Help urgent- 4runner unresponsive to gear stick change

[earthrealm]

So my 05 v6 runner put of the blue wouldnt let me drive.
Its stuck in neutral, gear stick moves smoothly, from neutral to drive, but the actual gear change doesnt happen,
No MIL, engine revs fine

Anybody experienced this before.
Before this it has been driving smoothly ever since

 

[earthrealm]

So an update, incase someone runs into this issue

Since no MIL. I suspected a mechanical problem with the gear/selector, so i tore into the gear stick assy, and saw a linkage cable floating free, Since i was actually stranded by the road side, i didnt have time for extensive trouble shooting/dismantling, i felt along the end of the gear stick and felt a protrusion where i felt the linkage cable is hooked onto. I managed to hook it back on, and whooo-hoooo, issue was resolved.

Gear selection worked ok, drove car home and parked. Intend to tear into it today to understand why the gear actuator cable disengaged in the first place and how to prevent it from happening.
Would dig for an expanded schematic, but the linkage with purple arrow is what popped out from the gear stick end.

It would have been a cluster f#&+ if this happened to milady when i was out of town.

 

[ktom3001]

Mine does this once in a while from park to drive. Nothing will happen for a few seconds.
If I shift back to neutral and then to drive it will go into gear. Not sure why it does this but I don't really worry about it.

 

[importman]

So an update, incase someone runs into this issue

Since no MIL

I feel fairly certain you have a shift cable problem. Loose, broken or worn bushing. I'd get someone under it to watch for motion from the shift lever on the tranny while someone moved the shifter inside. You can also pull the center cover off and probably see down to the cable and see if it's come loose. Good luck.

 

[importman]

Mine does this once in a while from park to drive. Nothing will happen for a few seconds.
If I shift back to neutral and then to drive it will go into gear. Not sure why it does this but I don't really worry about it.

Ktom, that sounds like a worn bushing on one end or the other of the shifter cable.

 

[P_nlsn]

So my 05 v6 runner put of the blue wouldnt let me drive.
Its stuck in neutral, gear stick moves smoothly, from neutral to drive, but the actual gear change doesnt happen,
No MIL, engine revs fine

Anybody experienced this before.
Before this it has been driving smoothly ever since

I feel fairly certain you have a shift cable problem. Loose, broken or worn bushing. I'd get someone under it to watch for motion from the shift lever on the tranny while someone moved the shifter inside. You can also pull the center cover off and probably see down to the cable and see if it's come loose. Good luck.

I agree, first thought is a shifter cable problem. And I second that idea, have someone crawl under it and watch the cable

My brother doesn't drive a 4runner, but he had a problem similar to this while we were riding a trail - His bushings weren't the right size, so the cable popped off and he couldn't put it in park. He had to crawl under it and ziptie the cable back on while I held the brake and moved the shifter

Edit: Replied before the update, glad you got it fixed!

 

[earthrealm]

I feel fairly certain you have a shift cable problem. Loose, broken or worn bushing. I'd get someone under it to watch for motion from the shift lever on the tranny while someone moved the shifter inside. You can also pull the center cover off and probably see down to the cable and see if it's come loose. Good luck.

This is the issue with mine, the end of the cable highlighted has a circle at the end, and this is supposed to engage with a pin at the side of the gear stick, somehow this disengaged and moving the gear stick, does nada:bounce:

i wonder if a retaining clip came undone, i dont think toyota would leave that end free without a retainer, to simply disengage at will:spider:

 

[importman]

This is the issue with mine, the end of the cable highlighted has a circle at the end, and this is supposed to engage with a pin at the side of the gear stick, somehow this disengaged and moving the gear stick, does nada:bounce:

i wonder if a retaining clip came undone, i dont think toyota would leave that end free without a retainer, to simply disengage at will:spider:

Just so I don't look crazy when someone reads this thread later; when I replied to your post, you hadn't finished your second post telling what you had found. I honestly expected exactly what you found. But it's been so long since I looked at mine I can't remember what is supposed to hold the cable on to the shifter. Is there any way you can post a photo of the cable end and the part it attaches to? I also wonder if there might be some friction in the cable that would be causing it to jump off when you shift it.

 

[earthrealm]

Just so I don't look crazy when someone reads this thread later; when I replied to your post, you hadn't finished your second post telling what you had found. I honestly expected exactly what you found. But it's been so long since I looked at mine I can't remember what is supposed to hold the cable on to the shifter. Is there any way you can post a photo of the cable end and the part it attaches to? I also wonder if there might be some friction in the cable that would be causing it to jump off when you shift it.

The gear actuator separated in the circled area, the pin facing the drivers seat has a groove at the end, hence am thinking, it probablly has a circlip there , that popped out.

Got this pic from another thread,

Also the white plastic on top, how were you able to remove it, i have tried removing it, no dice

Edit, zoomed closely , the black part with yellow dot, is it plastic or metal?, I believe thats the part that popped out first, allowing the pin to slide out.
If so it must still be lying inside the gear stick housing

Am thinking of using jb weld to glue both parts together, if am unable to locate the circlip/black circular part with yellow dot

 

[importman]

The gear actuator separated in the circled area, the pin facing the drivers seat has a groove at the end, hence am thinking, it probablly has a circlip there , that popped out.

