[impishotak]

First of all, hello! This is my first post and the reason for which I have created this account. I am hoping somebody lurking on this site can help me out.

A couple months ago I bought a 2005 Scion xB that needed a clutch replacement. I was able to drive it home and replace the clutch and flywheel in my garage. Upon reassembly, however, I ran into a huge issue. While removing the transmission, I made the mistake of undoing the four bolts holding the gear selector shaft assembly (that is what I am calling it, but I can't even find a part name or number even after calling dealerships) into the top of the transmission. I pulled it out an inch or two before thinking "hey, this seems like something I DON'T want or need to be messing with" and sliding it back in. I then did what I ought to have done in the first place, and simply disconnected the shifter cables from the assembly, and carried on with the repair.

Upon reassembly, I realized that the "arm" that connects the shifter cables to the selector shaft was pointing towards the driver side of the vehicle. It is supposed to be facing downward, so it was rotated 90 degrees from where it should have been. It still seemed to move in and out and side to side properly, so I assumed it had just gotten rotated when I took it partially out by mistake earlier. I undid the four bolts and tried to pull it out just a couple inches in order to rotate, but it would not rotate to the proper position. After trying this many times, I decided to just take it all the way out, thinking I might have an easier time aligning the parts. It slid out with no resistance.

Since I left the transmission in neutral, I aligned all of the parts on the selector shaft in the middle and tried to slide it into place. After a little wiggling, it slid into place! However, I then realized the "arm" was pointing towards the passenger side of the vehicle, so still 90 degrees from where it should have been and a whole 180 degrees from where it was when I started! I laughed and tried again to remove the shaft, but despite how easy it went in... it wouldn't come out! Not only that, but it wouldn't move in and out or side to side at all.

This is where I am today. I am afraid that something on the shaft rotated inside the transmission and is now preventing my from removing it. I have tried wiggling and wiggling, and even used quite a lot of force (not a tremendous amount, though, as I am afraid of breaking it) and it still won't come out. It will come out about an inch or two, and then will wiggle and move freely, but will not come all the way out, and if I push it back in, it will slide in easy but then will not wiggle or move until pulled out again.

Please help me! I don't have the money to get a new transmission and I am not mechanically inclined enough to take apart a transmission. Replacing the clutch was the most involved job I have ever attempted.

Thanks in advance~

 

[9.0 2012 RS]

First of all, hello! This is my first post and the reason for which I have created this account. I am hoping somebody lurking on this site can help me out.

A couple months ago I bought a 2005 Scion xB that needed a clutch replacement. I was able to drive it home and replace the clutch and flywheel in my garage. Upon reassembly, however, I ran into a huge issue. While removing the transmission, I made the mistake of undoing the four bolts holding the gear selector shaft assembly (that is what I am calling it, but I can't even find a part name or number even after calling dealerships) into the top of the transmission. I pulled it out an inch or two before thinking "hey, this seems like something I DON'T want or need to be messing with" and sliding it back in. I then did what I ought to have done in the first place, and simply disconnected the shifter cables from the assembly, and carried on with the repair.

Upon reassembly, I realized that the "arm" that connects the shifter cables to the selector shaft was pointing towards the driver side of the vehicle. It is supposed to be facing downward, so it was rotated 90 degrees from where it should have been. It still seemed to move in and out and side to side properly, so I assumed it had just gotten rotated when I took it partially out by mistake earlier. I undid the four bolts and tried to pull it out just a couple inches in order to rotate, but it would not rotate to the proper position. After trying this many times, I decided to just take it all the way out, thinking I might have an easier time aligning the parts. It slid out with no resistance.

Since I left the transmission in neutral, I aligned all of the parts on the selector shaft in the middle and tried to slide it into place. After a little wiggling, it slid into place! However, I then realized the "arm" was pointing towards the passenger side of the vehicle, so still 90 degrees from where it should have been and a whole 180 degrees from where it was when I started! I laughed and tried again to remove the shaft, but despite how easy it went in... it wouldn't come out! Not only that, but it wouldn't move in and out or side to side at all.

This is where I am today. I am afraid that something on the shaft rotated inside the transmission and is now preventing my from removing it. I have tried wiggling and wiggling, and even used quite a lot of force (not a tremendous amount, though, as I am afraid of breaking it) and it still won't come out. It will come out about an inch or two, and then will wiggle and move freely, but will not come all the way out, and if I push it back in, it will slide in easy but then will not wiggle or move until pulled out again.

