Engine short shifter

short shifter

i have a problem with my stock shifter. basically, it feels like its getting stuck in between gears. i also have trouble getting it into gear for that reason. i'm pretty sure its not the cables since i checked those and they move freely. can i remedy this problem by getting a 00-02 shifter or a 9th gen shifter? would you guys recommend getting a short shifter to remedy my problem?

i think your problem is in your tranny, not your shifter, shifters don't really go bad.

Yeah could be the fluid, check it out.

i really dont think it is. i just got my fluid changed and my clutch replaced. it was like this before and after. its simply my shifter getting stuck. if i could pick a word to describe it, i would say it feels 'notchy'. when i move it into 1st, it gets stuck at the corner of the shift.

1 3 5
|-|-|
2 4 R

so when i go from neutral to 1st, 2nd to 3rd or 4th to 5th it gets stuck at the corner when you have to change directions, so i miss shifts. all the shifter cables move freely

Synchros? that is how the BMW felt and it turned out it was that.

it cant be. when i move the shift control levers on the tranny everything is smooth. when i move the cables in the cabin they also move freely. it also does this wether the car is on or off. it was always a bit notchy like that, especially compared to my friends vspec. could it be that it needs adjustment? it feels like its hitting something at the corner of the shift. once i move it around the corner tho its fine. its especially bad going into 1st. i also noticed that when i took off the shift boot that the whole plastic assembly moves when i try to push it to get it out of the stuck position but everything is bolted down. could i get a metal shifter assembly somewhere?

so could bad synchros also cause this same type of behavior when the car is off?
i just checked it over again, and discovered that the shift levers on the actual transmission were not lined up.

*edit* and by that i mean that if i pushed the side to side control lever over, then the forward and back lever wouldnt move freely without some jiggling of the side to side lever to get the forward back to fall into place. what could cause this?

also my friends jeep has the same issue. its brand new. my other friends spec-v has a smooth shifter feel, however. it doesnt even thump or click between gears. i can just throw it into whatever gear and its perfectly silent. is it just the way that the toyota trannies are designed?

You mentioned that you just got your fluid and clutch changed? Was it acting up before or just started after the change?

Could have a leaky main seal on the tranny - that is what happend to my other car - dripped oil onto the friction material and made the clutch grab and release kinda weird. Could also be a messed up pilot bearing - if the bearing is bad or installed incorrectly - could have killed it. Both of these makes the tranny shift weird when car is running, not when the car is off.

A choppy shift gate can also be an adjustment issue - have to look at a service manual for testing that. Wrong or incorrect fluid in the tranny ca also cause shifting issues - but I've never heard a problem with Toyota trannys. Usually it is with Honda or Mitsu transmissions with fluid restrictions or bad syncros.