bobby515

hi all first post i had this trk only 3 months not my first toyota, when i shift from 2nd to 3rd the shifter slips back to netrual, they i push clucth in and put in 3rd and it ok most of the time...
truck has 124k on it i feel the clutch felt weild when i got it but i am used to it any ideas thanks
bob philly

Bobakazi

Mine did the same thing. I found in my case that the culprit was the cosmetic boot around the gear shifter in the cab. It was providing to much tension on the stick and popping it out of gear. I made a slit in the bottom layer of the boot, and now it does not happen anymore. To see if this is the case with yours, I would first remove the boot, (pull back the carpet and remove a few screws), and see if it stays in gear now while driving. If it stays in gear, it is the boot.

Caffeine

It's a very common problem. You probably have a shifter seat that needs replacing:

Pick a link:
http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/shifter/
http://www.brian894x4.com/Shifter.html
http://www.4runners.org/articles/shift/

Nic

I second checking out the shift lever seat and bushing. Very easy to check and replace, and it can cause the transmission to pop out of gear. Mine was not that bad when I replaced it, but after I did, it helped the shifting considerably. Unfortunately, my friends 93 truck was popping out of gear. (before I knew about the seat and bushing trick) He took it to the dealer and they charged him almost $250.00 to put a new shift lever seat in. Takes about 10 minutes to check-a little longer to put in, but not much.

bobby515

i will check it out and order the parts, they are cheap and i got knoting to lose i think you are right and thanks my problem

bobby515

if my trans were bad???i think its not, i see that site sells rebuilt gearboxes, how hard are they to install...i am no rookie, but am getting older and tired of working on things ,but if labor is really high. i fix it if i am busy and my buddy has a small shop and inspection , i will say put brakes on my truck while you inspect it he will charge me little never screw me, but this shifter bushing he wont even think about that hes a frind who has a honest loyal following who is busy all the time..if i were stuck he would.
thanks bob
i am just a worst case senero guy, worst case gearbox thinking

Nic

I recommend trying the shifter bushing and seat and see if it fixes it. It's a very easy thing to do. My friends, who had the worn shifter seat really thought he had major problems too and it was just that. I can't guarantee it will fix yours, but it sounds like the same exact thing he went through.