Please help me! I don't have the money to get a new transmission and I am not mechanically inclined enough to take apart a transmission. Replacing the clutch was the most involved job I have ever attempted.

Thanks in advance~

First off, if you're replacing a clutch you're "mechanically inclined." enough. I drive a auto so I can't help- however, Superbee or Tony 1.8 are two among many here that have vast mechanical knowledge on xB's. Hold tight they should chime in. And you can show us some pics if you're inclined. Welcome!

 

[superbee 4406]

from what you are describing I think you are talking about this part?
I believe it is the forward/neutral/reverse lever
I took this pic from my spare transmission in my garage
the 2 pics show the location and travel of the lever.
if it came out, it should go back in
some of this stuff can be like a puzzle
its just a matter of having it lined up
did you try to wiggle the other lever around
while trying to get it out?
also wiggling on the cv axles should help unbind it
i did move the lever and trans around
and the 2nd pic is the arm in the neutral position (arm to the right)

 

[impishotak]

Thank you 2012RS for the welcome! And thank you superbee for the reply! This is indeed the part in question. I am going to try moving the CV axle to see if it unbinds it. Good to know that neutral is to the right, rather than straight down like I had assumed. I will keep you all posted. And thanks again!! I'm glad there are still people interested in these cars. I have always thought they were cool and hope I can get mine on the road soon!

 

[1.8TTony]

I hate to say it, you're like........99% screwed on this. But there is hope.......1% hope.

I'll try to transfer diagrams below, to give you an idea of what you're dealing with.

The diagram below..
.
.
.

I couldn't find a diagram for your particular xB, but I found those for Camry & 2007+ xB...... Very similar designs. So anyways,:

The thing you pulled partially out of the transmission is called the "shift lever shaft"......some places call it a "shift control shaft". I've circled it in blue (top diagram).

The item in the red circle is mounted (on the shaft) and its inside the item in the yellow circle. (Top diagram).

Together, the yellow & red engage with the "forward" shift shaft..........at the location circled in green. (Top diagram).

You're going to have to remove the shift levers from the shift shaft, then remove the shift shaft plate......the shift shaft plate in the diagram below in the red circle.

Once that plate is removed, you should have enough room to reach into the transmission with a long screwdriver and align the yellow to the green (top diagram). Do not, I repeat........DO NOT move the green. If you move the green, it's going to cause a chain reaction and move the reverse shift shaft detent. As seen circled in red, in the below diagram. If the red moves, you're going to have to mess with the other lever AND the green simultaneously to get those lined up before you can line up the yellow and green (top diagram)........very difficult.

If you have to, you can finesse the screwdriver inside the transmission to move yellow & red (top diagram) and pull the shift lever shaft completely out of the transmission. This will give you more room to manipulate the green to the reverse shift shaft (red in the above diagram).

The lever shaft.....when/if you pull it out of the transmission, it has a lot of parts on it but don't worry, they won't fall off the shaft because there is a retainer clip at the bottom holding it all together.

Good luck, with this nightmare. I know exactly what needs to be done here. I could get everything lined up quickly, simply because I've spent countless, frustrating hours beating myself up trying to accomplish this task.

And in all honesty, If I were you, I'd pull the transmission, drop it off at a shop to let someone do it. Or have it towed to the shop.

Sucks because it only takes a few minutes and a shop is gonna charge you 1 full hour labor-time. The position of the transmission in the car is such that if you drop ANYTHING down in there, it's not coming back out. It's gonna disappear. Then there goes your last 1% of hope........you'll be 100% screwed.

 

[superbee 4406]

Damn
that is a can of worms I wouldn't expect
I hope the op gets it sorted out.

 

[impishotak]

Thank you 1.8TTony!

I ended up moving the orange part around with a small pick (it seems to have rotated towards the driver's side and was kinda hard to pry back to the upright position) and got the whole thing to slide out again! Then I looked at the bits inside and they seem to have all shifted towards the passenger side. Put them back in the middle with a screwdriver and it slid back in, no problems. The car is now back together and shifting great!

Thank you all for all of your help, I could not be more excited to have this car back on the road!

 

[1.8TTony]

Thank you 1.8TTony!

Thank you all for all of your help, I could not be more excited to have this car back on the road!

No problemo......glad I could supply some helpful info. I learned about these transmissions when I went thru transmission assembly trade school. I earned Master Tech level certification.

