99 Manual Transmission throwing off heat

[gornish_hick]

Hey everyone,
over the past couple weeks I've been noticing my gear shifter shaft/boot getting warm. At first I never really worried about it but lately I've noticed it more often. Its just the gear shifter shaft that is gathering heat and it only seems to do it while travelling over 60mph for at least a half hour. It never gets overly hot to the touch but warm enough that Ive noticed something was out of the ordinary. Everything works great, the transmission itself works perfect and the fluid it full, that's what has me really confused. I was just wondering if anyone else may have experienced this, any input would be great because I'm stumped on it!
:thanks:

 

[NCrunner2012]

The fluid might be old and not lubricating properly, even though it is full. I'd replace it if it has not been done recently

 

[steezemcqueen]

Normal. Mine does it too

 

[gornish_hick]

OK woohh glad too hear its a normal thing lol, it had me a little scared. I might try replacing the fluid this weekend too, think its been a while since its last change and it wouldnt hurt.

Thanks fellas!

 

[Tomsea999]

A new (to me) 99 Highlander throws off heat as described above - the 97 I had before did not do this, except for one very long road trip (12 hour days) in high temperatures (100+ outside) - it was the only time that manual transmission heated up to the point it would reach the cabin.

The only reason I'd be concerned about this is that the 97 didn't heat up like this - so there existed a manual that for whatever reason did not transmit heat into the cabin via the shifter/shaft.

 

[UnderFire]

It's normal, you can check the rubber shift boot that bolts to the floor for tears if you think it may be hotter than it should be, but you'll never make it so absolutely no heat comes in. I have no rubber boot in at all and heat just pours into the cabin.

 

[Tomsea999]

Thanks for the tip - now that you say that, I'm almost certain that is at least partly what is going on - I remember a week ago when the weather cooled down, I could feel cold air blowing up through the shift boot when driving at highway speeds from cold start. I'll remove and inspect.

-Tom

 

[sportscarfan]

Careful what fluid you put back into it...When I bought my used '97 I did a bunch of preventative maintenance including all the fluids. I put Amsoil 75w90 in and noticed right away that shifting gears became more difficult...downshifting even more so. After living with it for 6 months (it's not a daily driver), I drained it and replaced with Redline MT4 75w90. Night and day difference in shifting.