AT Shifter gate broken (1 Viewer)

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BMThiker

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So I went camping up in N. GA this weekend and I was downshifting the trans for running down hill on long sections of gravel mountain roads. When I went to put it back in drive, it was acting stiff at the shifter and I think I broke something in the gate mechanism. The shifter now has no detent stops and flops around. I'm using a little bungee to keep the shifter pegged in the gate where I need it for now.

Someone please tell me they know what this is and that it's and easy fix.
 
So I went camping up in N. GA this weekend and I was downshifting the trans for running down hill on long sections of gravel mountain roads. When I went to put it back in drive, it was acting stiff at the shifter and I think I broke something in the gate mechanism. The shifter now has no detent stops and flops around. I'm using a little bungee to keep the shifter pegged in the gate where I need it for now.

Someone please tell me they know what this is and that it's and easy fix.


hmmm ... I've had mine out a bunch of times, but never taken it apart, or had it behave like that. It's a reasonably small, self-contained unit that is "fly by wire", no direct linkage to anything. Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck with the repair.
 
Talked with @beno and looking like I will have to replace 33560 assembly. Haven't priced it yet.

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I took everything apart today and discovered the detent pin was missing. After poking around in the tunnel I found the "bullet" that is the detent pin. It goes in a hole right next to the shifter.

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I had the exact same thing happen last year. The shifter was progressively getting stiffer when manually shifting down. The pin housing on mine was quite broken, so I ended up sourcing a used shifter unit that was in as new shape. I kept the old unit 'just in case' I need something out of it later...;)
 
In case anyone is wondering, this is what the inside of the shifter plate looks like. The gate regulates the shifter rod, the detents in this plate help keep it there.

This is what it looks like upon disassembly. White grease caked with dust/debris and presumably...particles of ABS plastic.
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After I cleaned it up, you can see the groove path that the "bullet" has carved into the plastic.
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I recovered all the surfaces with grease before I reassembled it.
 
Great coverage BMT. Mine was very similar. My 'new' one is already experiencing the same sticky spots. Will have to go in there and clean and relube everything to prevent future problems.
I had taken pics and documented my issues with this, but things burned down last fall, so starting fresh, so to speak.
 
Interesting. Thanks for sharing @BMThiker . I was test driving a friend's FJrig and had issues downshifting as soon as I was merging in traffic. I thought it was the gate cover getting hung up but symptoms ring similar to yours. Will definitely share these results with him.
 
@landwagon here's what broke on mine, and how to fix it.
Thank you, same thing happened to this one. I’m thinking about making a sleeve out of an arrow and then some epoxy. Or might just buy new this has lasted 18 years.
I’ve been trying to figure out if the 4Runner/fj are the same as the GX.
Talk to @Onur the other day about it. Still haven’t decided which way I’m going.
Thanks again for some more clarity.
 
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Okay, when yours first had the symptoms, how did the shifter feel? Mine always shifted fine and is really smooth, except for the day that it popped. Now, it's only 3rd that it won't hold, but it shifts up and down perfectly while driving. I can drive it shifting up through the gears until I hit 3rd, then it flops to D...

Good fix... I will have tear into mine before I visit home :doh:
 
Okay, when yours first had the symptoms, how did the shifter feel? Mine always shifted fine and is really smooth, except for the day that it popped. Now, it's only 3rd that it won't hold, but it shifts up and down perfectly while driving. I can drive it shifting up through the gears until I hit 3rd, then it flops to D...

Good fix... I will have tear into mine before I visit home :doh:
Mine got really stiff, hard to select in any direction, then it went "pop" like you described. I think the bullet was misaligned and binding against the plate and more shifting caused the plastic around it to break.
 
Mine got really stiff, hard to select in any direction, then it went "pop" like you described. I think the bullet was misaligned and binding against the plate and more shifting caused the plastic around it to break.
That's what I figured :doh:

I've been putting it off, but I do use 3rd a lot on some of our routes.
 

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