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Disengaging 1st gear problem

12K views 29 replies 6 participants last post by  XtRaSlo 
#1 ·
Hi, i have a 2006 manual Toyota Corolla and some times the gear lever gets stuck in 1st gear and it is difficult to get it out of there, this occurs for example when i get it out of first gear in the morning before starting the engine, it doesn't make any noises or grinding and i found out that if i move the lever in a circular motion while it is stuck in first it becomes easier to pull it out. This happens in traffic some times and it is very annoying, i can be stuck in first but after pulling it out and going through the gears with the leaver the problem disappears and it is very easy to shift in and out for some time maybe even days, and then the problem comes back and so on. Could it be the gear box or the shift linkage and bushings ?
 
#6 · (Edited)
I'd start by replacing the fluid which should be done every 40,000 miles. You only need 2 quarts to drain and refill.

http://www.woodsbrosracing.com/amsoil/mtg.htm

You could also back off the rubber boot from your cable ends behind tranny to clean and grease them up. The front fore and aft cable end was ingesting water on mine, causing it to oxidize and stick. I sanded it down clean, ran some penetrating oil up the cables, packed some grease in, then secured the front cable boot back on with zip-tie.

I also have to service the selecting bellcrank once in a while... After unhooking the shifter cables, remove and open your selecting bellcrank assembly (by removing its rubber cap, lock nut and washer) which is bolted on top of your tranny, to clean out the rust and grease it up. Grease its square bushing at bottom too, and be careful not to lose it.
 
#7 ·
I'd start by replacing the fluid which should be done every 40,000 miles. You only need 2 quarts to drain and refill.

http://www.woodsbrosracing.com/amsoil/mtg.htm

You could also back off the rubber boot from your cable ends behind tranny to clean and grease them up. The front fore and aft cable end was ingesting water on mine, causing it to oxidize and stick. I sanded it down clean, ran some penetrating oil up the cables, then secured the front cable boot back on with zip-tie.

I also have to service the selecting bellcrank once in a while... After unhooking the shifter cables, remove and open your selecting bellcrank assembly (by removing its rubber cap, lock nut and washer) which is bolted on top of your tranny, to clean out the rust and grease it up. Grease its square bushing at bottom too, and be careful not to lose it.
Thank you very much, i will try that :)
 
#8 ·
What gear oil do you guys recommend ? I have 2 L of Mobilube HD 80w-90 GL-5 gear oil

that i heard is good but it worries me that on the back it says that the oil is for heavy duty trucks and machinery and my car manual says to use 75w-90 should i take it back and buy a 75w-90?
 
#12 ·
Redline MT-90 is made in USA... In Denmark, you might also find TOTAL Transmission LX 75W-90 GL-4, Motul Gear 300 75W-90 GL-5, ENEOS (Nippon) Premium Multi Gear 75W-90 GL-5, Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle 75W-90 GL-4, or Castrol Syntrans Tranxaxle 75W-90 GL-4.
 
#15 ·
So i went to my mechanic to change the break disks and i asked him to change my gearbox oil and grease and spray the end cables. He opened the gearbox drain plug and to my surprise the oil was like new, fresh color, no burned smell. He changed it with the Castrol Syntrans 75w-90 i bought. From the very first i felt that the shifts were more soft but not by much and i didn't have the problem of the gear lever getting stuck in 1st gear, i was happy. The next day i went to work i took it out of first gear before starting the car in the morning all good and after half an hour of driving at a stop light it happened again, it was hard getting the shifter out of first and into neutral it is definitely not as hard as it was before the oil change but something is still not good, i started experimenting with this when it happened (again it happens very rarely and when its ok the shifting out of first is as smooth as butter) and i found out that when it is stuck, while still keeping my foot on the clutch i rev the engine just a bit and it gets unstuck and i can shift it to neutral easily. Is this a sign that the syncro ring is bad on the first gear ? (i don't hear any grinding noise or sound what so ever from the gearbox) or maybe it could be my clutch ??
 
