smoother shifting

[dan99solara]

Hey everybody. I havent been to solaraguy in about a year because ive been in training in the UNITED STATES AIR FORCE which limited me to not using a computer. but i am back and it has been very helpful as it was a year ago. i have a manual v6 solara with 145,000 miles. my favorite part about it is that it still drives like new! i had a major tune up at the dealership at 100,000 miles which they changed the timing belt, waterpump, and all those goodies. now im really good at taking care of my car because i want it to last a long time like i know toyotas do. i change my oil every 3000 and today i flushed my coolant system.

sorry for the long intro but when i shift it feels a little rough in the stick like its sticking or not lubed enough. is there a way to lube up the connections on the cables or anything? anyone have this problem?

also what are some other things i can do to prolong the life of my car? i havent changed the spark plugs in a while so that may be my next task. any other suggestions.

thanks for the help everyone!

[aleki2424]

nice at 145000, it might help to flush the transmission fluid, of course depending on how long ago you lastly changed it.
i have no intentions of getting another car anytime soon, so i think it would be a worthwhile task.

[onefiend]

wassup Dan.

you should really get your sparkplugs/wires changed, and if you haven't already get a tranny flush, brake fluid flush & powersteering fluid flush.

[Turbosolara]

open up your shifting boot and you can put some grease in the joint. it is very easy and will take you less than 5 minutes.

[mazen222]

open up your shifting boot and you can put some grease in the joint. it is very easy and will take you less than 5 minutes.

i wanted to do this as well... what kind of grease should i use? Anything more that I can do to get even smoother shift?

I can feel a litle bump in the mid-way when shifting from 1 to 2... so its like not straight line... what could that be?

[SirTrixMagoo]

hey dan. just to touch on your questions. the clunk in your shifter could be the worn syncros in the tranny taking a "little longer" to stop the next gear for alignment. do you notice it more in one particular shift point??? (ie going into 3rd) if you haven't done so yet, i would highly reccomend some new transmission gear oil. it can be a little tricky getting the new oil in, so you might want to have a shop do it for you. there is no such thing as a MANUAL tranny flush. the closest to it is draining out the old oil, refillig it with new, driving that for a while, then repeating the process. this MIGHT help to aid the syncros in a longer life. less likely is a linkage problem between the shifter and tranny. but if you'd like to try that first, go to the auto parts store and get yourself some white lithium grease in a spray can and spray some of that in the joints while moving through the gears. my reccomendation... do both. good maintence is ALWAYS the best way to go.

as for the ignition system, the 1mzfe engine has coil-over ignition (no plug wires) and also requires platinum plugs for proper opperation. therefore, there are no wires to replace and the plugs should last about 60k miles before they need to be replaced.

hope all this helps.

pat

[Solorange]

There are actually three plug wires on the 1MZFE. Either way you don't need to change them when putting in new spark plugs.

Question why is there no such thing as a manual tranny flush? Both types of transmissions have tranny fluid in them. Can you elaborate more?

[SirTrixMagoo]

yes, both types of transmissions do have fluid. the reason i say there is no such thing as a "flush" is because of what i would consider "flushing a tranny". in my previous post i explained the only way to remove the contaminents from a manual tranny is by draining, filling, driving, draining again, and filling again. If you were to drop the pan on an auto trans and therefore "drain" the fluid collected there and change the filter you would only be removing a rather small portion of the overall fluid campacity. somewhere around 20% i believe would be a rough estimate. there is however a true auto trans flush available. a machine is used to exchange the trans fluid with a detergent that is cycled and filtered through the transmission, then removed again. then the filter is replaced and the tranny is filled entirely with new trans fluid. this IMHO is a true transmission flush.

also, i appoligize for the innacurate information regarding the back coils on the 1mzfe. i was working from memory. it's been a while since i've been under the hood of my solara and i've worked on a whole lotta cars. when you mentioned the 3 wires the little light bulb above my head started flashing.

