jpluddite

Howdy folks. This looks like a great site. I hope you can help.

I live in central PA near Lebanon and just bought an 89 Toyota pickup (4x4, 22R-E, 5 speed).

I bought it from a mechanic in Easton whose shop is an official PA inspection station. It has 119K miles on it; the motor is tight, the clutch is new, and there's almost no rust. BUT, on the way home, I couldn't find 4th gear--it was like neutral.

The mechanic warned me as I was leaving that I should change the fluids because you have to hold the shift lever in place for a moment or two when you shift into 3rd (or else it pops out). He was right about that. But 4th gear doesn't seem to exist. If I try to hold it in place, it starts to grind. [He changed the clutch/flywheel 3K miles ago and said the transmission was fine--that's why he thinks it's the fluids.]

He called me back immediately when he got my voicemail about it but said 4th had worked for him. Since 5th gear works fine, he still thinks I should change the fluids and that that should solve the problem.

What do you guys think? If this turns out bad, do you know of any Yota truck mechanics in my part of the world?

I'll appreciate any guidance you can offer.

Thank you,

jp

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

Ummmmm. Crawl under there and find your fill plug on your tranny. Unscrew it and fluid should slowly come oozing out. If none comes out carefully (don't cut yourself) stick the tip of your finger in the fill whole to see if there is even fluid in it.

I would not drain it till you confirm at least there is fluid in it. If their is no detectable fluid in it then call him and say wtf. Just my first gut response. They only hold like 4 quarts ish.

Swimmerboy2112

iTrader: (2)

You are VERY close to me. I can give you a hand changing fluids, etc

I have a garage and all that.

aztoyman

Does the shifter flop around? Maybe you just need a new shifter seat bushing. If so, get the good ones from Marlin Crawler.

Fluids shouldn't keep it from shifting unless too thick in cold weather or no oil and trans damaged.

If trans is bad it will not be a cheap fix. Up to you how to deal with the seller.

Like fishguy said, check the level. Then get a clean drain pan and pull the drain plug to see if the oil is clean or metallic from a failure. Hopefully no chunks on drain plug either.

jpluddite

Thanks for the responses guys.

Given that the motor is tight and the rest of the truck seems well maintained, I'm hoping the transmission is fine.

I'll definitely check the fluids. In the meantime I'll start looking for a shifter seat bushing.

If things don't go well, I may visit your garage Swimmerboy2112.

Thanks all.

SPARKS89

iTrader: (1)

I have the exact truck as you. Last summer I was experiencing the same thing and I had to replace my transmission. 4th gear would not stay in and if I tried to hold it in gear it would only grind and fight me til it popped out. I had metal shavings all over the inside of the transmission and 4th gear was nowhere to be found. New shifter seats from Marlin Crawler are definitely the way to go, like astoyman said, but I don't see how low fluid or bad shifter seats would case it to feel like 4th gear isn't even there.

I'd find out if there's any fluid and check the condition of it, since he says that's the problem, then I'd go talk to him about selling you a truck with a bad transmission.

jpluddite

Hey Sparks89, how many miles did your truck have on it when the transmission crashed? How much did it cost to repair?

SPARKS89

iTrader: (1)

I had just over 200,000 miles when I replaced mine (201,xxx I think). All my other gears were fine, but 4th was shot. The new transmission came from High Gear Transmission (highgeartransmission.com) in Tennessee and it was an even $1,000. That included shipping the new one to me and shipping my old one back to them. I think the cost of the transmission itself was around $750 and if I remember correctly they charge an extra $250 if they don't get the old one back for the core charge. The gave me a one-year unlimited mileage warranty and they do VERY good work.

I also replaced the clutch set and rear main seal one the engine while I had the transmission out.

jpluddite

Hi again.

Does anyone know where I can get my paws on an owners manual for a 1989 Toyota 4x4 Pickup? Even better, I'd like to get a shop (repair) manual.

I'll appreciate any leads.

