Sticky shifter on left side

[Sonicp9]

Hey everyone,



Its been a while since I last posted on here. Today I brought in my 16 FRS to Toyota to check up on my shifter (as well as some other noises I have heard) which has been sticky on the left side. The shifter will stick to left when moved to the left, rather than snapping back to the middle. It overall feels weird on the left side in general. Sometimes when shifting out of reverse, the sleeve won't snap back, keeping the car in reverse rather than first gear.



Anyways, I did not think this would be something catastrophic, but long story short they now want to take the tranny out to check the linkage as the source of the stickiness seems to be from there. Problem is, they can't guarantee that this will get covered under warranty. They believe it could be caused by corrosion which would not be covered apparently. If there would not be any approved warranty work, then I would be stuck paying the 1000 dollars (and I don't think I could do much about the corrosion if thats the case).



Any help on what I could do in this case? I did not approve the removal of the tranny just yet. I am trying to contact Toyota Canada directly first and see if there is anything they could do. Car has 95000 km, had it since the ODO was at 8km. Toyota drivetrain warranty expires at 100k and then I have extended drivetrain coverage until 200k.


Thanks!

[n0thing]

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=799991


Try that and see what's happening within the shifter assembly.

[humfrz]

These may help - but, I'm not sure of that.

http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/mtec...pring-kit.html

Comments from others?


humfrz

[Ultramaroon]

Does the reverse lockout drop if you move it to the middle of neutral yourself?


Does the shifter hang to the left with the lockout down, or only from reverse?

[Sonicp9]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Does the reverse lockout drop if you move it to the middle of neutral yourself?


Does the shifter hang to the left with the lockout down, or only from reverse?

So normally when shifter is in neutral, you should be able to move it left and right no problem and it should always snap to center position on its own when letting go of it. In my car, the shifter doesn't move as smoothly when moving to the left. Sometimes it feels like it should go further left but cant. I have to move it back to neutral, then left again. If I move shifter to the left and take my hand off of it, it will stay there. It won't snap back to the middle. The right side (gears 5 6) does not have this issue.



When using reverse, I can enter no problem. But when trying to shift back to one, I need to move shifter back to neutral in order for the lockout mechanism to drop.



I have learned to do this after a few instances, but generally, if someone tries reversing my car then going back to 1, they end up staying in reverse since the lockout stays up.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Sonicp9

So normally when shifter is in neutral, you should be able to move it left and right no problem and it should always snap to center position on its own when letting go of it. In my car, the shifter doesn't move as smoothly when moving to the left. Sometimes it feels like it should go further left but cant. I have to move it back to neutral, then left again. If I move shifter to the left and take my hand off of it, it will stay there. It won't snap back to the middle. The right side (gears 5 6) does not have this issue.



When using reverse, I can enter no problem. But when trying to shift back to one, I need to move shifter back to neutral in order for the lockout mechanism to drop.



I have learned to do this after a few instances, but generally, if someone tries reversing my car then going back to 1, they end up staying in reverse since the lockout stays up.

@Ultramaroon - you're up -


humfrz

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Sonicp9

So normally when shifter is in neutral, you should be able to move it left and right no problem and it should always snap to center position on its own when letting go of it. In my car, the shifter doesn't move as smoothly when moving to the left. Sometimes it feels like it should go further left but cant. I have to move it back to neutral, then left again. If I move shifter to the left and take my hand off of it, it will stay there. It won't snap back to the middle. The right side (gears 5 6) does not have this issue.

I can guess at a couple things but the exact cause is not important.

I suspect that this is an internal transmission issue. It will be a bent or sticking device directly connected to the #1 shift fork shaft. Something is out of line causing the select lever to hang up between the #1 and #2 gear shift heads.

It will be expensive. Sorry.

If you want to see diagrams, look especially at the second and fourth illustrations.

