[MR2Fast2Catch]

Since buying my SC, the shifter has been much harder to put into gear than my old '86 NA was. The shifter was so light and slipped into gear efforlessly. With my SC, I really have to push the shifter into gear hard. When I'm downshifting it helps a lot to rev match by blipping the throttle, but normal upshifting is still really notchy and hard to shift. Is this normal for the 4AGZE's E51 over the 4AG's C52?

 

[WIWhite87]

I did notice this as well, only not to quite the extent you might make it out to be. My old C50 in my '87 is original and at 143K shifts like it is new. In fact, I put Redline in it about 23K and 3 years ago, and along with new grease on the shifter pivot points and inline skate bearings replacing the rubber bushings on the shifter select points I just did a month ago, it's absolutely smooth as glass on the maiden drive.

My '89 SC with 37K has had Redline MT-90 in it since about 28K or so, not long after I bought it in '02. It shifts better after these few years, but it's still not as nice and fluid as the C-series. I feel it catching and fighting me a lot more to select the gear, but it's not hard to push or pull in once the gear has started to engage. At first I blamed it on the previous owner, but I think that's just the way the E-series is. It's obviously not seen much in the way of mileage, and I shift without grinding, so it should be as close to original as most people would see.

I'd try a good gear lube first off and see if there's a change. If not, that may be about par for the course.

 

[MR2Fast2Catch]

Yeah, It seems the same way you've explained it. The tranny already has MT 90 fluid in there from the previous owner, atleast that's what he's told me.

 

[WIWhite87]

Try either the inline skate bearings or the brass bushings from speedsource/twosrus for the points on the end of the cables. Maybe this will take away some effort. When you take these points off, Go inside and move the shifter around. If it's tight, maybe the pivot area is resisting or the cables themselves are tight in the sheath.

If the shifter pivot ball below the boot is all gross, disassembly and reassembly with clean grease might alleviate a little resistance. It might be dried up or full of hair and nasty soda spills and stuff from years of abuse. The parts car I got certainly was.

I doubt this will make tremendous progress in selecting gears if the cynchros are shot or forks worn, but it might smooth out some resistance along the way.

 

[MR2Fast2Catch]

Yeah, I think my 3rd gear synchros are shot. I'm gonna bleed the clutch this weekend and see if it helps at all. I also noticed that the clutch master cylinder is leaking a little, because it is wet around the seal where the pin/shaft goes in and out, right behind the clutch pedal.

 

[86AW11]

From my experience, the E51 tranny has a notchier/heavier feel than the C50/52 trannys. I assumed it was due to upgraded internals.

 

[Nepherim]

Just as an fyi, I did a write up on replacing the shifter bearing at the wiki.

 

[BRANDO0o0O]

My E51 is alot harder to shift than my old C50.. I wouldnt replace the shift bushing with solid bushings/bearings though if you think the synchros are worn out.. after I put my speed source bushings in I really messed up the 3rd gear synchro (had a little trouble with it before) to the point where I have to try to get it into 3rd.. its a pain.. and I bent the shift fork so its hard to get out of 4th.. All started when I put the bushings in, made it feel like crap right away..

Brando

 

[Martin]

I found my 89sc tranny to shift super smooth compared to my 86sc swap tranny. The 89sc tranny only had 45 miles though. My gen3 3sgte tranny
(basicly upgraded sc tranny, w/ diffrent bell housing) shifts like butter. The shifting is so good that you wouldn't think its a mid engine set-up. These tranny's were uppgraded in 93.


Martin

 

[ToyotaTechGeek]

you could also rotate the square bushing-thing 90* to help tighten-up the shifting. i did so when i installed my SPeed-Source bushings. i also lubed all of the contact points and such with a synthetic grease.

 

[MR2Fast2Catch]

I'm pretty sure the problem is my clutch master cylinder now. It's dripping on the floor behind the clutch pedal, and isn't always engaging fully causing me to grind in second and third gear (3rd gear a lot), and overall makes it a bitch to get into any gear.
I'll replace my clutch MC this weekend and see what happens.

Meanwhile I am trying to shift slowly while I drive these days so I don't mess up my already bad 3rd gear synchros....

 

[mister2sc88]

if its a swap...what cables are you using? NA or SC? If you are driving with NA shifter cables on the SC that could be the problem that you are describing

 

[white89na]

wiwhite87

did you bought your sc from CO on xcars???

just curious

 

[MR2Fast2Catch]

Well I changed the clutch master cylinder this evening. The rod was really bent on the one on the car and it had torn the seal. I'll have a friend come over and help me bleed the clutch in the morning and we'll see if it helped.

 

[WIWhite87]

wiwhite87

did you bought your sc from CO on xcars???

just curious

No, I never saw it through Xcars, but it did come from CO in the summer of '02. I got an email from a WTB thread here on the board straight from the previous owner. It wouldn't surprise me however if she had posted information somewhere since she said she got a massive response within 24 hours.

If you were in competition for it, well, I simply agreed fastest to the PO's terms.

I have kept it in near stock condition and it sits stored during winter months in a heated garage. Mileage is kept to about 3-4K/year, essentially one oil change.

 

[Townzenator]

My third gear grinds as well in my 89SC, especially when downshifting.

 

[Townzenator]

oh yeah, only 86k miles on the car too, maybe it was from the guy that owned it before me, but a few of you also have problems with 3rd, so maybe its just a common problem.

 

[panderoosa]

I'd have to agree with you, Mr2Fast2Catch.. Driving my 86NA is alot easier than Brando's 88SC, the gears feel alot smoother on the na, alot less notchy.

 

[Papo J]

I think that is mostly due to the gear detent springs ( I think that's what those are called) being stiffer than the NA ones. My 6 speed also feel very notchy compared with the C-52 in my 85.