makarov

Shop around for bids. I am somewhat mechanically inclined, but no expert and I did them on an 81 Toy and an 85, both 2WD. Helped a friend do an 83 Toyota 4x4. A floor jack will work to help lift it up and guide it into place. Buy the $4 tool to align the splines with the clutch disc. Worth it. At any rate if I can do it, I think others could. I understand if you don't have the time or space to do it. A concrete pad is nice to roll the jack around on. You have to kind of rotate the tranny as you slide it up into position. Overall, it took me the better part of a day the first time, but I was taking my time and reading the book. The How To Keep Your Toyota Alive Forever one, ... great book. I would be curious what "book time" is on that job. Probably 4 hours. I wouldn't pay more than $300 or so for labor.

kyle_22r

any clutch kit worth its salt should have the alignment tool!

Rusty Davis

All the estimates I see are about the same around here.

Having been a mechanic myself and having a current leaking rear seal-

I HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you replace your Rear Main Seal. The labor for this is probably only listed as .5 to 1 hr. extra and that's cheap insurance to insure you won't be paying another $300(est.) in the future to get it done. Any honest shop should mention this to you. Other shops hope to see you again soon when that seal starts leaking!

HTH

~R

Techsus

This is an old post but relevant to me-- clutch is slipping. Trying to decide if I should do it myself. STEALERSHIP: $1,000 labor. For parts only at Stealership PARTS DEPT.: $292.92 + tax. Was referred to a local mechanic shop $457 parts/labor estimate or $272 if I supply parts myself. Will ask at the auto hobby shop if someone will help me do the job.

bob200587

Sounds about right even adjusted for OLD ASS POST inflation.

If you were around when this thread was new post up. I miss the old days.

abecedarian

Techsus...

Think about it.

1/2 hour to clear the truck's floor board and get the shifter out
1/2 hour to get the jack in place, unbolt the crossmember and driveline, get the clutch slave out of the way and remove the starter
1 hour to unbolt the trans from the engine, drop it to the ground and get it away
1/2 hour to unbolt the pressure plate from the flywheel and check the flywheel for cracks and other issues.
6 hours for them to call you to say the flywheel needs resurfacing... and for you to respond, but if you'd have answered the phone the first time, only an hour
1 hour to remove the flywheel only to find out it's beyond repair... but really it's 3 hours 'cause you didn't answer the phone
1/2 hour to determine your rear main seal is leaking... well, they tried to tell you earlier but you were mad about the flywheel needing surfaced, and even more mad 'cause it needed replaced
2 hours before you agree to replace the seal even though you know it needs replacing and yet you argue about how much it's costing
1 hour to pull the rear seal and replace with a speedy sleeve
1/2 hour to install the new flywheel, pressure plate and clutch plate
4 hours arguing about the throw-out / release bearing because it wasn't bad when you brought it in so why replace it, right?
1 hour putting the new release bearing in and installing the transmission
1 hour discussing the crack on the clutch pedal bracket

All that for I rented a trans jack and other tools to replace the clutch on my truck just a few months ago and the rental on those was almost $150.
So, for 70 dollars more, someone would've done all the work for me? Considering I value my time at more than 10 an hour and it took me around 12 to do it, at a leisurely pace I may add, sounds like a bargain to me.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

A couple things to think about .

are you mechanical can you cope with things when Mr. Murphy shows up.

Do you have the tools and a good place to work. Dirt floors or grass with plywood make it fun to roll the floor jack.

I guess we all have are hard parts in any job I have the most headache just getting every thing up and down.

Yes the mid-eighties trucks are much easier at least to me because I have done several with the newer Tacoma just different because every thing is switched to the left side .

This is the tricky part if the shop rate is only $50.00 an hour and they give you a firm quote of $400.00 I don`t think that is bad .

Only because my rates can be between $60.00 and $120.00 an hour depending on the nature of the emergency and the time it happens If I start on a project like a clutch i know full well it is going to sit if I get called away

SlightlyWhat

Having issues lining up the spline to put in the trans...not getting any help either...anyone in the south bay area of san diego want to help out real quick?

