hokiemax

iTrader: (2)

ok guys. this is NOT a problem on a maxima, but on a manual 1987 toyota corolla. I'd appreciate it if you could chime in and suggest what to do.

The gear goes in fine, but the car doesnt move. It's as if the car is still in neutral. It does that for all gears, including Reverse. When revving like this, with the car in gear but not moving, there are no unsual sounds. What could be wrong? Shift linkage? and is this a DIY job? There were no suggestive symptoms before. It just started doing this TODAY.

The car belongs to a friend and he thinks i'm a hardcore DIY mechanic, but man things like this are out of my realm. But I plan to use this opportunity as a learning experience. I need to tell him whether this can be a DIY job or whether to just throw the car away.

Please advise. thank you.

Scruit

I would say clutch, but a clutch typically fails in the engaged position (ie engine and tranny linked) whereas is sounds like the corolla is stuck in the disengaged position.

Definitely check the shifter linkage. You should hear the tranny making clunking/clicking noises as you shift gears (with the engine off). Watch the shifter linkage at the tranny to see if it it moving.

Disconnect the linkage and try to actuate it manually at the tranny input. On a max you can do this with just one bolt. The input to the max tranny is one rod. You can imagine how this input works by thinking of the shifter - you can pull the shifter from the 1-2 position (left) to the 3-4 position (center) with no tension. You can also push it to the 5-R position (right) under spring pressure. In any of these positions (left, center, spring-right) you can push the shifter forward or back to engage an actual gear.

If you disconnect the max shifter linkage and try to operate the input rod manually, you use the same pattern to change gears - just remer that the shifter handle reverses forward/back. So to can turn the input rod left and center about 10deg each way with no tension (left is 1-2, right is the center 3-4) or turn it right under spring tension(prolly need a screwdriver to to give you enough leverage) which will put you in 5-R. So the positions are

1 = left, back
2 = left, forward
3 = right (center), back
4 = right (center), forward
5 = right against spring, back
R = right against spring, forwards (this is difficult to engage by hand)

The tranny in the corrola is probably similar, or you can reverse-engineer the shift linkage pattern and do similar tests. With the engine off just listen to the distincting sounds of the selector arms in the tranny being actuated as you shift wither manually or with the shifter. If you hear nothing, suspect the shifter linkage not functioning correctly.

hokiemax

iTrader: (2)

Scruit, thanks for the detailed post. I just called my friend up and told him to gimme a more detailed description. According to him, when you push the lever into place, like into 1st, 2nd and etc, it DOESNT make any clicking sound and it feels more "loose" than before. And also, with the car "supposedly" in gear, like in 1st or 2nd, the engine should stall when you let off the clutch, but he says the engine keeps running. This leads me to believe that the lever might look like its in gear, but the actual gears are not engaged at all, which means a problem in the shift linkage?

chinaonnitrous1

iTrader: (12)

id look under the car at this point, a rod of some sort may be hanging. indicating it came undone from teh shifter itself.

Nismo

iTrader: (18)

I "think" that tranny is opperated by a cable rather than shift likage. not shure but older tercel I worked on had a cable. Maybe the cable is disconnected or too loose? have someone shift the car while you look under it to see whats going on.

DEVIOUS

iTrader: (1)

is it a fwd or a rwd '87 was the last year toyota made a rwd corolla. if it's a rwd you will need to take off the shifter to look at the shift rod because the shifter sit directly on the trans and the rod is inside of the trans. (T50) model is know for weak shift forks.

max95q

iTrader: (10)

Try checking your shifter bushing. On my car sometimes the shifter looksto be in drive but I gotto push it back like tap it to go in gear. I need to replace my shifter bushing. So your bushing may have completely came off and its not engaging the shifter linkage. Check that!!

MaxWolf

iTrader: (1)

linkage

Ramius83

If it is not the linkage, it is the clutch. My first clutch went out and it permanently engaged itself, so even in any gear, the car just would not move.