Mate needs help... He just bought a DR30 and when pushing on it crunches into second. How terminal is this?
Would it be cheaper to fix or just bolt a secondhand 5 speed up?
Anyone got a spare FJ20t gearbox lying around they want to sell?

Also there is a wierd ticking coming from somewhere near the dash/steering colum that progressively gets worse from start up.... any idea's?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Crunching into 2nd would be the syncro's.Means pulling the box apart to replace.Wierd clicking noise is hard to say...

my syncos are rooted as well. Ive heard this is a common problem with fj boxs.

Common with any box that's had a hard life.Usually 2nd,and to a lesser extent,3rd gears.... *cough..like mine..cough*

If 2nd is crunching like myself and what I would think a lot of people here have experienced then it is probably just the synchros, pain to fix (box out and apart to replace them).

I've driven mine like this for a long time so it's not terminal but may get progressively worse if driven hard. Needs to be careful changing gears, try to "find the sync" rather than just crunching it into 2nd (and potentially/eventually stripping gears).

Mine is slow into second, it use to crunch but it stopped when i put a heavier weight oil in. As of last Saturday night, it now just makes grinding noises at cruise in 3rd and 5th. Not to mention the really bad whineing from the front bearing. From what ive heard, its torque that kills these boxes, apparantly a laggier turbo is better for your gearbox.

Gareth

It seems to only happen when exeeding 40-50 k's (even changing down)... Does anyone know how much it SHOULD cost getting the synchros in 2nd and third done if the gearbox was dropped off at a transmission specialist?
Thanks fo the interest.

My mate and my brother had there FJ rebuilt. It cost 1050 & 1150 respectively. There was definitely some new syncro's involved. At a guess somewhere between 1000 - 1500

Fark! I've been searching around a bit and have seen good cond second-hand units going for around $300-$400

I rekon adapt a RB25 box to suit. Its been done heaps, so ive read. If its gunna cost **** loads, its a good upgrade option. Just a thought?

Gareth