1988 Toyota 4Runner | Transmission won't shift when Transfer case is in gear

599 Views 14 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Wontun Splodies, 13 d ago

Boogeyman048

Discussion Starter · 18 d ago

Hello everyone! New to the forum.

I have a 1988 Toyota 4Runner 22RE with the W56 5 spd and R1FA transfer case. I had just purchased it and found the bearings in the T case to be bad. Dropped everything and tookl the T case apart. Followed detailed teardown instructions, kept everything labeled and in ziplocks. When the t case came apart I noticed the input gear was chipped..Trail Gear offers a 2.28 OEM replacement gear set so I went with it. The TG gear set looked a little different from the OEM but I called the tech support and they said they made them better (paraphrased). Put the T case together. Slapped the shifter on and went through the gears..everything seemed to come together.

When I installed the trans yesterday and attempted a road test, the transmission wouldn't shift into gear when the engine was on and t case in H2. Turned the motor off, ran through all the gears in the trans...ok...started her up again, let the 4runner roll forward a little bit, still wouldn't go into gear. I put the t case in N and the trans would go into gear, but wouldn't have any power..put the t case in any gear, and the transmission won't shift.

So, before I tear this t case apart again and retrace my steps, I was hoping there might be a much easier solution...When I mated the trans to the t case, the trans was in N and I think the T case was in H2..not too sure..didn't know if that was big deal when you put the two together...anyway, just looking for some advice, thanks in advance!

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tmarie

· #2 · 18 d ago (Edited)

I'll admit my knowledge skips a generation in the toyota timeline.. goes from 81 to 94 and there you are but if I'm thinking correctly there is a sensor on the t-case, did you reconnect it or did the wiring get damaged?.. in that year the piece I'm thinking of may just be an indicator though and completely irrelevant..

NorCalJalopy

· #3 · 18 d ago

Clutch- did you flip the plate over on accident?throw out bearing- bound up you didn’t switch from push to pull or anything weird did you? Shifter- Did you get the seats back in? Shifter in the forks corrected ?
1of the 3. Definitely not electrical. I have no wiring on mine. Lmao

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tmarie

· #4 · 18 d ago

NorCalJalopy said:
Clutch- did you flip the plate over on accident?throw out bearing- bound up you didn’t switch from push to pull or anything weird did you? Shifter- Did you get the seats back in? Shifter in the forks corrected ?
1of the 3. Definitely not electrical. I have no wiring on mine. Lmao

My 94 did but my 81 didn't... lol gen 2 pickup/gen 1 runner is my blind spot

NorCalJalopy

· #5 · 18 d ago

tmarie said:
My 94 did but my 81 didn't... lol gen 2 pickup/gen 1 runner is my blind spot

I’m saying a reverse light or 4wd indicator light won’t effect a manual transmission from going into gear. I deleted all of mine.

Reactions: 1

NorCalJalopy

· #6 · 18 d ago

tranny full of oil?

Boogeyman048

Discussion Starter · #7 · 18 d ago

Thank you for all the replies!

Yes, both trans and t case was given MT90 to full..

I didnt take the clutch off, just the trans at the bellhousing..I think I may have to drop the t case and start from scratch on it again 😒😒

I have an 86 pickup that I just did the input shaft seal. The only difference on my 88 4Runner is I split the cases and rebuilt the t case..If I take the t case out of the equation the transmission will shift with the motor running, but there's no power. Trail Gear tech support was suggesting something bound up in the t case...

here's some pics of the progress...if you could call it that! 🤣🤣

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NorCalJalopy

· #8 · 18 d ago

Dang! That sucks. Once you tear it down again you’ll be pretty proficient about it. I’ll have to send one of my cases for you to put a 4.7 gear in one lol.

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Boogeyman048

Discussion Starter · #9 · 18 d ago

NorCalJalopy said:
Dang! That sucks. Once you tear it down again you’ll be pretty proficient about it. I’ll have to send one of my cases for you to put a 4.7 gear in one lol.

I hope I can get this figured out first!🤣🤣 Im probably gonna pull it over the weekend. Really hoping it's something more simple!😅

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Boogeyman048

Discussion Starter · #10 · 15 d ago

ok, so it was a long weekend 😂😂

I pulled the transmission out to inspect the clutch release bearing..it was goofed up. The clutch on the rig was replaced and a 2 stage clutch was installed before I bought it. When I had everything torn down, I bought a new clutch release bearing....

So...pulled the trans, fixed the clutch release bearing, re installed..still, the clutch wasn't engaging. Then I had the bright idea to throw the old clutch release bearing in (my thought was because it was 2 stage clutch the "clutch release bearing" may be a slightly different). MY reasoning was I didn't think enough pressure was being put on the pressure plate by the release bearing. Put the old one in...no go 😖😖😒

So then in a fit of desperation I dropped the t case to see if I needed to tear into again. Dropped the t case, used an old t case input spline to put into the transmission..put her in gear, engaged clutch, truck wouldnt roll..So I think I've narrowed it down to my clutch...

Now my confusion sets in...I didn't do ANYTHING to clutch except get a new slave cylinder..maybe its the wrong one? Made sure I got the right one for the year...Im just totally confused right now. I might just buy an AISIN clutch and go back to OEM or something...but Im lost currently..

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Wontun Splodies

· #11 · 15 d ago

But, both the trans and t case shift well on their own? But not assembled? Both turn freely on their own but not assembled?

Boogeyman048

Discussion Starter · #12 · 15 d ago

Wontun Splodies said:
But, both the trans and t case shift well on their own? But not assembled? Both turn freely on their own but not assembled?

yes.. I can run through all the gears when the vehicle is off..Everything moves freely in the trans and the t case. It just seems like my clutch isnt engaging. Which is really confusing because I didn't do anything to the clutch..

After I dropped the t case, I put the old input gear in the trans, put her in 1st, and engaged the clutch...it wouldn't spin...so im thinking that just leaves the clutch 🤷‍♂️ Im just a weekend mechanic with just enough knowledge to be dangerous.😂😂😂 So the only thing I can think of now is to replace the clutch back to OEM.

Wontun Splodies

· #13 · 15 d ago

Boogeyman048 said:
yes.. I can run through all the gears when the vehicle is off..Everything moves freely in the trans and the t case. It just seems like my clutch isnt engaging. Which is really confusing because I didn't do anything to the clutch..

After I dropped the t case, I put the old input gear in the trans, put her in 1st, and engaged the clutch...it wouldn't spin...so im thinking that just leaves the clutch 🤷‍♂️ Im just a weekend mechanic with just enough knowledge to be dangerous.😂😂😂 So the only thing I can think of now is to replace the clutch back to OEM.

Yeah that may be a place to start...not super familiar with Toyota's.... But I had Datsuns back in the day. My 510 transmissions had a bad habit of binding the throw out bearing on the input shaft...(slightly cock-eyed). Everything would bolt up but I'd get no or weird clutch engagement. Or bound up shifter.. etc.
One of my fords trans binds itself on a tcase I tried to put on it. Tcase works on 3 different m50d, but on one it binds the input and output and neither shift if there together, both seem to work fine combined with different t-cases/trans.. output binds against the input out the tcase and they jam.
I thought of making a thick copper ring to shim them out. 🤔Bought more tcases and transmissions instead😐😔

Boogeyman048

Discussion Starter · #14 · 13 d ago

Im buying a clutch today and throwing that in..That can only be the problem. Crazy, I never touched it!

Wontun Splodies

· #15 · 13 d ago

Good luck. Hope that's the issue.

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