it, and i don't let go until I put it in gear (that way the input shaft isn't spinning). This helps especially with reverse.

Or:

If I have trouble putting the car in gear, I just let my foot off the brake, so the car can roll a little, and then put the shifter right in.

12-09-2002, 09:26 AM

Thanks for all the advice... this morning I started 'er up (in gear, of course) and with the clutch in and the car in gear (before I put it in Neutral) I got that grind again. Since this only occurrs on cold mornings I can only assume that this gearbox is a little cranky on colder mornings. As far as rev-matching and whatnot go, I don't do that stuff- when driving fast, I shift fast, but I really don't trust this shifter at all. Very sloppy! Would chopping 4" oof the top and rethreading it be a good idea?

Steve

white90dx · 12-09-2002, 12:53 PM

You can get a shortshifter from TWM Performance. Its made for the Celica (90-91), but it will work just fine. You will have to get an aftermarket shift boot (My momo boot is on order right now) but otherwise it works perfectly. They just raised the price though... When I heard people talking about it, it was about $100us, I got it for $130, and now the price is $150. At least it’s a quality product... You can also just cut down the shaft (you won't get a reduced throw angle though) and get an aftermarket knob and boot. Your choice.

-Charlie

***Ratko*** · 12-10-2002, 11:53 AM

dont worry 87Camry5Speed.. i have the E153 tranny, same one used in the MR2 turbo, and the same thing happens to me, except for the 1st gear problem your having. Im using Redline MT90 and i still get some grinding on cold morning on the 1-2 shift, but thats it... after 2 or 3 shifts, its ok. Or if i go through the gears for about 30 secs before i pull off, it usually prevents any grinding at all.... what do you expect when a piece of machinery is sitting for 12 hours.

latez.

white90dx · 12-10-2002, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ratko

dont worry 87Camry5Speed.. i have the E153 tranny, same one used in the MR2 turbo, and the same thing happens to me, except for the 1st gear problem your having. Im using Redline MT90 and i still get some grinding on cold morning on the 1-2 shift, but thats it... after 2 or 3 shifts, its ok. Or if i go through the gears for about 30 secs before i pull off, it usually prevents any grinding at all.... what do you expect when a piece of machinery is sitting for 12 hours.

latez.

Hey Ratko, how hard was it to change the side of the transmission that the shift linkage come in on? What's actually involved? I haven't been able to get a straight answer on this yet... Thanks!

-Charlie

***Ratko*** · 12-10-2002, 06:45 PM

no modification necessary. manual tranny V6 camrys from 92-00+ use the E153 tranny, which is the same transmission used in MR2 turbos. The only differences between the two are the orientation of the shift linkages, since one is obviously FWD and the other RWD, so instead of going through pointless hassle trying to modify an MR2 transmission (which would have been more expensive anyway), i just got the camry transmission which makes sense since the tranny mount and everything just bolted in.

make sense?

12-10-2002, 09:55 PM

Ratko- not saying I didnt expect it, but I never heard this noise in my Tbird which was a stick and hterefore it kind of disturbed me a little... at least its nothing to worry about. Thanks, all

Steve

white90dx · 12-11-2002, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ratko

no modification necessary. manual tranny V6 camrys from 92-00+ use the E153 tranny, which is the same transmission used in MR2 turbos. The only differences between the two are the orientation of the shift linkages, since one is obviously FWD and the other RWD, so instead of going through pointless hassle trying to modify an MR2 transmission (which would have been more expensive anyway), i just got the camry transmission which makes sense since the tranny mount and everything just bolted in.

make sense?

Of course it makes sense. I assumed you meant that you actually had an MR2 turbo transmission though. They are both designated the E-153 transmission, but there are a few differences. The synchros are stronger on the MR2, the linkage is different (obviously), the gearing is different (I believe), and after 1993, the MR2 turbo came stock with an LSD. So... anyway...

If I'm going to go through the hassle of swapping transmission (at least I already have a manual), I might as well get one that has the most heavy-duty stuff available. Then again, the E-153 tranny is heavier by a good deal compared to the E-53 tranny from the Celica GTS, so I may end up going with the lighter tranny and add an LSD if I need it... (If I get an MR2 rear clip, I'll get the tranny also... yet another thing weighing in on the decision)

88Camry5Speed, the extra noise and crunch is probably due to the tranny being worn. Mine has crunched in reverse for years, and sometimes does it in first. If it really starts to get worse, get it checked out, but otherwise, just be nice, and it will be nice to you.

-Charlie