I’ve been planning to replace the original shifter seat on my 3rd gen manual transmission 4Runner (transmission R150F), since it has over 288k miles on it, with a Marlin white shifter seat.
I was hoping folks here might be able to clarify whether there’s a noticeable thickness difference between the OEM shifter seat and the Marlin one? Or if my 4Runner’s old shifter seat is worn thin / compressed due to age? (See attached image.)
I’m asking because I removed the old shifter seat (which appeared to be in surprisingly good condition despite its age) and put in the Marlin shifter seat, and then wrestled with the shift handle retainer and spring for about half an hour but could not get it to go down far enough to twist and lock into place, even when pushing with plier handles as I’ve seen some folks recommend. When I put the old shifter seat in I was able to get the shift handle retainer locked in place very easily.
Our local shop installed a (red) Marlin shifter seat on my mom’s Toyota truck and she’s been very happy with it, so I know the parts are great quality and I’m definitely not trying to criticize Marlin folks, just hoping to figure out why I wasn’t able to get the shift handle retainer locked in place with the Marlin shifter seat and why I’m seeing a noticeable thickness difference between the old OEM Toyota shifter seat and the Marlin one.
Thank you!