Buck01

I installed a 3 inch BL last weekend.

I cut the floor to make room for the shifter. Mostly the transfer case.
I cut the divider section out of the HOOP around the shifter.
I had to move everything back a few inches.

When I put the inner boot on shifting is very tough.

I removed it and just have the outer boot on there now.

That makes for more noise and dirty coming into the cab.

Does anyone have a better solution for this issue?

Thanks for time and suggestions.

spindleshanks

I think that by inner boot, you mean the one that is under the truck, right? (I would call that the outer boot). I flipped mine upside down when I installed my 2" BL and was able to shift again! Try inverting the heavy rubber boot that faces the bottom of the vehicle, and push the pointed top of it as far down the shifter as you can. Of course, I drive a Tacoma, and I'm just assuming things are similar on your 94. Hope this helps!

Buck01

I tried flipping the boot over. Still seemed pretty stiff to me. I am getting a shifter extension to bring it back to normal height. Maybe it just seems stiffer without the added leverage of the shifter?

Any other suggestions?

tc

Drivetrain lift.

(We're good at spending other people's money here!)

Bobakazi

It is not a leverage problem. I am sure it shifted great before, and also w/o the boot. So the boot is holding it stiff. Probably because where the shifter comes into the cab is different now than it was. Is it easy to shift into 1,3,5 but hard in 2,4,R? Or visaversa? You could look for a different boot, or make your own out of leather or something, if you like the height of the shifter now. The extension will bring it back up to stock height, and should solve the problem. You might have to do this on both shifters though.

Buck01

Bobakazi
It seems harder to get into 1st and 2nd actually. I think this has to do with the fact that I trimmed some off the side with the transfer case shifter. Then when mounting the boot it is pulled farther that direction.

TC
I am good at spending others money as well : )

Bobakazi

That totally makes sense. Have you tried removing the shifter from its seat, rotating it some, and putting it back together? It will be hit or miss, but you could try it several times and this might solve your prob.

spindleshanks

A shifter extension will not fix the problem. All it will do is return the top of the shifter to the same relative height, from the driver's perspective. The problem is this: OE, the transmission shifter has a bend in it which allows shifts into the odd-numbered gears without it contacting the gate. When you lifted the body up, you essentially left that curve in the shifter below, where it doesn't do its job. The shifter is now interfering with the gate. Adding an extension will leave the curve in the shifter right where it is. I've heard of people re-bending their shifter, but I'm not sure it's a good idea.

toyotaoffroad91

you can do what i did when i did a 5 speed swap on a 3 inch body lift and that was to get a leather boot console from a newer tacoma and it also gives ya a cup holder

Buck01

Spindleshanks

I am not sure what you mean when you say GATE? Are you talking about the opening in the floorpan?

Toyotaoffroad91

I like that idea. Do you have any pictures? What year tacoma did you get the console from?

toyotaoffroad91

I got the console off ebay but i think it was from a 98, also i did extend the transfer case shifter because it would bind in 4 lo under while flexing

Buck01

I like that. I checked ebay didnt see any consoles though. I will keep an eye out for one. Did you keep the rubber boots beneath that? Did you have to cut your floor pan?

toyotaoffroad91

well i swaped from an auto to 5 speed so i cut the tranny hump of the donor truck and riveted to mine. i kept the rubber boots flipped them upside down i think if you see a spot where it binds just slice it a little

CzViper07

I had this same problem on my 98 4runner w/ a 2" body lift. My solution was to remount the boots 2" below the body, putting them back where they were in relation to the transmission/transfer case before the lift.

Unfortunately I didnt take any pics...

The 98 4runner is set up like this:

A flat rubber plate with 2 round holes sits against the floor panel. one hole for each lever...the holes are designed so they sit against the rubber seals on the transmission/transfer case, keeping out dirt and noise.

Next comes the bigger rubber boot with the two cones.

On top of the two rubber pieces is the metal plate with the cross piece. This piece screws into plastic blind nuts in the floor panel holding it all down.

What i did was cut a 2" thick piece of foam board to match the shape of the metal plate. Then I cut the cross piece out of the metal plate. I drilled holes in the two boots, metal plate, and floor panel 1" forward so I could remount everything and still leave the blind nuts intact incase I ever wanted to go back to stock.

From Home Depot I picked up 4 3" hex bolts and the nuts/washers to go with them. Everything was remounted below the body in this order, bottom up: metal plate, flat rubber boot, rubber "cones" boot, 2" foam plate.

Getting all this in place required taking the shift levers off the transfer case/transmission, and a second person under the truck to position everything and help tighten the nuts.

I had the truck on a lift when I did the job making everything easier. the extra inch of space with your 3" lift should help a lot. The foam plate had to be trimmed where the lower ribs of the "cones" interfered.

Everything works great. Its sealed, quiet, and shifts like stock.

ironroad9c1

fix is simple ,take that crappy body lift off no need for any more lft that what you got now ,i have gone places in a stock toyota with 31's than most jeep guys with lockers and 35's .body lifts always are more troble than there worth ,time you get done screwing with everthing and getting everything to try and work right ,you have wasted your time,plus it just looks nasty ,nothing like a body jacked way up off the frame ,yuk. just do it the right way.

ME----> <------Body lifts

Buck01

Ironroad91

I like the body lift. I was afraid it would make it handle really bad like a jeep I did several years ago. That is not the case the ride is still good and body roll isnt bad at all.

I don't go wheelin so for me it is just to get a more agressive stance and bigger tires.

The BL is the cheapest way to go and the most reasonable.
I am not worried about wheel travel and things that might be of concern for offroad.
I want to clear bigger tires period.

Most of the things that had to be fixed were addressed with the lift kit.
Front Bumper brackets
Radiator brackets
that suff is all in the kit.

Would be nice if they had a solution for the shifter but they didnt.
So I will search and ask questions untill I work something out.

I am sure there are things that need to be addressed with any lift so this isnt a big deal to me. Since I can drive the truck. The shifter does work with the inner rubber boot removed. I just would like to have the boot in there to reduce dirt and noise.

my .02 cents worth.

CzViper07

Here are some pics of the fix i described above. The first two are from beneath the body. You can see the metal that used to be on top is now on the bottom holding the softer foam and rubber in place against the other side of the body. It was a tight fit under here but with a 2" or 3" body lift a second person should be able to line up the holes and hold the nuts in place. The third picture is from inside the truck. Notice how I drilled holes about an inch forward so I could leave the plastic blind nuts in place.

kdawghuntnfish

Hi, I am new to Yota tech so don't rip on me too bad. I am working on my second Toyota truck '90 reg cab short box 3" BL and I am going through the same situation with my shifter. When I purchased the truck there was no tranny/transfer case and the engine was in the box. I rebuilt the engine and it was fired off for the first time this Monday.

This brings me to the problem of the shifter boot on my newly installed tranny/transfer case. The shifter boot is binding. I like the 98 Tacoma console idea. Another idea I was contemplating was to lengthen the shifters 3". I agree with the previous post that to lengthen the shifters at the top will not help the situation. The shifter would need to be cut and lengthened at the base, before the bend. This would bring the start of the bend back to standard height above the floor of the truck. A good welding shop or friend with a welder should be able to use 1/2" rod to do this. The weld will be hidden with the original boot correctly installed. I haven't taken a good look at the transfer case so see if the same method would help, but in theory it should work to bring the T/C shifter back to the original location in the cab.

I have also seen transfer case shifter spacers that are available to do the same thing. There is also the option of a short throw shifter$$$