Stuck in 3rd gear

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86tercelOG
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My tercel:: 1986 Toyota Tercel SR5. Completely stock

Stuck in 3rd gear

Post by 86tercelOG »

Alrighty guys and gals.... so yesterday I was driving my 1986 Toyota Tercel sr5 wagon around town and went to shift from 3rd gear to 4th gear and it seemed like it didn’t go and I was stuck in 3rd gear. Have been doing some reading here and there and some people are saying to drop the transmission and a bolt could have came loose. I’m really stuck and without my commuter right now. Anything would help!
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Mattel
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My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Stuck in 3rd gear

Post by Mattel »

hey 86tercel sorry to hear about your issues. usually easier to drop the engine and transmission in one peice if you have to. how is the clutch? still ok? where are you based perhaps we know someone near you that can help?
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Stuck in 3rd gear

Post by Petros »

you might remove the center console and pull out the shift lever (there is a large circlip under the boot to remove) and see if you can determine if the linkage is hung up. not likely, but it is worth a try. there is a top cover on the trans that you can reach from inside the car without removing the trans. it comes off with a number of 10mm bolts as I recall (or perhaps 12mm), and you can get a look at part of the shift linkage.

Usually you have to pull the trans mission out to fix that, that is a big job.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
86tercelOG
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Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2020 8:03 pm
My tercel:: 1986 Toyota Tercel SR5. Completely stock

Re: Stuck in 3rd gear

Post by 86tercelOG »

Mattel wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:18 pm hey 86tercel sorry to hear about your issues. usually easier to drop the engine and transmission in one peice if you have to. how is the clutch? still ok? where are you based perhaps we know someone near you that can help?
I’m in Northern California! Going to hopefully have some time to work on it the next couple days. Everywhere I have read or asked it all pretty much has me pull the transmission
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BaileySims
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My tercel:: 1983 Tercel SR5 4WD
Location: Texas
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Re: Stuck in 3rd gear

Post by BaileySims »

If your planning on doing it yourself, I would recommend using roberts (Xirdneh) youtube videos. I recently had to pull mine out because I lost 1st and 2nd gear. Got it torn apart and put back together in working order in good time. Here's the link to his channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1rAb ... NYsHMQzFsw
WAGON MAFIA.
Blood, sweat and beers.
xirdneh
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My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Stuck in 3rd gear

Post by xirdneh »

What happened here. Am curious as to whether or not you have removed tranny. Sounds like 3rd/4th gear shift fork bolt came out
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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