Short shifters are one of the few Toyota parts where the transmission matters more than the engine. Two trucks with the same engine can take different kits if one is 2WD and the other 4WD, because the shifter sits in a different place and the lever geometry changes with it.
Three things identify the kit you need: the gearbox, whether it is 2WD or 4WD, and the year. If you know the gearbox code you are most of the way there.
The W56 is the five-speed behind the 22R-E, 22R-TE and 3VZ-E in the 1985–1995 Pickup and 4Runner, and it is the single most-searched Toyota shifter we sell for. The complication is the transfer case: the early trucks use a top-shift case and the later ones a forward-shift case, and the shifter differs.
If you have the truck in front of you, look at where the transfer case lever comes out relative to the main shifter rather than trying to date it from the VIN. Top shift and forward shift are obvious once you have seen both.
The R150F is the 4WD five-speed in the Tacoma, third-generation 4Runner and T100 from 1995, behind the 3RZ-FE and 5VZ-FE. The R151F is the heavier-duty version of the same box. People search both codes, plus the bare "R150", and they land in the same place.
Two-wheel-drive trucks use a different lever and a different base. Match by engine and year:
It shortens the distance the lever travels between gears. That is all it does, and it is worth being clear about, because a short shifter will not fix a gearbox that is worn or a linkage that is sloppy.
If the shifter moves side to side more than it should, or the lever rattles at idle, the problem is almost certainly the nylon shift lever bushing — a few dollars, and it wears out on every one of these trucks. Fit the bushing first. If the throw is still longer than you want after that, then the short shifter is the right next step, and it will feel like a much better part on a tight linkage than on a loose one.
While the console is out, the OEM manual transmission shifter boot and the square OEM boot for W56-A and W56-B are worth doing at the same time. Both perish and neither is a job you want to do twice.
Different job, same area of the truck. If you are after control over the transfer case rather than the gearbox:
Twin sticks are a dual-case build item. If you are running two transfer cases, or thinking about it, that is a conversation worth having before you buy parts.
The TRD 6-speed knob, the 5-speed knob and the Trail-Gear transfer case knob.
If you would rather start from the vehicle: 1989-1995 Pickup, 1983-1988 Pickup, 1990-1995 4Runner, 1996-2002 4Runner, 1995-2004 Tacoma, 2005-2015 Tacoma, 2016-present Tacoma, 2000-2006 Tundra and T100.
Not sure which gearbox you have? Tell us the year, the engine and whether it is 2WD or 4WD and we will tell you which kit fits. It is a quicker conversation than reading a casting number off the side of a transmission from underneath a truck.