Techsus

Thanks (again) all of you. A couple people referred me to a mechanic who doesn't do clutches. He referred me to another mechanic whom he's sent referrals for 14 years. They charged me $272 + $40 (resurface flywheel) & used my parts (disc, plate, throw-out, pilot) and changed rear main seal. I got $381.02 worth of genuine OEM Toyota parts from ToyotaPartsOverstock.com for $220.66. (!) Wow. (ToyotaPartsOverstock.com price-matched other, cheaper websites that I'd found-- I diligently researched prices & saved $160.36. An Excel spreadsheet helped me keep track of the parts & various price quotes). The mechanic was pleasant, fast-- new clutch feels GREAT! Like, well... new!
P.S. A guy at Auto Zone told me he had his clutch done by a mechanic that I'd heard about-- said the guy had his truck more than a week, never phoned him to say "it's ready"-- he had to keep phoning & the mechanic who finally said "Come & get your s-h-*t" (raise eyebrows!), that afterward his clutch was making noise & other stuff was futzed-up too-- the guy still hasn't paid the mechanic's $300 fee because it was messed up so bad. I had talked to that mechanic, but decided he was a loser -- he said he was losing money by using my parts. I said, Yeah, you'll go to a local retail parts supply house, buy a CHEAP clutch kit for below the $99 retail, it'll have a (worthless) Lifetime Warranty on the parts but I'd still have to pay the labor when the crummy parts fail! Plus-- that he'd charge me DOUBLE what he paid (or double the retail price) for that "P.O.S." (piece-of-fill in the blank) clutch kit. Told him my parts were OEM Toyota worth c. $400 he got angry when I asked for a "warranty on labor" & told me "You need to take your business elsewhere"-- refused even a one-day Warranty because, he said, "I'm losing money by using your parts." I chose the shop that did the work because they were the ONLY shop in town who agreed to a Warranty (30 days) while using my parts. The moral of this story is how MUCH I learned phoning different shops, just talking to these guys to answer a few questions: 1/ "Will they use MY parts (my research said: "Buy OEM Toyota") 2/ "Are they friendly to deal with?" 3/ "Will they Warranty the job?" Any Retailer can say "Lifetime Warranty on this Part" but if it fails 6 mos. or 2 years from now we still get stuck paying the (expensive) labor to go back in there & install the "free" replacement parts. By the way, the mechanic who actually installed my clutch told me later, "You did the absolutely greatest thing you could have done-- buying those OEM Toyota parts." Wow. He said anyone should get 100,000 from a clutch. My 1991 pickup went 123,689 (I keep an Excel spreadsheet on all repairs-- dates, mileage, parts & where-purchased). Also-- this shop did as I asked & gave me the old parts. This was the first time I had to replace the clutch in the '91 Toyota. No more slipping, no more accelerating with "no response" except "Vroom vroom" when I hit the gas. New clutch feels tight, less "springiness". All around wonderful. I'm trying to say to all of you who don't trust the Stealerships but can't do the work yourself (I tried for MONTHS to find someone to help me do clutch-- I have access to lifts & fully-stocked tool shop)-- it IS possible to find a reliable, trustworthy mechanic when you're new in town "simply" by 1/ talking to neighbors 2/ phoning various shops & listening carefully to "how" they talk to you, especially if you want to supply your own parts. Most shops outright refused to utilize my parts, or refused to warranty the work even for a day, because they double their money on what they charge ME for the parts so they feel they're losing out big-time by using my parts. Oh-- just remembered-- mechanic who messed up Auto-Zone guy's clutch job told me $300 to do mine, more t han the other shop who did a great job AND he was just plain nasty to talk to so who wants someone like that touching their beloved Toyota? Thanks to all who helped me, SUCH a relief having my truck back up & running sweet.

California

Stealership just quoted me $1,642 to replace clutch. I didn't have time to ask what was included in that price, cuz I hung up so fast.

So I just bought a marlin kit, and plan to install that with help.

But seriously, $1,642?!?!

TrikeKid

Any full time tech worth employing should be able to do the job in an hour or less in a 2wd truck. I'm pretty confident I could have it in an hour, maybe an hour and a half if your flywheel is really worked and it takes longer than a pass or two to machine. We make our money being faster than book, book times are set by a factory tech with hand tools (on his 3rd go-round, so he's got the tools out and knows where he's going). I would have to look it up at work but I doubt that a 2wd Toy clutch book time is anything more than 4 hours. I'm far from the fastest in my shop and I can have pretty much any RWD/4wd transmission removed from the vehicle in 1-1.5 hours.

On a 2wd toy, I'd do it myself even if I wasn't a tech. Those little 2wd 5 speeds are so light you don't even need a jack.

SlightlyWhat

What's the best way to drop the trans. There's always little clearance and I don't like turning it upside down to get it out. I always need help regardless that thing is HEAVY on my own, or in that awkward position. Tactics. Discuss.

TrikeKid

Without a lift on a 2wd?

Jack the front up as high as you can, then find a way to jack it up higher. Hi-lift, etc... get that nose up there. Pull the shifter out through the top since it's generally easier to pull just the stick than the whole tower on a Toyota. Unplug any switches/sensors/speedo cable. Disconnect the driveline at the axle and leave it attached to the trans. Drop the starter and slave off, neither need to be disconnected, swing it outta the way and set it somewhere or let it hang. Unbolt the crossmember from the frame and let the tail of the trans droop till you can get a tool on the upper bell bolts (I have a 36" extension 3/8" drive on the drive side and 1/2" on the driven side for RWD/4WD bell bolts). Get a jack or a strong buddy under the trans to support it and slider on back and down. On a lift, with air tools this is a 10-15 minute process. 4wd is basically the same just with the addition of disconnecting the front driveline at the axle as well. On a clutch job your goal is to get to the flywheel and clutch with the least dis assembly possible.

abecedarian

Considering I said it would take 1/2 hour to clear the floor board and get the shifter(s) out (don't forget you have to protect the areas you're working in so as to not get grease and ˟˟˟˟˟ on the carpet and other parts), 1/2 hour to get the starter and clutch removed, jack in place, remove the crossmember, and an hour to get the transmission separated from the engine... I dont think your figures are far off from mine.

So, your point was?


There's a big difference between working on your own or a friend's truck and being employed by a company which has to provide workers' comp insurance and has to pay out when stupid people do stupid muscle-tricks on heavy parts and get injured.

TrikeKid

My point was that a 2wd Toyota is 1.5-2 hours round trip including machining the flywheel and doing a rear main. An hour-hour and a half pull is something like a 4wd fullsize Chevy. My point is that it does not take anwhere near that for a competent tech to do the job. The starter is 2 bolts, the slave is 2 bolts, that's 1 minute, not half an hour. The shifter can be removed under the truck to circumvent the damaging the interior issue, and that issue can be gone around entirely by not being a filthy mo-fo and washing your hands before you get into a customer's car.

I don't lift transmissions out by hand when I have a truck on a lift, I have a torn up shoulder (Car accident, not work related) that doesn't like that sort of activity unless it's something silly light like an old mucie 4 speed. I'm talking on the ground where I can bench press it off the back of the engine and set it on my chest and slide out from under it.