scoop
Junior Member
Good day everyone,
I searched around and having difficulty pinpointing my problem. I am firm believer of the "best mechanic" is the driver - hence I am looking for advice from the Forum, vs mechanics or dealers.
My 98 4runner sr5 4WD with about 130K miles in it. Mostly freeway driving with occasional desert sand 4WD.
Sparks, wires, belts, fluids all maintained. The clutch master and slave also replaced with new Dot 3 and bled all done by myself - preventative maintenance. The clutch disc, bearings also replaced about 20K miles ago.
I recently replaced the shift seat bushings as well - i did find tranny oil around the bushing (hoping this is normal), greased the shafts front and rear.
My problem is the following:
a) The stick drops out of all gears when coasting (at slow speeds) with no hesitation. It will not drop when accelerating.
b) When I press the clutch at around 1.5K RPM and above I feel a "thump" coming from below.
c) when taking off from stop forward or reverse, there is a "free play" right when the "gears engage" almost jolting the car forward or reverse (if reversing)
note: no leaks, no smell, no grinding, but a bit of vibration when accelerating from below, possibly drive shaft/transmission though again not sure
These issues above makes me feel the transmission is not solid, meaning there is some gap somewhere, opening or something that is giving me this trouble and cant pinpoint the problem. I looked underneath and rotated the drive shaft back and forth to see if its the yoke or joints but all solid and lubed every 10K miles. There is a about 1/2 inch, possibly a bit more but not alot of free play when rotating the drive shaft back and forth, coming from the rear differential and inside the tranny. I asked 3 local Drive shaft shops and they all said the play is normal and all said the joints, yokes are fine.
The car is extremely clean and enjoy driving it, though I do not have the slightest idea what the problem is and exhausted all search areas - to my knowledge.
Your help/advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Scoop
I searched around and having difficulty pinpointing my problem. I am firm believer of the "best mechanic" is the driver - hence I am looking for advice from the Forum, vs mechanics or dealers.
My 98 4runner sr5 4WD with about 130K miles in it. Mostly freeway driving with occasional desert sand 4WD.
Sparks, wires, belts, fluids all maintained. The clutch master and slave also replaced with new Dot 3 and bled all done by myself - preventative maintenance. The clutch disc, bearings also replaced about 20K miles ago.
I recently replaced the shift seat bushings as well - i did find tranny oil around the bushing (hoping this is normal), greased the shafts front and rear.
My problem is the following:
a) The stick drops out of all gears when coasting (at slow speeds) with no hesitation. It will not drop when accelerating.
b) When I press the clutch at around 1.5K RPM and above I feel a "thump" coming from below.
c) when taking off from stop forward or reverse, there is a "free play" right when the "gears engage" almost jolting the car forward or reverse (if reversing)
note: no leaks, no smell, no grinding, but a bit of vibration when accelerating from below, possibly drive shaft/transmission though again not sure
These issues above makes me feel the transmission is not solid, meaning there is some gap somewhere, opening or something that is giving me this trouble and cant pinpoint the problem. I looked underneath and rotated the drive shaft back and forth to see if its the yoke or joints but all solid and lubed every 10K miles. There is a about 1/2 inch, possibly a bit more but not alot of free play when rotating the drive shaft back and forth, coming from the rear differential and inside the tranny. I asked 3 local Drive shaft shops and they all said the play is normal and all said the joints, yokes are fine.
The car is extremely clean and enjoy driving it, though I do not have the slightest idea what the problem is and exhausted all search areas - to my knowledge.
Your help/advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Scoop