After getting certified, I got hired on with AAMCO Transmissions to rebuild transmissions for them.

If anyone's wondering........ Don't ever buy an AAMCO transmission, they rebuild with the cheapest parts. Corners are cut.

I began taking Toyota's factory repair courses with the intention of quitting AAMCO. I graduated Toyota with many certifications....... and got hired on at my local Toyota dealership........Toyota employee benefits & retirement package is much better than AAMCO's benefit trash plan. 😁

Funny thing though........as many Toyota courses I certified in, Toyota never had a transmission building course. Just transmission diagnostics & transmission replacement courses.......and because I already had transmission building certification when I applied for Toyota.....Toyota paid for all my training.

 

[superbee 4406]

I'm just a vo tech trained back yard hack
That worked in a muffler/tire place and then a restoration body shop for a short time
With a awesome set of tools. lol

 

[1.8TTony]

I'm just a vo tech trained back yard hack
That worked in a muffler/tire place and then a restoration body shop for a short time
With a awesome set of tools. lol

I've read lots of your responses here in this group......if you've never been factory trained......you've got an excellent understanding of how these automotive systems work and are integrated with each other. There's been a few times where I was going to comment on other people's issues but I've read your response towards them and I refrained from giving my advice because you gave the same exact advice I would have given

 

[1.8TTony]

Superbee or Tony 1.8 are two among many here that have vast mechanical knowledge on xB's. Hold tight they should chime in.

1.8TTony here....I chimed in and provided info.......thanks for the kudos......I almost feel obligated to to provide my knowledge whenever you mention me. I wish I could split my brain and let my knowledge pour out over all Scion, Toyota and Lexus vehicle owners.

 

[superbee 4406]

I've read lots of your responses here in this group......if you've never been factory trained......you've got an excellent understanding of how these automotive systems work and are integrated with each other. There's been a few times where I was going to comment on other people's issues but I've read your response towards them and I refrained from giving my advice because you gave the same exact advice I would have given

I worked in a few more places then listed
So I'm not total backyard
Never been trained except for basic vo tech auto shop course way back in the 70's
When I was 17
Then on the job
Or at home working on my own junk

I did work for a heavy equipment repair place for a while and was offered a job from Caterpillar as I was at the dealership all the time resolving issues with wrong parts and warranty work and component repairs I knew one of the managers there pretty well. I could walk into parts dept behind the counter and grab a coffee and hit up a open computer terminal and order the parts myself off the microfilm
When the company you worked for spends tens of millions of dollars every other year at the Cat dealership in equipment
And well over a million just in parts a year
They tended to kiss your..lol
The thing was the commute was too far
And I would of had to move. it was bad timing so it never happened.

Not much I'm afraid of as I've even rebuilt and assembled a few engines of my own.
But I have limitations lol

I don't know how far I would of dared to dig into a transmission as I know there are a few
Special tools needed and they can be quite a puzzle that only goes together one way
Experience goes a long way

I would of been trying what ended up being the solution well before going down the road Of digging in.


Hey I sometimes look for your responses
on a few topics that I have no clue about. because I'm always willing to learn.
That's what brought me here.
I'm sort of a speed reading sponge lol

 

[9.0 2012 RS]

I worked in a few more places then listed
So I'm not total backyard
Never been trained except for basic vo tech auto shop course way back in the 70's
When I was 17
Then on the job
Or at home working on my own junk

I did work for a heavy equipment repair place for a while and was offered a job from Caterpillar as I was at the dealership all the time resolving issues with wrong parts and warranty work and component repairs I knew one of the managers there pretty well. I could walk into parts dept behind the counter and grab a coffee and hit up a open computer terminal and order the parts myself off the microfilm
When the company you worked for spends tens of millions of dollars every other year at the Cat dealership in equipment
And well over a million just in parts a year
They tended to kiss your..lol
The thing was the commute was too far
And I would of had to move. it was bad timing so it never happened.

Not much I'm afraid of as I've even rebuilt and assembled a few engines of my own.
But I have limitations lol

I don't know how far I would of dared to dig into a transmission as I know there are a few
Special tools needed and they can be quite a puzzle that only goes together one way
Experience goes a long way

I would of been trying what ended up being the solution well before going down the road Of digging in.