Thanks,

aztoyman

Most, if not all the links for free FSM downloads have been taken down. I bought used ones off Amazon and EBay pretty cheap.

yotaman107

At about 130k the shifter in my 89' 4x started to pop out of third gear at random just driving down the road. Checked all the simple solutions with no luck. (I used to put about 15k on the truck a year) About 6 months later I had to hold it in 3rd, it wouldn't stay. Shortly after I couldn't find 3rd, wouldn't engage at all. I ran that w56 another year reving up second and shifting to 4th. as soon as second gear started to pop out i started getting quotes on a rebuild... I did get a few thousand miles with it poping out of second before the rebuild too.

jpluddite

So does anyone know of a good Toyota mechanic near Lebanon, PA (17042). I've decided to have the shifter bushing and seat changed.

My usual guy agreed that it's the bushing but he hasn't worked on that model truck for almost 20 years, so he suggested that I look elsewhere.

I'll appreciate any guidance you can offer.

jp

aztoyman

The shifter bushing and seat is a piece of cake to change. Don't get stock ones, get them from Marlin Crawler.

Their website even shows how to change it.

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

Yes they are very easy. Might be one of the only easy things to do on a transmission besides fluid of of course. And when I finally do mine I will source them from Marlin. They are about the best out there.

jpluddite

Hi again guys.

I've taken the truck to a couple shops and they say that the issue is the shifting fork for 3rd-4th gear, and unfortunately, it's inside the transmission. So...does anyone know of a place to get a reasonably priced dependable used transmission or maybe a rebuilt one? It's a 1989 4wd, 22re engine.

Thanks,

jpluddite

Hi guys.

I'm looking for a rebuilt transmission for my 1989 Toyota pickup (22RE engine, W-series 5 sp tranny).

Sparks89 recommended highgeartransmission.com, and I left a message with them. Do other folks also recommend them? Any other recommendations? I can't afford Marlin, I'm sure.

I'll appreciate any guidance you can offer.

Thanks,

jp

MudHippy

There's about 15 of them in PA on Car-Part.com. 4 said to be in grade A condition, including one with only 84,000 miles on it for $200 in Pittsburgh.

jpluddite

Thanks for the heads-up MudHippy. That $200 transmission just came to their shop and is still attached to a running truck. They tested the tranny by driving the truck and claim that it works well.

At that price, it's a great deal. Is there anything I should worry about?

How much do they weigh?

The other options I'm considering are a rebuilt from ebay for about 800, a rebuilt from Marlin for about 1200, and a remanufactured from HighGear for 1000. Their respective warranties are 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years.

I'm surprised that HighGear has a better warranty than Marlin and HighGear will also pay for shipping in both directions in case the tranny fails during the warranty period, but Marlin will only pay one direction. One nice thing about Marlin is that their rebuilds include the shifter platform with new seat and bushing.

Ideas? Comments?

HighLux

There is an unwritten Toyta law.

Thou shalt not by thy transmission from ebay.

Full of junk chinese bearings and such.


If there is no way you can scrape up the 1200.....borrow beg steal....
Then pop around town and visit the tranny shops. Manual rebuild it alot less than an auto trans.

If anyway possible...do the marlin. Maybe he will give better deal if you send 2 cores to him?

MudHippy

I've had good luck with all the (relatively) low mileage used transmissions I've bought. Which has only been 2 so far. I've recently bought one for my truck(R150F) with 105,000, and one for my car(4T60-E) with 87,000. Both are still running strong, with ~10,000 additional miles each. Both ran me around $150 each. They're going to tell you upfront that you need to replace all the seals first(and if auto the filter too) to keep the warranty. Whether they "need" replaced or not. And I definitely would(and did) do that. Other than that, try and make sure you see some paperwork stating the miles it has. That's just for some added piece of mind. It made me feel better atleast. Since the only thing you really want to look for is one with the lowest miles.

I don't know for sure, but I'd guess an average transmission weighs 150 lbs. or so...more or less. Probably less, certainly not much more. I can pick one up off the ground and haul it a short distance by hand. I haven't grabbed ahold of one yet that was heavy enough that I couldn't. I've actually muscled the transmission, with the transfer case attached, into my truck twice now. WITHOUT a trans jack(just a floor jack to keep it up in there when I got it fully plugged in). I don't recommend it. It's INSANE frankly(and probably a good way to seriously injure yourself). But it CAN be done. And I'm no he-man. Just your average 5'10" 185lb. joe. Probably slightly above average strength for my size. But not much more. Maybe I'm being a bit modest. I dunno.