hey guys first post

i was given a 87 (160k miles) base longbed as a gift and I'm trying to do all the maintenance before i begin to drive it.
the one thing that has me worried is its hard to put in gear and the trans grinds when i put it in reverse. the engine oil was the worst I've seen.... thick black syrup so i know this truck has been neglected unfortunately and i doubt the trans has ever been drained.

I've read that Red line mt90 is best but expensive. I willl buy that but i would like to do a flush of some sort. For the engine I changed the oil with some cheap 10w40 and ran that for 20 minutes around town and did another oil change with some castrol 10w40.
It was black as heck after 20 minutes but i know it cleaned out that crap that was inside from the other oil.
i would like to do the same with something cheap on the transmission and then do a 2nd fill with the Red line oil.
can you guys recommend a cheap oil that i can run for 20-30 minutes around town without causing damage to the fragile syncros?
Oh yeah, what about doing the same to the rear diff?

thanks guys. looking forward to working on this truck. I just received a couple boxes from Rock auto

 

Sta-lube GL-4 at parts place or hardware store or farm supply store. I wouldn't waste money on any expensive specialty lube product for a Toyota pickup. About the gear change problems...check here re clutch pedal bracket metal fatigue/crack/tear/flex. Mine had it. replaced bracket and some nylon bushing in the top part of the trans where the lever fits in. 177,000 miles and the 5speed shifts smooth as butter, if I don't try to rush a shift, and let the synchros do their job. Fluid was probably replaced or topped up when I had the slipping clutch replaced at about 170,000 miles. For sure it was just plain old 90W gear oil. Check the "stickys for common problems and fixes.

 

Sounds like your clutch pedal bracket is broken. This is a very common problem with these trucks.

 

I'll look into that, Thank you guys

 

I don't know if I'm stating the obvious or not but there is no syncro for reverse so a certain amount of grind is normal. Shifting from a dead stop after the trans has had a second to wind down should not make anything more than gear movement noises though. My experience is with an R150 but I doubt that changes anything.

 

Well I checked and i didn't see any crack

you guys think i can shorten the linkage for the clutch to fix this?

 

I did see a previous owner cut the clutch safety switch (???) and tied the wires together so I don't have to push in the clutch to start the engine...... lazy ass people. now i need to fix that too.

 

Yesterday the red line mt90 was $76 on amazon/ summit. Right now it's $64 shipped. I just bought one gallon
I originally went on amazon for the Sta-lube GL-4 but since the price dropped, why not

 

Removing that clutch safety is the first thing I do.

Maybe it was one of my old Toyota`s

If You feel you need it by all means fix it

 

I have my 6 year old son that loves to work on cars ad much as me.
Since my e-brake cable is currently broken , my truck is always in gear. I just received the new replacement yesterday.

Why do you cut the wires to that? Easier starting or just one less thing to worry about that will keep your truck from starting?

 

Even if the bracket is OK, it could be your clutch is low on fluid or the pedal is out of adjustment. It definitely sounds like a clutch not releasing fully to me.

 

I'm supposed to get my red line Trans fluid on Friday so after I change it, if the problem doesn't go away then I'll adjust the clutch linkage.
If the clutch is not fully releasing it would make it hard to put in gear?

 

I just changed all 4 shocks, the e-brake cable and the 3 brake hoses. Fun fun fun

 

Absolutely. The synchronizers will do their best to prevent going into gear until the gears stop, and if the clutch isn't releasing the gears never will stop. Reverse, since it isn't synchronized, will just grind.

If you haven't checked your clutch fluid, do that first. Might be all you need to do is fill it up.

Does the clutch feel like it goes most of the way to the floor before there's much resistance?

 

free play and the engagement point of the clutch is what's important.

if it's grabbing when the pedal is near the floor, something isn't right.

so adjust the free play per the manual, and see where the engagement point is... there is also a nylon(?) gasket type of thing that the shifter ball rides on, that will probably need replacing.

that said, i have a rebuilt marlin crawler trans, and it's no dream to drive... i have the clutch arm under the dash extended so far to achieve minimal free play that only a few threads are engaged, the engagement point is up near the top of the pedal travel, and i still can't shift it too fast, or it'll grind.

the system is designed so that there is far too much free play at the slave cylinder end, and no way that i know of to adjust some of it out there, because the rod is not adjustable, so that free play has to be taken up by pedal travel instead.

 

Sorry, I don't understand this.....

 

Would you happen to have a part number or a link to where I can get one? Dealer only?

Thanks for the help guys
I need to drive it more so I can trouble shoot this problem.
I now have my 3 radiator hoses. I'd like to replace those before I drive it again.
I just saw the weather forecast...... damn

 

I think he is asking if the clutch pedal feels spongy, like there is air in the line.

Air in the hydraulic line would cause your symptoms.

 

flushing the old fluid out and bleeding it is a good idea.

here is that part, not sure which one you'll have: https://www.marlincrawler.com/transm...avy-duty-seats

i can remember bakersfield being 99* at midnight :-0 it can only get worse from here, lol

 

Sweet! Thanks for the link OSV
I have a friend that's supposed to come over tomorrow and help me flush my brake lines and I'll ask him to help me flush the clutch line while we're at it.
He's a older mechanic that had this same truck many years ago.

So I need the red shift lever seat for sure since I have a 87 but what about the shift lever bushing/socket? My shifter does have a lot of play . How do I know if I need it or would I be fine with just the seat?
Thanks guys