Got this pic from another thread,

Also the white plastic on top, how were you able to remove it, i have tried removing it, no dice

Edit, zoomed closely , the black part with yellow dot, is it plastic or metal?, I believe thats the part that popped out first, allowing the pin to slide out.
If so it must still be lying inside the gear stick housing

Am thinking of using jb weld to glue both parts together, if am unable to locate the circlip/black circular part with yellow dot

So you are saying that the black circular part is missing? I'm thinking that part is actually made onto the shifter cable. If so, you may have to get a new cable. I agree it looks like there should be a circlip or e clip to hold it on there. I don't think JB Weld will be too reliable if that black piece is broken/missing. I suspect that cable may be corroded or binding on the inside if that part is broken. You could probably pick up a used one fairly cheap at a salvage yard. I would go that route since they are usually pretty reliable and a new one is pretty pricy, like $284. I'll link a web page to it. I wish I could remember more from when I was inside mine. Hope this helps a little bit.
2005 Toyota 4Runner LIMITED 4.0L V6 AT Automatic Transmission Shifter Cable - 3382060070 - Genuine Toyota Part

This is another thread on here about the very common shifter problem our runners have. I'm linking it cause on the 3rd page there's another photo at a different angle that might help some. I didn't read all the way through so there may be something else in there.

2003 T4R Floppy Shifter

Oh, one other thing. I'm not sure but I think I had to remove the shifter before I could take off the white plastic thing you asked about. Maybe someone with a better memory than me will chime in to help too. Good luck

 

[earthrealm]

So you are saying that the black circular part is missing? I'm thinking that part is actually made onto the shifter cable. If so, you may have to get a new cable. I agree it looks like there should be a circlip or e clip to hold it on there. I don't think JB Weld will be too reliable if that black piece is broken/missing. I suspect that cable may be corroded or binding on the inside if that part is broken. You could probably pick up a used one fairly cheap at a salvage yard. I would go that route since they are usually pretty reliable and a new one is pretty pricy, like $284. I'll link a web page to it. I wish I could remember more from when I was inside mine. Hope this helps a little bit.
2005 Toyota 4Runner LIMITED 4.0L V6 AT Automatic Transmission Shifter Cable - 3382060070 - Genuine Toyota Part

This is another thread on here about the very common shifter problem our runners have. I'm linking it cause on the 3rd page there's another photo at a different angle that might help some. I didn't read all the way through so there may be something else in there.

2003 T4R Floppy Shifter

Oh, one other thing. I'm not sure but I think I had to remove the shifter before I could take off the white plastic thing you asked about. Maybe someone with a better memory than me will chime in to help too. Good luck

thanks for the help so far.
its not the black part at the end of the shifter cable that is missing, its the small clip holding the round end of the shifter cable unto the pin on the gear stick itself.

my 2nd challenge is tearing into the gear box assy itself, removing the black plastic on top. can you remember how you removed it? i have been able to remove the top white plastic

 

[importman]

thanks for the help so far.
its not the black part at the end of the shifter cable that is missing, its the small clip holding the round end of the shifter cable unto the pin on the gear stick itself.

my 2nd challenge is tearing into the gear box assy itself, removing the black plastic on top. can you remember how you removed it? i have been able to remove the top white plastic

I think you're gonna have to remove the whole shifter to be able to get it further apart. But, it's really not hard. Once the console is out and since the cable is already loose, I think it's just 4 bolts and a few wire connections.

 

[earthrealm]

I think you're gonna have to remove the whole shifter to be able to get it further apart. But, it's really not hard. Once the console is out and since the cable is already loose, I think it's just 4 bolts and a few wire connections.

Issue resolved ok, was able to open up the gear assy, forced a washer unto the gear stick to hold the 2 ends together, had removed the 4 bolts holding the gear assy to the carm but had to retighten them back when i realized it wasnt necesary.

to get access to the pin, all i did was pop out the white plastic on top, then removed the sheet metal clip holding the pin , this enabled me to open up the 2nd top plastic cover, and have full access to the gear stick pin assy. will upload pictures later.

i saw a piece of broken oval plastic clip, this apparently was what Toyota used to mate the gear stick assy pin and the gear cable

 

[AuSeeker]

Issue resolved ok, was able to open up the gear assy, forced a washer unto the gear stick to hold the 2 ends together, had removed the 4 bolts holding the gear assy to the carm but had to retighten them back when i realized it wasnt necesary.

to get access to the pin, all i did was pop out the white plastic on top, then removed the sheet metal clip holding the pin , this enabled me to open up the 2nd top plastic cover, and have full access to the gear stick pin assy. will upload pictures later.

i saw a piece of broken oval plastic clip, this apparently was what Toyota used to mate the gear stick assy pin and the gear cable

This is a somewhat common issue with many vehicles not just Toyotas, there are repair kits out there to fix this correctly.

Toyota 4Runner Automatic Transmission Shift Cable Repair Kit with Replacement Bushing

 

[Charlie Hustle]

So an update, incase someone runs into this issue

Since no MIL. I suspected a mechanical problem with the gear/selector, so i tore into the gear stick assy, and saw a linkage cable floating free, Since i was actually stranded by the road side, i didnt have time for extensive trouble shooting/dismantling, i felt along the end of the gear stick and felt a protrusion where i felt the linkage cable is hooked onto. I managed to hook it back on, and whooo-hoooo, issue was resolved.

Gear selection worked ok, drove car home and parked. Intend to tear into it today to understand why the gear actuator cable disengaged in the first place and how to prevent it from happening.
Would dig for an expanded schematic, but the linkage with purple arrow is what popped out from the gear stick end.

It would have been a cluster f#&+ if this happened to milady when i was out of town.

I was getting ready to leave for work today, and this exact same thing happened to me on my 04 SR5. At first I panicked, but then I searched online and immediately found your post and solution! Thank you so much for posing an update, I really benefitted from it today. :cheers:

 

[Hungryhawk]

Toyota seems to use plastic "bushings" on the ends of shift cables for many trannys. Guess it is for no lube smoothness and low maintenance.
Thanks to everyone that provided great photos and advice.
If stranded now one knows where to look for fix.
More repair items for off road tool kit!