Toyota Repair: 85 Tercel Wagon 4wd Gearbox (transmission) problem, salvage yard, gear pullers

Question
Ted,

I am hoping you can help me with an issue I am having with a 1985 Tercel 4wd transmission.  The gist of the problem is that the manual transmission won't stay in first gear.  All other gears work just fine.  If you try to put it in 1st all ya get is the gear grinding noise, and the shift lever pops back into neutral.  I assume this is an issue with the synchros? Maybe?  I am in the process of removing the transmission, it is unbolted and supported waiting for a second pair of hands to get it out, and for some advice.  Is this tranny rebuilable or should I be looking for a new one?  How hard of a fix is this?  Thank you for your help!  Chuck Perrine

Answer
If the only problem is with the first gear I would repair only that part and the synchro rings for all the gears, it is probably going to need a first gear, the shift sleeve and hub and maybe a shift fork and gaskets, these parts are not cheap so call the dealer for a price, it may be more cost effective to just find a used one from a salvage yard. There are no rebuilt units available from toyota but you may be able to find a local transmission shop that can sell you one.
If you are thinking about doing this yourself you need an assortment of gear pullers and a hydraulic press to disassemble the geartrain to replace the parts and put it back together.