• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Toyota 5-Speed

Share this page

OP
R

RDKeysor

Jedi Trainee
Bronze
Country flag
Offline
My '60 BN7 came fitted with a W-series Toyota 5-speed gear box. A decade ago I discussed in this forum my effort to solve a shifting problem that turned out to be a missing nylon/plastic bushing in the shifter tower. After years of excellent service, yesterday I encountered a new issue. After driving about eight miles, I found I could not shift into 5th gear. The lever came up hard against something when I made the move to the right. I've always found that shift a bit challenging to get right, but suddenly the lever could not push into 5th. I had to make the remainder of my drive home in 4th.

Here's a likely diagnostic clincher: at home I discovered I had exactly the same problem trying to get into reverse gear. The lever came up hard against something and did not engage. I'm pretty sure this requires an adjustment to the shifter mechanism. Can this be done through the shift tower, or by removing the top assembly, etc?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
First check is to see if the shifter is hitting the side of the tunnel hole.
Second , I am not sure as the Toyota shift pedestal has about 4 different models and some are offset so you can't see into the transmission without taking the tunnel off.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Jerry said:
First check is to see if the shifter is hitting the side of the tunnel hole.
Second , I am not sure as the Toyota shift pedestal has about 4 different models and some are offset so you can't see into the transmission without taking the tunnel off.
Click to expand...
I understand what is meant by “the shift pedestal,” meaning the structure atop the tranny from which the shift lever emerges. I haven’t had a look at the transmission in 10 years, but am guessing the tunnel referred to is a removable “lid” stop the gear box. Thanks for responding.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I have been looking on You Tube and Google but intend to check one of the Toyota truck owner sites. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The car is fixed. A contributor on another British car forum suggested I call a Minnesota firm called Midwest Transmission. He said he had spoken to someone at that company and it had been beneficial. So, I found the company's telephone number on Google, called, spoke to an employee, told him the problem, can't get into 5th or reverse on my "Smitty" Toyota gear box conversion. He tells me, it's the shifter bushing. I had declined to investigate that obvious possibility because I had put a Toyota OEM bushing in the car, a '60 BN7, after acquiring it in 2013. I'll spare you all of the details, but I eventually pulled the shifter and found nothing but some greasy bits and a rubber ring. These bushings are two pieces adhered together, a rubber ring on the bottom, cup-like piece on top of that that receives the upper ball on the shifter. That part was the greasy scrap I found in the shifter. I then went to the Toyota dealer, bought the part, about $20, put it in and eureka. For good measure, I also added the little plastic boot at the bottom of the shifter. I intend to order what I'm told is a better bushing from one of the firms that caters to Toyota transmission users. Marlin Crawlers is the name of such a seller, according to a forum contributor. Also, you can find very good videos of this fix on You Tube and likely on Google. Thanks to those who offered suggestions.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Back
Top