How difficult is your 5spd to get into gear position?

[IwantMKIII]

I was curious how difficult it should be to get into gear. I drove newer manual cars and find putting the car into gear position is quite easy, like you could push it in with one finger. I find w/my 5spd its quite difficult. Sometimes its easy and smooth, most times moderate (not able to push in with a single finer), sometime rather hard (happens a lot w/reverse), very rarely impossible to put into gear. I find when its very difficult if i press in the clutch one or two more times it will fix the problem...is this a problem? If so, is it the master cylander (slave was replaced during rebuild), or is it the syncros in the trans?

Also, it takes almost no force to come out of gear, i don't even have to push the clutch. I'm not sure if thats normal or not its my first manual.

 

[hellraiser456]

how is it to shift with other gears

for all the manual cars i have driven...fifth gear should be about the same as all the other gears...in older cars its usually the easiest gear to jump into...being it is the least used gear...especially in spirited city driving.

i would first start off by checking the oil level and make sure the oil is good and up to level.

 

[IwantMKIII]

Reverse is most difficult by a good margin, then first, then third....4th and fifth gear are butter, fifth being easier though

 

[OneJoeZee]

Reverse is most difficult by a good margin

That's because the reverse is a straight cut gear with no synchro.

 

[2543arvin]

I have the same problem here, but havent had any grinded gears or anything, I just assumed it was okay...

 

[OneJoeZee]

Also, it takes almost no force to come out of gear, i don't even have to push the clutch. I'm not sure if thats normal or not its my first manual.

That's normal, sort of. Well, if you can pull it out of gear while you're accelerating, I would worry. If you're off the gas with little load, you can pull it out of gear though. You could put it into gear without the clutch as well if the revs/gear matched up just right. I used to do it under 1500 RPM sometimes driving home in CA 210 freeway traffic from work when I was really dead tired. I don't do it anymore and I wouldn't tell anyone else to do it. (but you can.:biglaugh: )

 

[zoppii]

Redline MT 90 will help smooth out the shifting quite a bit.

 

[Nalleywhacker]

it sounds normal to me. yeah shifting without a clucth= not fun i tried it a couple time in mine yeah never again!

 

[jtran8]

it's syncros ( 18 years old syncros wore out ). I used mobil 1 75w90 synthetic oil in my r154 for over a year and it shifted like crap on 1st gear, 2nd gear and reverse and that was on one year old stock clutch .A lot of people on this forum use MT90 oil , so recently i have ACT clutch along with MT90 oil and i can tell that it's shifted like butter in all gears . MT90 will solve your syncros problem .

 

[IwantMKIII]

where do you get MT90?

 

[jtran8]

They sell it over the places , but some one on this forum prefered SUMMITRACING.COM because it $8.99 /quart so that's where i got mine.

 

[IwantMKIII]

Since ive never had a MT before.....how do you change the fluid? i assume there is a drain plug but what about a fill?

 

[jtran8]

Through shifter . Search button will help on that too.

 

[OneJoeZee]

Take the shifter out, fill it from the hole.

 

[IwantMKIII]

Through shifter . .

i never wouldve guessed that

 

[billspreston01]

There's actually a drain plug and a seperate fill plug. Most just find it easier to fill through the shifter hole. Make sure you put the correct amount in

 

[YouGotSpooled]

Does anyone have the correct amount number of how much we need to put in?

 

[jtran8]

Toyota service manual say ( 3.2 quarts ) for R154 . just to make sure you drain it all out .

 

[starscream5000]

Fill til the oil level is flush with the filler hole on the side of the tranny.

 

[WhtMa71]

I just replaced my shifter bushings with a new cup and green truck bushing from Toyota as well as changing the fluid to mt90.It shifts a crap load better than it did before with worn out bushings and old dirty gear oil. Like night and day.