Popping out of Gear... ouch!!

[wwmustang]

My daughter has a 95 Celica ST 1.8 manual transmission.

It has been leaking gear oil from the axle seals for a few weeks.

I have not had a chance to replace them, so it has kept leaking (my bad).

Just the other day she tells me that when driving on the highway, it will pop out of 5th gear into neutral. She said it would stay in 5th if you hold the stick.

I drove the car last night and it happened to me. I drove the rest of the way home in 4th at 3,500 rpm.

Finally the question...could it being low on gear oil be the cause of the problem?

Could the gear get over heated and pop loose?

Is there something else that is causing this problem?

I am going to drain the oil and replace the seals tonight.

Any help is appreciated.

[tankd0g]

Originally Posted by wwmustang

My daughter has a 95 Celica ST 1.8 manual transmission.

It has been leaking gear oil from the axle seals for a few weeks.

I have not had a chance to replace them, so it has kept leaking (my bad).

Just the other day she tells me that when driving on the highway, it will pop out of 5th gear into neutral. She said it would stay in 5th if you hold the stick.

I drove the car last night and it happened to me. I drove the rest of the way home in 4th at 3,500 rpm.

Finally the question...could it being low on gear oil be the cause of the problem?

Could the gear get over heated and pop loose?

Is there something else that is causing this problem?

I am going to drain the oil and replace the seals tonight.

Any help is appreciated.

Unfortunatley what has happend is the low gear oil has burned out the bearing the 5th gear assembly turns on and now it has a lot of slop in it and won't stay engaged. 5th is always the one to suffer here because it's at the top of the transmission where even a little oil lost will leave it high and dry. It's not a real expensive fit especailly since you're probably going to have it apart to put the axle seals in anyway. I don't have the procedure for your transmission specifically but here it is to fix one on a Rav4. http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopi...light=5th+gear

[Your Uncle Moe]

Omg that is so dangerous. NEVER run a car low on gear oil. I learned my lesson the hard way. EVER HAVE A center Differential lock up on you on the highway?? Its not pretty! I thought I was going to die. Thank god I didn't have anyone around me at the time.

[wwmustang]

Your link to the RAV4 site is awsome.

I am planning on swapping out the gear soon.

I found the parts (gear, sleeve and needle bearing) for about $185.

I will keep you posted on how it goes.

[wwmustang]

I finished the 5th gear swap last night.

It went really well. The RAV4 site Tank posted helped alot.
I read the site so many times, I had memorized it (pretty sad eh).
The Celica trany was not exaclty like the Rav4, but close enough to make the repair.

It took about 2.5 hours total, not including a dinner break.

I used a harmonic balancer puller to pull the hub off of the shaft.
The tip on the M12x70x1.5 bolt for pushing the hub back on was great.

I waited overnight and put oil in this morning.

I drove the car to work today, seven miles on the highway. stayed in 5th the entire way.

I will turn the car back over to my daughter this evening.

Tank.... thanks again for the post and link, I could not have done the repair without it.

[IvanHoe]

I got a question concerning gear oil levels...........my gear oil flows out of the filler plug hole pretty fast when I pull out the the filler plug bolt.....do you think that the gear oil level is different when the car is cold compared to a little bit warm from a recent run? I know ATF expands when heated, but Im not sure of gear oil.

[wwmustang]

I don't know for sure, but I would think it expands a little.

I think if it flows out of the filler plug, then you have the right amount in there.

As a little experiment, check the level when cold, go for a drive and check it again.

[IvanHoe]

I over tightened the filler plug and caused a slight crack in the case .......I got some JB weld and Im letting it set as we speak....I took another aluminum washer and mounted it with JB to the hole for further strength.....I should know better then to overtighten into aluminum........The JB Im sure will do just fine, but I still feel like an ass!!