Hey I sometimes look for your responses
on a few topics that I have no clue about. because I'm always willing to learn.
That's what brought me here.
I'm sort of a speed reading sponge lol

The problem with today is most people- 89% don't have the mechanical knowledge to change a wiper blade let alone dig into a transmission. Nowadays its Junkyard or rebuilt tranny- then pay someone to install. You and 1.8 Tony are well appreciated.. However, my question to you gentlemen is: Do you think you could teach? I mean a Tech school?

 

[1.8TTony]

My question to you gentlemen is: Do you think you could teach? I mean a Tech school?

For me???.....No. Definately not. I'm not "teacher material". I don't have the patience to explain nor demonstrate a process to an individual person repeatedly (let alone an entire classroom). If I taught a class, I would expect the learners to acquire, interpret and perform a repair task properly without having to walk them thru the process after they've already been told the process and have observed the task as it had been demonstrated.

I can perform repairs with people standing nearby watching me, but when I do this, I don't conversate with them. Not because I want to ignore them, but because I want to focus 1,000% on what I'm doing.

I mean, it's a different story when I'm working on my own vehicles....when I'm working on my own stuff, I'll listen to music, maybe drink a cold beer, joke around with friends. Do other things, get side-tracked......

When I'm working on another person's vehicle I want to perform the repair as efficiently and as reliably as possible without any mistakes. I'm just hyper focused on THEIR vehicle repair. You never know if the vehicle you're working on is the family's only means of transportation and if I make a mistake or break a part, it's now MY fault that this family may or may not not be able to get to work for a few days while waiting for replacement parts to arrive.

I'm not a teacher.........I'm a perfectionist......I can only control what I can be 100% in control of.

I have zero patience when it comes to people not understanding something the first time I explain a situation to them because I feel I explain BEYOND what's necessary to explain the-first-time-around....down to the smallest details.

Probably my biggest fault is my lack of patience or it might be my excessive personal level of arrogance. I absolutely LOVE it when a difficult diagnosis/repair job comes into the shop and I can out-perform the guys/gals who (supposedly) have more knowledge than I do. Even better when a vehicle problem gets sent up the chain to my "supervisor" and he comes to me to fix what's on his plate. Lol. Hahahaha........MoFo Supervisor......you didn't fix that sh!t, I did....but feel free to forge my signature on the repair tag, you sumbitch.

 

[superbee 4406]

I might have the patience but I would probably have to educate myself much more
In a bunch of areas that I'm weak in.
I know I'm a few decades behind in a few things tech wise.

One thing I know is auto body metal work is a lost art that is going away.
most will epoxy glue it back together today.
Not all shops are even capable to do it
And most shops that will do it , will short cut and splice then do full panel replacement because it's so time consuming.

I'm a perfectionist but not
In a hyper focused way you have to be
To get rich or make a living from it from it.
There is a big difference
Thats why restoration on old cars is my hobby That I can enjoy
Im the Same way as Tony
Relaxed music on
Friends stop by showing off thier cars
Seeing what's going on
sometimes late into the night is when
I like to prime and paint
As you aren't disturbed at that time.

You can kill that joy really easy by adding pressure
If I told you how many times I have assembled and disassembled something
and wasted my time to
Figure out the best way to modify a body panel to make it fit the best way to my satisfaction
You would think I'm crazy and you sure wouldn't want to pay for it.
The stuff doesn't fall out of the box and fit. lol
I'm doing it right now with my roadrunner
Quarter panel on and off 2 times so far
And I'm still not close yet to tacking it.

I once had a guy who came by my garage to buy a bunch of parts I had.
He looked at my bodywork On my bee
That I just finished
For like 20 minutes he looked up and down
Bearly said a word
Went out to his truck and no lie
He Came back
He put a blank check down ripped from his check book
Right in front of me
And asked if I could put his rare rotted out charger together as he said his shop couldn't come close to matching the way he saw my car being was done.
He said he didn't care what it cost!
after looking at my car again he was he was pissed at how his shop was doing it and he said wanted to yank his car out when he got back home.
I pushed the check back at him and told him I didn't have the time.
The thing is I lied
I probably did have the time,
But I knew all the enjoyment would be gone the moment I took that check
I know better lol

 

[9.0 2012 RS]

I might have the patience but I would probably have to educate myself much more
In a bunch of areas that I'm weak in.
I know I'm a few decades behind in a few things tech wise.

One thing I know is auto body metal work is a lost art that is going away.
most will epoxy glue it back together today.
Not all shops are even capable to do it
And most shops that will do it , will short cut and splice then do full panel replacement because it's so time consuming.

