Yeah, go at the front facing one from the front of the truck. I used a bunch of mixed 3-6" extensions to go at it from the front. The multiple extensions provided a little bit of flex so I could get my g/f to snake the end onto the bolt.

 

This happens to me all the time, i just put the clutch in, pull it out, then put it in reverse and its fine. If im lazy i just put the clutch in once and it grinds a bit....

 

The grinding has happened on all stick shift trucks I've driven. Is there a way to keep it from doing this? It is annoying having it grind while going into reverse without first putting it in a forward gear.

 

I went through something similar not long ago, after a new slave, master, and a couple of hoses, I dropped the tranny to replace the clutch itself, and found that the pilot barring had dissenigrated, and the pieces of it were grabbing the input shaft and not allowing complete disssengegment.
So a new clutch solved it, I could have put in a new pilot barring, but since I had it apart, and the parts on hand I put in a whole new cluch

 

my truck almost always tries to grind when im puttin it in reverse and first is kind of a bitch too...but for reverse usually going quickly from 2nd gear into reverse allows it to go in smoothly. obvuously while stopped.

 

Wow i thought all yotas grinded when it was put into reverse. Guess my grinding isn't normal. lol

 

Reverse NEVER has a synchronizer, so it's going to happen if you're not fully stopped.

 

Could that grinding be the result of that 3" PERFORMANCE BODY LIFT you have?(the shifter touching the tunnel corners)......or maybe you have a worn out shifter base grommet?

 

It always happens even if I'm fully stopped. Has on my '96 sidekick and now on my truck. My aunt had it happen on her Jeep too, even when fully stopped. Maybe my family is just bad luck with standard transmissions.

When I said putting it into a forward gear, I meant still stopped. I can stop, try and put into reverse and it grinds. Put it straight up into 3rd gear, and then back down to reverse and it slides right in.

 

Did he check for the clutch pedal bracket flexing because the metal has cracked? Common problem and that's exactly what was causing mine to be hard to get into gear and to pop out of gear. Shop installed a new bracket and also replaced a bushing in the top of the transmission.

"Grinding" going into reverse gear: My '65 Chevy 4-spd did it, as did every other car I've ever owned with a standard trans. New Corolla does it, unless I shift it into a forward gear first. Its automatic: when shifting to reverse; car has to be at a dead stop; shift into second; then shift easily into reverse. My '89 Toy pickup is particularly sensitive on this--sometimes even have to roll back or froward just a little to get into reverse. Slamming the shifter from one gear to another is just ignorant...or stupid.

MY $0.02

 

99% of the time it will grind a bit...this is normal. Things are always turning in there when the clutch is out. Push in the clutch and things slowly slow down. Put in in first or second stops the parts from moving then hit R and it should not grind. I have owned numerous manuals and have driven more they all did this. just like TN said, no sync...

sometimes i have to let the clutch out and try again...let it drift every so little...

 

That's TWICE this question has been asked & ignored. That was my first inclination but since it was already asked I didn't say anything. This is a VERY common problem!

 

Check the bracket!

All toyotas I have driven have been finiky when shifting into reverse. Shifting into 2nd gear right before reverse cures the problem. Its second nature to me That or having to let the clutch out a smig to slip it into gear...

 

let me start with by thanking everyone again for all the helpful advice and assistance.

as it turns out and as a few of you, most specifically jay, have said the bracket that holds my clutch and brake pedals was cracked. i didnt notice it until i had already almost completely had my trans. out, except the one bolt on my starter. it wasnt a noticeable crack when the bracket was installed, but when i pulled it i found it had been welded before and it cracked between the welds... go figure

also the shifting into reverse problem, i guess i should have been more clear and said that it was more that average grinding. i literally had to slow the gear down with the shifter for a couple long seconds of hard grinding the first couple times before i started to just turning off my truck to switch to reverse.

i wound up learning the hard way as usual and all i did was re-weld the bracket to all my shifting and starting problems were fixed.

 

Im glad you where able to find and fix the problem

Good thing you had trouble removing that starter bolt, the toyota gods took it easy on you

defantly shouldve specified the amount of grinding, but the problem is solved so who cares!

 

i diddnt know what you were talking about in your first post, when i did look under the dash i didnt notice break in the bracket so i looked straight to the clutch assembly after bleeding and inspecting the lines.