[dan99solara]

well its not really my syncros, im mostly talking about the feeling of the stick when i shift it feels a little rough right there around the boot. its not like a bump in my tranny while i shift. good ideas thanks for the help guys

[Solorange]

yes, both types of transmissions do have fluid. the reason i say there is no such thing as a "flush" is because of what i would consider "flushing a tranny". in my previous post i explained the only way to remove the contaminents from a manual tranny is by draining, filling, driving, draining again, and filling again. If you were to drop the pan on an auto trans and therefore "drain" the fluid collected there and change the filter you would only be removing a rather small portion of the overall fluid campacity. somewhere around 20% i believe would be a rough estimate. there is however a true auto trans flush available. a machine is used to exchange the trans fluid with a detergent that is cycled and filtered through the transmission, then removed again. then the filter is replaced and the tranny is filled entirely with new trans fluid. this IMHO is a true transmission flush.

also, i appoligize for the innacurate information regarding the back coils on the 1mzfe. i was working from memory. it's been a while since i've been under the hood of my solara and i've worked on a whole lotta cars. when you mentioned the 3 wires the little light bulb above my head started flashing.

I understand what you said so far, but why can't they hook that machine up to a manual tranny and do the same. If Im not mistaken when you drain the tranny fluid in a manual you dont get all of the fluid out either. If I remember correctly the drain plug is on the side of the tranny and the fill is on top. Sorry just trying to learn something new.

[SirTrixMagoo]

yes, both types of transmissions do have fluid. the reason i say there is no such thing as a "flush" is because of what i would consider "flushing a tranny". in my previous post i explained the only way to remove the contaminents from a manual tranny is by draining, filling, driving, draining again, and filling again. If you were to drop the pan on an auto trans and therefore "drain" the fluid collected there and change the filter you would only be removing a rather small portion of the overall fluid campacity. somewhere around 20% i believe would be a rough estimate. there is however a true auto trans flush available. a machine is used to exchange the trans fluid with a detergent that is cycled and filtered through the transmission, then removed again. then the filter is replaced and the tranny is filled entirely with new trans fluid. this IMHO is a true transmission flush.

also, i appoligize for the innacurate information regarding the back coils on the 1mzfe. i was working from memory. it's been a while since i've been under the hood of my solara and i've worked on a whole lotta cars. when you mentioned the 3 wires the little light bulb above my head started flashing.

I understand what you said so far, but why can't they hook that machine up to a manual tranny and do the same. If Im not mistaken when you drain the tranny fluid in a manual you dont get all of the fluid out either. If I remember correctly the drain plug is on the side of the tranny and the fill is on top. Sorry just trying to learn something new.

In theory.... you are absolutely correct! One COULD use a similar machine to flush a manual tranny in the same way. However, I’d have to assume that since no one to my knowledge has made such a machine, it isn't necessary. Manual transmissions are the simplest machines. There’s no electronic solenoids, no check valves, no pressure sensors, etc. My point being, there's not a whole lot to get clogged up by debris. In my experience, if you have enough contamination in a manual tranny to warrant a "flushing machine" there's nothing left to save! hahaha. Also, I’d have to assume that since I haven't heard of anyone figuring a way to use the same machine on a manual tranny... that the solvent used for an auto tranny (ATF VERY different from gear oil) would wreak havoc on the synchromesh clutch material and bearings of a manual tranny.

To be perfectly honest, when I used to work at a dealership... I think I might have seen one truck that went 100k with a lot of towing that warranted using the "flush" portion of the machine. Really the important part was to get the majority of the ATF out and replaced with fresh fluid to properly lubricate and clean the tranny. The "flush" portion was really just an easier way to sell the customer it was worth the $150-200 for the service.

On a side note, there was a similar machine that got a lot more use for those who decided to neglect their oil change schedule!!! Simple ROUTINE maintenance is so so so much better than a costly repair IMHO.