I'm a perfectionist but not
In a hyper focused way you have to be
To get rich or make a living from it from it.
There is a big difference
Thats why restoration on old cars is my hobby That I can enjoy
Im the Same way as Tony
Relaxed music on
Friends stop by showing off thier cars
Seeing what's going on
sometimes late into the night is when
I like to prime and paint
As you aren't disturbed at that time.

You can kill that joy really easy by adding pressure
If I told you how many times I have assembled and disassembled something
and wasted my time to
Figure out the best way to modify a body panel to make it fit the best way to my satisfaction
You would think I'm crazy and you sure wouldn't want to pay for it.
The stuff doesn't fall out of the box and fit. lol
I'm doing it right now with my roadrunner
Quarter panel on and off 2 times so far
And I'm still not close yet to tacking it.

I once had a guy who came by my garage to buy a bunch of parts I had.
He looked at my bodywork On my bee
That I just finished
For like 20 minutes he looked up and down
Bearly said a word
Went out to his truck and no lie
He Came back
He put a blank check down ripped from his check book
Right in front of me
And asked if I could put his rare rotted out charger together as he said his shop couldn't come close to matching the way he saw my car being was done.
He said he didn't care what it cost!
after looking at my car again he was he was pissed at how his shop was doing it and he said wanted to yank his car out when he got back home.
I pushed the check back at him and told him I didn't have the time.
The thing is I lied
I probably did have the time,
But I knew all the enjoyment would be gone the moment I took that check
I know better lol

To perhaps finally end this thread ( maybe) I think You and Tony are rare predators. Too independent to teach and with so much knowledge it'd be a loss to humanity not to pass something on to future generations. I hope you guys have kids or maybe write a book on it someday.. Thanks guys..

 

[spmdr]

I have been working on and/or playing with cars for

almost 50 years, and have successfully rebuilt several Automatic transmissions,

not to mention countless manuals.

but I know the newer cars are designed with CAD

and CAD can come up with things mere humans wouldn't do.

So when I did a valve job on my xB, I had the shop manual procedure

handy.

...even though I think the sequence presented could be improved.

(AND I have seen 2, and they were not identical...)


But it's funny how some older things have their tricks as well.

I recently attempted to take apart an old early '60s Ford 3 spd manual trans.

How hard could it be?

after Not getting it apart, I resorted to the web...

It turns out there was a drift pin that needed removal.

And the only access was THROUGH the hole of the trans fluid

filler plug Hole.

So much for CAD being the most tricky.


BUT, I have learned, CAD designs have endless styles, and if you CAN'T

SEE how it comes apart, save yourself some time and just look it up!

Them there Wipers usually fit that criteria.


...usually because my short term memory fails me since the last time I did it...

 

[superbee 4406]

one thing that is a huge help today is the internet
back in the day we kept messing with it until we figured it out
a lot of times asking others in the field about their experience when you got stuck
now just go to YouTube and bam
its all at your fingers

if you know the basics you can take it over to almost anything.
my winter project last year
I had a 1982 YZ 490 dirt bike that I blew the motor up decades ago
the thing was torn apart and parts thrown into a couple of crates around 1990
the crankshaft was shot and I had problems finding one back then
I ended up just buying another bike CR 500 at the time and forgot about it
last winter I dug it out of the crawl space it was stuffed in and I looked at it
half the parts were missing, one of the crates disappeared
from moving over the years

after a few months over the winter chasing stuff down on Ebay
looking at parts diagrams and pictures of them online to figure out how it
went back together and how stuff was routed
I just fired it up this summer and took it out
for the first time in over 30 years.

 

[spmdr]

About that 490, when we moved into the current house, it had about half

of the parts of a Motorcycle. I concluded it was a 490.

Researching it, on the web of course, I found it was on someones 10 WORST list.

So I decided not to mess with it. Gave it back to the seller.

I just picked up a '76 YZ125 to play with...

 

[superbee 4406]

they changed the yz over in 84 and the earlier yz's are desirable as a 2 stroke they were named worst
Because the engines were so high reving they would come apart all the time. Racers loved them because of it.
I have a custom sprocket off the old engine
That makes it take off even faster as it was a old race bike.
It still doesn't come close to the 97 Cr500
The CR is also worth 4x more
Many people ripped the engines out of those for
Go carts and they are hard to find
There are many frames for sale but no engines.I thought about doing one of them but it gets expensive.

This thread is everywhere 😆