CheeseRind

I've seen the question posed before but no one to definitively confirm whether or not it would work, only hypotheticals. I talked to Nick at Yota1 and a couple other folks, and everyone said they didn't see why it wouldn't work, so I wanted to confirm for myself. I'm happy to say that yes, you can use a 5VZ clutch, flywheel, and pressure plate in a 3VZ truck with a 3VZ throw-out bearing.

Now, you might be thinking, why the heck would I want to put a 5VZ clutch assy in my 3VZ truck? Besides the fact the 5VZ clutch are a little beefier than what's found in the 3VZ (23.2lbs vs 21.1lbs, thicker flywheel, slightly larger diameter clutch disc), this is the same "recipe" as used in a 5VZ swap into an original 3VZ truck. I am planning on doing the 5VZ swap eventually, but in the interim the clutch that came with my truck was in really bad shape (really grabby, engagement point as thin as a hair that couldn't be adjusted, and a super stiff clutch pedal that caused the pedal bracket to break and firewall to crack). I wanted to swap out my clutch, but didn't want to be buying two clutches, one now and another in a year or two when doing the engine swap. Hypothetically, on paper, this setup should work fine for the same reason it works in a 5VZ swap onto a 3VZ spec R150. The 5VZ and 3VZ fly

The clutch "recipe" used in the 5VZ swap is as follows:

• 5VZ flywheel
• 5VZ flywheel bolts (they are shorter than the 3VZ bolts to accommodate the thinner mount flange on the 5VZ flywheel, but have the same thread engagement when installed as the 3VZ bolts and 3VZ flywheel)
• 5VZ clutch disc and pressure plate*
• 3VZ TOB, bearing pivot, and clutch fork
• Pilot bearing is identical between 3VZ and 5VZ

*Care must be used when mounting a 5VZ clutch disc as it's "upside down" from the way most clutches install. As per the factory service manual, the side of the clutch disc that has the springs should face the flywheel, as opposed to facing the pressure plate. This is especially important with a 5VZ swap or swapping this clutch into a 3VZ truck, as the 5VZ flywheel is a few millimeters thicker than the 3VZ flywheel, and installing the clutch disc incorrectly can result in the pressure plate spring petals contacting the clutch disc, or possibly the input shaft bearing retainer tube contacting the splines of the clutch disc. Apparently some AISIN kits floating around have the wrong side of the disc labelled flywheel side, so the factory service manual should be followed regardless of the labelling in the kit if using OEM/AISIN.


Because the 5VZ flywheel is a couple millimeters thicker than the 3VZ, to ensure everything would move okay in there once assembled and without interference (both statically as well as with the flywheel spinning and considering engagement of the TOB), after bolting the clutch / flywheel / pressure plate in, I bolted the bellhousing to the block over the assy so I could take some measurements from the mating surface of the bellhousing at the transmission to the pressure plate petals, tallest edge of the pressure plate, and spline shaft in the clutch disc. Then, I took measurements from the same surface on the transmission to the tip of the bearing retainer (on which the throw-out bearing slides), the engagement surface of the throw-out bearing when at its lowest point, and the face of the clutch fork at its highest point. Some measurements below, but basically- everything still has plenty of clearance to move properly.

• Transmission face to clutch center splines: ~91.4mm
• Input shaft bearing retainer length (from transmission face to tip of stub): 85mm
• Distance from transmission face to clutch petals: ~75.7mm
• Distance from transmission face to engagement face of TOB: ~68.5mm

This leaves us with the following clearances. I don't have the stock 3VZ baselines, but these are within about a millimeter or two, and nothing came close to interfering in normal ranges of motion of clutch fork and TOB / petal engagement

• Throw-out bearing face to pressure plate petals at rest / lowest TOB position: ~7.2mm
• End of input shaft bearing retainer stub to center splines of clutch: ~6.4mm
• I don't have the clearance measurement between the closest point between the pressure plate and the clutch fork (it's at the pivot ball hump), but was a few millimeters, and engagement the clutch only moves the higher part of the fork on the outside of the pivot ball, away from the pressure plate\

Clutch fork clearance
Another angle

While the 5VZ flywheel is slightly thicker than the 3VZ flywheel, the diameter and tooth count is exactly the same, and the starter teeth are the same distance laterally from the crank flange, so there are no starter issues / factory 3VZ starter will work fine. Once installed, there was still plenty of clearance between the TOB face and pressure plate petals (enough I could move the TOB back and forth with the fork after compressing or removing the clutch slave cylinder) as well as clearance between the clutch fork and pressure plate (moving it back and forth still didn't allow it to contact the pressure plate).

Driving the truck around since it all got buttoned back up has been a dream. The pedal engagement and feel is sooo much better than it was before. I'll be sure to post an update after I've got a few hundred miles on it.

TL;DR - the 5VZ clutch setup used in the 3VZ > 5VZ swap will also work in an otherwise factory 3VZ truck with an R150F. It works the same way for the same reason, as the 3VZ and 5VZ blocks are very, very similar. If you're planning a 5VZ swap down the line but need to do your clutch before that, you can run the 5VZ swap "recipe" and then simply reuse it when you get to the swap, and save some money not having to buy an extra clutch.

EDIT: 2022/07/23 - Put about 50 miles of city driving on the clutch so far and it’s solid. Might adjust the pedal a tad more but otherwise it’s perfect. Will post another update once I’ve got some more miles on it.
EDIT: 2022/07/25 - Up to about 200 miles of mixed city and some back country roads on it so far, still solid. Clutch feels broken in now, with the engagement point a little more defined than before. Readjusted the clutch pedal a little now it's broken in, but it wasn't really necessary. All in all, super solid.

2ToyGuy

This really ought to be a stickie, IMHO.
For whatever my opinion is worth.

Great write up. Well thought out and followed through on. Very detailed.

Thanks!
Pat☺

CheeseRind

Hey thanks! Kind of an edge case and less common setup someone might want to do, but still figured it would be good to have the info out there.