#16 · (Edited)
You can start by bleeding your clutch release cylinder to allow any air out, and let some clean fluid back in from your brake fluid reservoir on the master cylinder... You just need to loosen the bleed fitting and let it drip out a bit while holding a small container underneath, then retighten. It's on the front, just close below your throttle body... It's probably hard to pull out of 1st gear because of the clutch not disengaging fully.
 
#18 ·
The temps are -5 to +8 Celsius so its not that cold. My clutch master cylinder is making very annoying sounds when i press the clutch pedal. I tried greasing it 3 times now with lithium grease, the sound disappeared only for a day then came back so i guess i have to replace the cylinder and i will bleed the clutch then. Thanks again for all the answers.
 
#20 ·
Your clutch release cylinder should only need to be bled... This should help:

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...ntiac-vibe-squeaky-clutch-noise-fix-pics.html

How does your clutch feel and operate otherwise, when depressing the pedal and also when engaging it in 1st gear?
I feel it's a bit worn out but maybe its just me. When you start in 1st i have to hold the clutch at the engaging point for a while (2-3 meters) or the car will have a shaky start and so is 2nd gear, but then again maybe thats ok because i drove only diesels before this. Its hard to put it in first only when the car has some speed, even 5 km/h but i heard thats normal too. Other then that the clutch seems ok.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I went to bleed the clutch, i sprayed some wd-40 on the slave bleeder valve, attached a 6mm tubing to it and while the pedal was pressed i was opening the valve, dark black liquid was coming out, i continued opening and closing after pedal was up again 10 - 15 times, when yellow fluid was starting to come out i noticed air bubbles so while making sure i still have fluid in the reservoir i continued to bleed it, then i went to press the clutch pedal and now it has no resistance at all .... the fluid in the reservoir is almost to the max line and the clutch has no pressure its not even pressing the clutch fork .... Idk what should i do now, i cant even drive it to the mechanic ) Any ideas ? Maybe it has an air pocket inside and it refuses to take fluid from the reservoir or maybe i have air in the slave cylinder because now i can push it in with my fingers.
 
#23 ·
OK, you weren't supposed to press the pedal. It can be bled by gravity alone... Open the bleed fitting just enough to let it bleed while pressing pedal by hand slowly in and out repeatedly, with only about 2 inch strokes until you start feeling more resistance. Close fitting and check pedal feel. Open bleed valve again slightly to let out any air for a few seconds without pressing pedal, and close the bleed fitting.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I went and tried that, but the pedal didn't get any harder, how long should i do this ? (nothing was coming out of the valve) At the end i think i have done a very stupid thing, i pressed the slave cylinder with the valve wide open, some fluid came through the tubing out then i released the slave cylinder and the fluid got sucked in, when i pressed it the second time (trying to close the valve with the fluid outside) nothing came out, i think i made it worse now ... is there anything i can do now ... or have i done enough damage already ? :(
 
#25 ·
I'm not sure what you're doing now. It did happen to me once a long time ago when changing out all the fluid. I managed to get it back pretty quick somehow, with slow strokes of the pedal that were gradually shallower, by foot and with the bleed fitting open just enough... It's when you release the pedal too quickly that it sucks air back in at the bleed valve, so release the pedal very slowly when pumping it to bleed.
 
#27 ·
Ok, so i attached a 6mm tube, opened the valve and when the pedal is pressed air is coming out, so i guess the master cylinder is pumping, and then i inspected the master cylinder reservoir and ...

I think something is blocking fluid in the reservoir and even if it is on the max line it doesn't go in the clutch compartment ...
 
#28 · (Edited)
So apparently the brake fluid goes in the clutch master cylinder if its filled over the max line, i filled it up and bled the clutch, the pedal pressure felt ok but it was even harder to shift out of gears even second one. I went to a mechanic he bled the clutch again by pressing on the slave cylinder, after that it felt like a new car the shifts were smooth there was no rocking after gear change from 1 to 2 and 3rd smooth as butter, and no more gear stuck in 1st after, hope that fixed it and the problem wont come back ... Thanks a lot for the tip to bleed the clutch invader.
 
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