1998 TACOMA 5 SPEED PROBLEMS

After reading the posts about Tacoma tranny here I tried my
friends. Man, it sucks! Looks like theres a stone stuck inside the gearbox. I
find it hard to shift from 2nd to 1st that the truck have to stop. But nice
engine.

Thanks, I hope if they dont/cant fix it and I decide to keep it that
it will loosen up - My dads '83 4x4 with 120k is very loose. Damn,
well see.

Doug
Douglas Heinsdorf
Computer Specialist II, Senior Electronics Technician
Sino-Logic, Crane ESD #13.
12.az.us

You summed up the tranny issue nicely. Think that kind of thing gets =
looser and breaks in with use/time? =20
Good luck at the dealer (although I never get anything fixed there - its =
always "Sorry, thats as per design.")

Todd

<>...

Hmmm. When did this start? I have about 500 miles on mine and
haven'tnoticed any real problems. Is this going up or in down shifting or

both? I tend to drive all over the spectrum of RPMs when I change
gears both in both conservative and agressive changing I have only
noticed a little, par for the course for inexpensive pickups,
"clunkiness" no worse than the 93 Nissan Sentra I had before and
a little better than my Dad's '86 Toyota.

Jason

Jason Young \ Goodbye, farewell, so long, vaya con dios,
jason_ \ good luck, wish you well, take it slow
\ Easy Come, Easy Go.

I gotta agree, or empathize, with Doug. My 1998 Tacoma is also clunky =
with respect to shifting. Difficult to shift and generally "loud."=20
Also get excessive vibration when even slightly in too low of a gear. =
This is my 3rd Toyota truck and none of the previous ones would be more =
lenient of being in second gear at lets say 10-15 mph. In a Tacoma, you =
get too low and the truck convulses. Agree?!
Maybe it will loosen up with age and use.

In general I wish they would have left the truck the way it used to be =
;^)
My dashboard is also excessively squeaky and rattly. Cheap plastic with =
no foam cushioning.

I give the Toyota a 5 out of 10.

I too agree with the shifting "problem". I just purchased a 1998 Tacoma 4x4. This is my first Toyota after always buying Chevrolet or Ford trucks. My dashboard rattles when the weather is cold. I also have a squeeky clutch pedal. I've tried WD40 on this. It helps
for a day but the problem always comes back. Anyone else having this problem too? Anyone have any ideas on how to stop the squeek?
I've always heard about Toyota quality but to tell you the truth, my last Chevrolet PU was built better than my new Toyota.

Bob

Hi Bob,

The poor quality we speak of is really only new to Tacomas. The old =
Toyota trucks were outstanding - they should have left well-enough =
alone. =20

As for the clutch squeak (which mine also has) try some white lithium =
grease - it may cling and stay on better and much longer. I did this on =
a Dodge I owned and it worked. I'll probably be trying it my Tacoma =
here soon.

Besides my dashboard generally being creaky and rattly, the cover of my =
passenger side airbag has now begun to vibrate. Bet the Service Dept =
won't touch that though. =20

Any other problems or need I ask? ;^)

Todd

Tacoma 4x4. This is my first Toyota after always buying Chevrolet or =
Ford trucks. My dashboard rattles when the weather is cold. I also have =
a squeeky clutch pedal. I've tried WD40 on this. It helps
problem too? Anyone have any ideas on how to stop the squeek?
last Chevrolet PU was built better than my new Toyota.
clunky with respect to shifting. Difficult to shift and generally =
"loud."
This is my 3rd Toyota truck and none of the previous ones would be more =
lenient of being in second gear at lets say 10-15 mph. In a Tacoma, you =
get too low and the truck convulses. Agree?!
with no foam cushioning.

I too own a 1998 Tacoma. My dash used to squeak, but it has
quit. I have had mine a little over 3 months. Give it time to loosen
up/wear in. It'll probably get better. I had traced my squeak to
where the Instrument cluster surround meets the piece of plastic
around the ignition lock cylinder. Personally I am glad there is no
soft foam/vinyl dash to split open down the road. A few years worth
of baking in the sun and a soft dash turns hard anyway.

I can't say how good the manual transmission is, I have an
automatic. I thought I would hate it (my last car was a 1995 Mustang
GT with a 5 speed) but I am glad I got it now. I never realized how
aggravating shifting gears really was. It is easy to service too.
It has a drain plug so you don't have to rip off a whole trans pan
full of fluid and spill half of it all over yourself. If they used a
spin on filter it would be really easy.

My only gripe: I have a slight valve click on startup. (3.4
V6).

Tom

On 7 Dec 1997 23:39:00 -0700, (Douglas Heinsdorf)
wrote:

More on the Tacoma issues:

First off, I have an 87 Sentra 5speed, and since new you can chose
any gear, at any speed ( except for reverse ) with completely fluid
action. The 98 Tacoma touted a redesigned tranny that is supposed to
be easier to enter reverse - my reverse is a bitch to get into.

BTW, my previous 87 Hardbody, 83 Mustang GT, and 89 Sentra were all
very smooth shifters.

It does surge at low rpms - takes plenty of clutch/gas action to
navigate slowly in a crowded parking lot situation. All I can say is
that maybe the truck wants to be loaded with a couple hundred pounds
of cargo - it is a truck after all.

No clutch pedal sqeak or dash rattles. The motor is super smooth and
strong - thats why I hate the tranny so much, I got 142 hp DOHC 16V
under the hood, which is very responsive, but the tranny sucks and
that detracts heavily from driving pleasure. I mean thats really a
letdown! Awesome engine and poor transmission

The bench seat on the drivers side is offset about 2 inches to the
right of the steering wheel. Annoying.

Overall, construction looks flawless - body work and undercarriage
looks very clean - except for they had to shim up the upper A-arms
pretty heavily at the factory. It is a very sweet looking truck design
wise.

Its going to the dealer on monday, so I will post the results. The
service manager said there is absolutely no adjustments to be made to
the clutch or tranny but he was very concerned and insisted I hang
around after the oil change ( 3500 mile service ) to take a drive with
the mechanic.

All I know is that either it gets fixed or I trade it in on a Nissan
200sx SE-R or a Celica GT. I cannot live with this tranny, not for
$16,000.

Thanks for all the input, lets keep this going and see what happens.
Has everyone registered at http://owners.toyota.com ????

Regards, Doug

Douglas Heinsdorf
Computer Specialist II, Senior Electronics Technician
Sino-Logic, Crane ESD #13.
12.az.us