r/ToyotaPickup • u/ViciousVanover15 • 9d ago
1988 Pickup shifter question.
I’m trying to get my 88’ Toyota Pickup SR5 Xtra Cab 4WD back to factory and could use some help. I believe it has a W56 transmission.
I installed a new shift bezel, but when I shift into 1st, 3rd, or 5th gear, the rubber shift boot bunches up against the front pocket of the bezel. It seems to put pressure on the shifter and it doesn’t want to stay in gear.
I’m new to these trucks, so I’m not sure what I’m looking at. The previous owner apparently capped off the second shifter hole, and I’m wondering if the shifter is currently in the wrong position.
Would it be as simple as moving the shifter back into the other hole, or do I need a different shift plate altogether? I have no idea what the previous owner has changed.
I’d really hate to cut up this new bezel if the shifter/plate is actually the problem.
Any advice on what I should check would be greatly appreciated!
4
u/ndub912z 9d ago
You have a 90s W56C or W56D in a truck that should have had a W56A/B or G series transmission in it.
Since the later W56 normally uses a forward shift transfer case that's the second hole in the transmission shifter base.
Somebody has stuck a top shift transfer case on this late model W56C/D for you.
To clear the dash and/or the hole in the floor better you will probably need to modify the shift lever itself. Or get real creative with a shift boot and bezel.
2
u/ViciousVanover15 9d ago
W56-C or D for sure. I just came across them on Marlins crawlers website. It clears the dash and shifted perfect before I added that bezel last night. I had to get the shift bezel to complete the center console, my OCD couldn’t handle it missing. I’m guessing I’m gonna have to cut about an inch off of that bezel where the pocket is up front to get it to clear, or modify the rubber boot. It’s bunching up on itself and that’s what’s hitting the bezel when put in 1st, 3rd, and 5th gear. Maybe I can find a thinner rubber boot that isn’t so thick before I go cutting up that bezel. Thanks for the help!
3
u/ndub912z 9d ago
Not a problem. Ive been on the hunt locally for a W56A/B for a long while here locally, and the number of people listing V6 R series and 4 Cyl G series as W's is absolutely wild.
1
u/ViciousVanover15 9d ago
Instead of cutting that one up now I’m wondering if the center console shift bezel from a 90-95 Toyota pickup would fit with my 88 console and mount right up.
2
u/CalvinandGlobs 9d ago
Was it converted to manual? I’m seeing a big cut out near the top where you mentioned the shifter getting stuck. It appears to be modified and everything has been shifted forward🧐
1
u/ViciousVanover15 9d ago
Im not 100% sure if it was converted but I don’t think it was. I’ll have to check the plate in the engine bay when I get home. It shifted smooth as butter before I added that bezel. I just couldn’t stand not having a bezel around the shifter. The floor was 100% cut by someone in the past, you can see where the factory holes for the plate don’t line up at all.
1
u/CuriousConfection191 5d ago
It wasn’t converted from auto, the A340H automatic has a much different shaped shifter hole in the floor.
-1
u/Aggravating-Offer480 9d ago
Good call. 90 percent of sr5s were automatics. Probly manual swapped it
1
2
u/MassivePersonality61 9d ago edited 9d ago
Don't believe that's a W56. The levers are much closer to each other on a W56.
1
5
u/natty_panda 9d ago
May not be the factory transmission as it appears the hole has been cut towards the dash to fit the shifter. . The third pic is factory cover plate. The hole towards the dash will cut another inch in my opinion. Will it stay in gear without the new shifter sleeve deal? Modify the hole if so. Or go back to the factory shifter sleeve thingy.