[sshaif]

Hi there,

I am new to the website and the whole forum thing, so I appologize if this has already been posted (I did do a search though). I recently bought a used echo 2002 and its a manual transmission. Forgive my silly question but I am just learning to drive a standard so I don't konw the details of the mechanics of the vechicle, but I can drive it fairly well now.

My question is regarding the gears, is normal for the gear to feel stiff when passing into and out of neutral when shifting between gears? I can almost feel the joints being forced (kind of like my nuckles rubbing against each other...outch). Now I am sure I have the clutch all the way down so I don't think that is the issue. This appears to be an issue when shifting into any of the gears and even more so with the reverse.

As a comparison it feels quite a decent bit harder than changing gears in an automatic. I did have the vehicle checked by a mechanic before the purchase and he did not point this out, so I'm not sure if its just me being paranoid. Also any directions as to what the problem might be would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks a bunch in advance for any replies. I am really hoping this is nothing serious

 

[bgrieger]

If you are talking about the shifter giving resistance while you pull it from one gear to the next, yes, this is fairly normal. Some transmissions are smoother than others, and Toyota are well known as one of the "notchier" makes. As long as you don't get any crunches while doing it you are likely fine. What you are feeling is the resistance while the syncronizer rings catch up to one another. They are on each forward gear but first, and are spinning at different rates while you are rolling until you try to shift into the a gear, then they "syncronize" the speeds of the shafts during the shift so the gears mesh smoothly. It will resist until they match, and if they are worn they take a little longer and may make a painful crunching sound. You've probably heard this before going into reverse, which does not have a syncronizer. If you hear that in anything but first gear regularly, you might want to slow down the shift, or try changing the trans oil to something like a RedLine MTL or MT-90.

 

[thebarber]

the transmission fluid is likely cold and gummy giving you that extra stiff feeling in the shifting...just take it easy till warm weather....

 

[sshaif]

Great! thanks for the super quick response- I am relieved to hear that it is not out of the norm for manual transmissions. My vechicle is at arround 103K kms, I think I might consider investing in getting it serviced at Toyota for the first time (I bought it at a ford delearship and I don't know if they have done the needed maintainence).

Thanks again Bob and thebarber...this online thing is great! Great website! some great discussions and a lot of learned folks

 

[EchoEcho6]

I agree

My Echo is a 5 spd. standard and does the very same thing. I am told that for a Toyota it's normal. The reverse is not syncronized and a mechanic told me if you always put the car in 1st gear and then into reverse it will not grind. I tried it and it always works.