Celica Forums General Discussion General Transmission issue

Hey guys, im new here and i would consider myself a novice when it comes to car repair so any help i can get to narrow down this issue would be greatly appreciated.

I had just bought an 03 gts with only 85k miles a couple of months back. This was supposed to be my first vehicle that i bought (have had other vehicles, but this was officially mine) with what little cash i had available. about two weeks after driving it my transmission stopped shifting all of a sudden. 3rd always had a grind but i would do my best to double clutch around it, but one day shifting from 2nd to 3rd my transmission stopped shifting all together. when it happened the shift from 2nd to 3rd grinded then I tried to go back to 2nd, then 1st to drive it home but those grinded too. I put it into neutral and there it has stayed. I can move the shifter into the other gears with no pop out or grind when the engine is on but it still is in neutral. I checked the cables and everything seems fine. have not opened the transmission or taken it to a shop since i had to move and save up more money for repairs. I live in a rural town so my options are limited (no dealership, few mechanics, etc), but i need to get my car back

any suggestions or advice? im tight on cash so any way to cut back on the costs of repairs would be a huge help

other info: the car has an oil pan gasket leak, only other issue with the vehicle, cheap fix that i can do myself. not sure if this affects anything regarding the transmission but putting that info out there.

Hey, man.
I'm definitely not an expert either, but it sounds like it could be one of these 3 things:

Problem 1: Your Syncros/gears are all shot.
If this is the case, you're better off just getting a new trans and having it installed assuming you wanna keep the car. That can run you around $2000 ($1000Labor + $1000Parts) and that's on the lean side of things. You might be able to install it yourself with one of your best and most useful friends to save yourself a bunch of money. MonkeyWrenchRacing has good brand new ones, but I got my Trans used from Ebay for $650.

Problem 2: Your clutch might be worn out.
Toyota uses a good quality stock clutch, but it's been like 15 years and people love to really beat the crap out of the manual GTS trans. Since almost all the power is up on the high end of the revs and so is the burnout range for novices, they can take a lot of abuse. A lot of them that weren't owned by grandparents or "cool moms" have worn out clutches that crap out on you all of a sudden.. You could get a new aftermarket clutch for like a couple hundred and pop it in yourself (with help), or get a used one from a reputable site and bring it to the cheapest mechanic in town. I'm budget building my GT into a GTS, so I dug up some good clutches if that's the problem. I went to CarID.com to look around, but they're not he only shop in town.

Problem 3: Shifter Bushings
Bushings wear out pretty often in the 7th Gen GT/GTS. Especially if the previous owner played with the shifter in traffic like 75% of manual drivers do. If you're really trying to save money, pray to god its just your bushings causing the issues. I prolly shoulda mentioned this 1st, but I don't wanna edit all this now... Anyway, They're dirt cheap and way WAY easier to install than a whole transmission. Plus, once they're in, it shifts like a brand new car (unless something is seriously wrong).

Anyway man, I talk too much. Hope any of this helps. I also hope I didn't just talk you into getting a new Trans if you didn't need it.

I would bet on either shifter bushings or worn synchros. As stated above, both are uncommon.

Another thing to consider would be a broken clutch, as in physically broken. A popular 2zz YouTuber, Mitch Dore, experienced this in his swapped MR2 Spyder, when a piece of the clutch assembly broke off and prevented the clutch from moving at all. However, this is not as easy to diagnose.

Hey guys sorry for the late reply. So I'm going to start with the cheapest fix first which would be the bushings, any recommendations?

Also assuming this does not fix the issue and i have to buy a "new" transmission, would there be any issues matching up an imported JDM 6-speed transmission to a USDM GTS?
Additionally, what about transmissions from other cars that used the same transmission? for instance the corolla, matrix, vibe (all withing their respective year models), have the same transmission but is the fitment/ configuration the same?

Sorry for all the questions, i just want to make sure i get this right the first time, assuming the bushings aren't the problem

Generally, bushings are bushings. I might just say try brass bushings instead of OEM rubber bushings if you want a firmer, more mechanical feel.

If you do need a new transmission, there shouldn't be any issues matching up a JDM tranny with USDM engine.

And yes, those other cars should be a direct bolt-on as well. Just make sure it's the C60 6 speed tranny and not the C56 5 speed tranny.

I'm prolly super late here, but yea, a Matrix 6-speed should bolt right onto a GTS motor and line up with the mount back there. Same for the Corolla of the same year. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the MR2 trans might not go on so easily. I think I remember someone having to do some kind of magic for theirs (for an MR2 2zz swap), but I really don't know for sure.

Hopefully the bushings were the problem though! Way cheaper to fix that.