TL70 MANUAL TRANSMISSION / TRANSAXLE: MANUAL TRANSAXLE UNIT: COMPONENTS; 2013 MY FR-S [03/2012 - ]

[highway7]

How can corrosion possibly cause this? I call BS because the shifter is directly linked to the trans bell housing due to the RWD layout, completely unlike an FWD with exposed shift linkages where corrosion could be plausible.



Curious OP, do you do hard shifts? Drive with your hand resting on the shifter?

[RZNT4R]

Originally Posted by highway7

How can corrosion possibly cause this? I call BS because the shifter is directly linked to the trans bell housing due to the RWD layout, completely unlike an FWD with exposed shift linkages where corrosion could be plausible.



Curious OP, do you do hard shifts? Drive with your hand resting on the shifter?

Nope. The TL70 does have an external shift linkage. The selector shaft sticks out of the back of the transmission and the shift level is attached to it via a rod, while the shifter lever carrier it attached to the transmission case and floor of the car.

You can see the selector rod poking out over the output shaft here



Ideally, before the transmission comes out, it'd be common sense to detach the shifter linkage at that point, and confirm that the shift lever moves freely while detached. If it's free, the trouble is in the trans, if it isn't, the trouble is out of the trans. The mechanic has probably done this, but then again, you'd be surprised at how many basic steps often get forgotten.

[highway7]

Originally Posted by RZNT4R

Nope. The TL70 does have an external shift linkage. The selector shaft sticks out of the back of the transmission and the shift level is attached to it via a rod, while the shifter lever carrier it attached to the transmission case and floor of the car.

You can see the selector rod poking out over the output shaft here



Ideally, before the transmission comes out, it'd be common sense to detach the shifter linkage at that point, and confirm that the shift lever moves freely while detached. If it's free, the trouble is in the trans, if it isn't, the trouble is out of the trans. The mechanic has probably done this, but then again, you'd be surprised at how many basic steps often get forgotten.

Wow good to know! I'm used to seeing RWD trannys like this

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by RZNT4R

Ideally, before the transmission comes out, it'd be common sense to detach the shifter linkage at that point, and confirm that the shift lever moves freely while detached. If it's free, the trouble is in the trans, if it isn't, the trouble is out of the trans. The mechanic has probably done this, but then again, you'd be surprised at how many basic steps often get forgotten.

If OP was accurate in his description, it's not this.

[Sonicp9]

Hey all,


So Toyota did confirm that the issue is from within the tranny, as they did check whether the shifter moved freely when detached from linkage. @Ultramaroon thank you for your advice. It seems like you knew the symptoms I was having, and hopefully you are correct. I ended up giving in and will be giving the car to Toyota. This should be covered under warranty as I have not done any mechanical mods to the car, which appeared to be the dealerships main concern.



I will post with updates as they come! Once again thanks for your help everyone.

[Ultramaroon]

Good luck.

[Bent42]

Originally Posted by Sonicp9

Hey all,


So Toyota did confirm that the issue is from within the tranny, as they did check whether the shifter moved freely when detached from linkage. @Ultramaroon thank you for your advice. It seems like you knew the symptoms I was having, and hopefully you are correct. I ended up giving in and will be giving the car to Toyota. This should be covered under warranty as I have not done any mechanical mods to the car, which appeared to be the dealerships main concern.



I will post with updates as they come! Once again thanks for your help everyone.

So I've been experiencing the same thing since getting my car on the road. My car was an insurance write off that I repaired. It was stiff shifting right from day 1. Wouldn't center properly, etc. I did the Mtec springs and there was no improvement. I replaced the shifter and again no improvement. Drove a year like this thinking it was probably something internal and possibly as a result of the accident. The other night I decided to try lubricating the linkage just for shits and giggles. I removed the shifter ( I run an IRP) which gave me access from the top. I sprayed everything that moves with spray graphite lube concentrating mainly on where the shift rod goes into the trans.
It is literally like driving a new car. No more bind or sticking. Shifter centers perfectly every time and is so smooth now.