truck specs:
3rd gen 4runner
5spd manual
80K miles


I've been having two problems with my rig:

1st- Every once in a while when i shift from neutral to 1st gear and begin to accelerate, it pops out of gear and I hear a loud bang.

2nd - when I'm slowing down to under 5mph and have the clutch and brake pressed in, sometimes I hear a lound thunk noise and feel a jerk...not sure what the hell it is - thinking the 3rd member or something...

has anyone else experienced this or does anyone know whats wrong? any help would be much appreciated

thanks!
trevor

 

Bump!

How does everything feel other then the sounds? tight? Loose?

 

Any recent work on it?

Has the maintenance been performed regularly? (Trans fluid)

Have you noticed a decrease in the slave cyl reservior?

 

It feels pretty loose...I've been towing quite a bit lately and using the 4wd and it all just doesnt seem to feel that great. every morning when i put it in reverse going out of the driveway, I hear a click, but I was thinking it was the brakes the brakes are a whole new issue. (when I brake hard going down steep hills it slips for a second and grinds, pads look okay though but rotor may need resurfacing)

there's been no recent work on it as far as I know, I just bought it about 6k miles ago and changed the tranny fluid to Amsoil synthetic.

I've been monitoring the slave cylinder and it has not lost any fluid...

One thing I forgot to mention is that it rolled going about 60MPH with 4wd engaged about 1000 miles ago :pat: , but I noticed these problems before that

As far as the 2nd problem, it almost feels like i'm gettign rearended when this happens

"2nd - when I'm slowing down to under 5mph and have the clutch and brake pressed in, sometimes I hear a lound thunk noise and feel a jerk...not sure what the hell it is - thinking the 3rd member or something..."

thanks for the help!

 

You rolled it? As in shiny side down?

 

no it actually rolled once and landed on its tires... no damage to the engine what so ever.... it happened in about 8ft of snow, so I was able to drive it afterwards, just had a caved in roof

 

60 in 4x4? thats not good is it?

 

i dont think its bad as long as your in 4hi...but with the snowy conditions it was bad for my Girlfrined to be driving that fast in the first place....from hearing me rant about toyota 4x4's for the last 5 years she thought she could do anyhting ...her cockyness is now humbled and she only drives her camry now

 

I had a 2nd gen pickup that poped out of first. It had 225,000 miles on it had been used for towing for a few years. I just got used to holding it into first as a accelerated. It felt real slopy and needed to be replaced or re-built. Once they are worn and don't stay in gear, new trany fluid will only slow wear down but it won''t fix the damage already done.

 

I dont know if I agree with the last post. On some vehicles, the plastic bushing at the base of the shifter wears out, causing the car to pop out of gear. It happened on our Maxima. I am just not sure about 3rd gens. I have never heard of this problem on a 3rd gen.

 

Popping out of gear means time for a rebuild. A BANG from the tranny is never a good sign. Start saving up and hope it lasts you until you can get around to replacing it.

 

One positive out of all this, is that 3rd gen 5-speeds are generally priced pretty fairly. I saw one on ebay a while back going for $350.

 

OK this is an easy one, either your first gear syncro is worn or shift fork, usually from someone hard shifting. If it happens every once in a while, I wouldn't worry too much, just keep your hand on the shifter when accelerating. You may want to try and replace the gear oil, I recommend Redline MT-90; http://www.myoilshop.com/AutoPrds.html


Check your driveshaft u-joints

 

Bruce is right, grease the driveshaft slip joint and that bang will go away completely. It would be a good idea to do all the zerk fittings while you are under there too.

 

I have a trany out of a 90 p-up u would have to re build it but if u want it make a offer.

 

I think that its probably your shifter bushing and seat. Mine used to pop out of first gear, when it did that it made a loud bang as well. I replaced those parts and it hasn't bothered me since.

 

I was going to also say that it might be the bushing and seat. I have already replaced mine because it was getting hard to shift. My friends 93 pick-up was popping out of gear and thats what it was. He replaced it and now its ok.

 

OOP's forgot about that!

While the shifter is out, it's a good time to change the oil.....

 

Thansks for all the good advice, besides replacing the tranny, it seems like I've got a pretty quick and easy fix ahead of me...I'll do the tranny only if the other suggestions dont work...I was really hoping someone would tell me I needed to replace the rear diff so i could justify throwing in a locker...oh well someday.....

thanks again!!!

 

You don't happen to have a body lift over 2" do you?