I am on the road and have a strange problem With my '93 Hiace Commuter. Twice now when moving on with a cold engine the gearshift is locked and I can't get any gears.
If i turn the engine off and on again I can get neutral. I run the engine for a few minutes and then everything is OK, although changing is a bit chucky at first, then it's OK for
the rest of the day. No probs with the clutch and appears normal. I did have service 2 weeks ago and they bled and refilled the brake lines. Does the '93 high ace have a
separate master cylinder for the clutch? Only thing I can think of. I did have a chat with a Mechanic at Guyra NSW today but had no idea what was wrong. I am taking it
to a Toyota dealer tomorrow in Glen Innes 60k from here in the mean time any ideas?
Didn't you get an Owners' Manual with it Steve ? That would tell you about the Clutch. Had a problem with the Coolant light coming on all the time after my last Service a couple of weeks ago. Took it back, and they checked it when they did the front Brakes. All OK they said. Light came on 10 times between Yeppoon, Emu Park, and Cawarral. Took it back on the Monday, and discovered they hadn't topped up the Overflow bottle. Didn't have to pay though. All OK now.
I'd say the clutch master cylinder is either very low on brake fluid and sucking/pumping air OR the slave cylinder down at the bellhousing has a bad seal allowing air into the system. You could try checking the clutch fluid level - from memory it's done from the dashboard and you remove a cover??? With a '93 model, I'd guess that the bucket seal in the slave cylinder is hard/worn and sticky due to age/wear/stale fluid and the master cylinder will be the same. Unfortunately the clutch master cylinder will probably be the same. Problem starts when the clutch system is left alone and most mechanics will never inspect it unless asked by owner. New MC is about $120 and slave is about $40 but that's on Ebay...at Toyota you will pay more. Add about 3 hours labour. However, the above is guesswork based on the information supplied.....and possibly it could be dry/worn gearchange linkages but without looking at the vehicle it's guesswork. Good Luck.
Thanks for the advice denis, I tend to agree with you on all points. The gearbox itself is OK and no noises. I'm at Glen Innes today, Sat and googled toyota
and there is a dealer in Inverell so looks like Monday. I might as well get it shecked where the parts are rather than a Town mechanic but probably have to pay
more I guess. By the way all has been fine over the past 2 days.
Clutch cylinders, when they start to fail they do not recover.
With the info you gave & having a service just done I would think that some idiot has changed /toped up the gear box oil / & or refilled it with the wrong oil as in a heavier grade.
This will make changes very stiff /hard at first when cold, this will improve as the temperature rises & the oil thins a little.
JC.
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Be your self; there's no body better qualified ! "I came into this world with nothing , I still have most of it"
Hi Steve, hope you get the gear problem worked out , i hope it is just some simple issue , you say it has not happened in the past two days , will be very interested to hear the out come. Hope where ever you are your in nice place , as nothing worse than if some thing goes wrong and you have to hang around to have it sorted out,and the place/area is not a place you would want to hang around for any length of time. We had a problem with the caravan before this van and was stuck in a place for 3 days, that you would not even want your worst enemy to be stuck infor a day let alone 3 days.But we just keep close to our base and every thing was ok.
Had a similar worrying problem with the GQ Patrol between Willcannia & Broken Hill. Couldn't change gear. Used skills of mis-spent youth to change gears without clutch. After 100k or so of very nervous driving, and cleaning up the driver side floor of shoes & stuff I found that all was OK.
I think my trouble was stuff stuck under the clutch pedal!
Thanks Guys for your ideas and concern. The problem hasn't happened again as yet, although still chunky when cold. I managed to find a Toyota Dealer in Inverell
He said that he didn't think it was serious and could be worn bushes at the bottom of the shift lever that connects to the linkages, about $60 in parts.
He also said that it would be worth changeing the gearbox oil. I will get these done when I can find a place to do it same day as I have nowhere else to sleep.
Will buy a Tent as soon as I can. I'm going to buy the parts in Moree in anticipation of getting someone to do the job.
Thanks Guys for your ideas and concern. The problem hasn't happened again as yet, although still chunky when cold.
Steve
Still think some one has put wrong oil in it. As you said you just had it serviced & only happens when cold. IF you get it changed make sure they refill with the correct type & find out what was in there as worn linkage parts dont improve with temp increase.
JC.
__________________
Be your self; there's no body better qualified ! "I came into this world with nothing , I still have most of it"
Great that it has 'kind of' gone away. I had a '97 Commuter and the linkages were still tight at 350,000km although mine was a country car so the gearbox may not have been worked as much as a city car. We're heading down your way in about 2 weeks so might see you. To change the gearbox oil is a job that can be done in an hour the recommended oil is SAE 80W90, API GL5 (http://www.datateck.com.au/lube/castr_au/default.asp)....probably about 2 litres, so that sort of job is simple - car on hoist - undo gearbox drain plug....allow to drain...replace plug....remove filler plug.....fill till overflow.....replace plug. Good Luck.
