dutchq

Hey...how y'all doin?

Got a good machine...94 Yota 4Runner. She's got 237,000+ miles on her and finally needs a new clutch.

What would your choice be to keep her goin on the bumpy highways of the Lancaster PA countryside? She gets a workout in the winter with the ice and snow and lots of bumpy, uneven county roads to workout during the warmer months. No rock climbing to date. Some interstate driving, not much cruise control.

Right now she has started to slip out of 3rd around 2500 but more so out of 4th and I don't want to get killed just yet trying to get onto our main roadways or merging onto Route 30.

I am afraid that the clutch will give way during one of these 'entry ramp' uses or on a dark, snowy roadway in the middle of nowhere some frosty night soon, so any advice you can give will help. If you could recommend a good service center as well, that would also help.

Thanks for all the great things you have here. You folks are awesome.

Jeff B. in Michigan

I would go with a stock TOYOTA clutch... unless you are running serious HP. I am using an ACT six puck and it is great for the Supercharged HP but... it is very annoying to drive on the street. I tried a CENTERFORCE Dual friction and it was lousy (slipped like a banshee).

Good luck,

Steveh29

I'd agree with Jeff B! Stock Yota clutch and pressure plate. Also change the throw out bearing and flywheel bushing. Don't forget to turn that flywheel either.

I used a Centerforce and wasn't happy. I've also tried the Downey Super Clutch with similar feelings. Nothing worked as well as the stock Toyota clutch.

Cardiac

Yeah, the remanufactured units from Toyota are a steal too.

evilcow

Luk is the manufacturer of clutch's for Toyota.
http://www.dialaclutch.com/toyotaclutch.htm

jimbo74

i have a centerforce dual friction and its good for me.... i think it slips on me when i slide through turns, but some of that could be the diff slipping

dutchq

Ya know, it's real hard lookin thru catalogs or online to really find out how good equipment will be. Photos are great but only to a point. So are those product descriptions. All that fancy language to sell the product.

You are what I wanted...I wanted to hear from a 'non-biased' Yota driver. <<Is there ever such an animal??!?>>

I wanted your gut feeling for the clutch as my local Yota dealer also is the Ford dealer (New Holland Ford and New Holland Toyota) and they charge $25 for just driving into the shop. Even if you tell them exactly what needs to be replaced, they will charge you $25 to pre-diagnose it themselves and add more to do a more thorough exam which will take 2 days. <<Who can afford to be without a car for two days nowadays...perhaps that's why they also are a car rental place!>>

Now we get the feeling that we should be looking for a real OEM 4Runner clutch. And thanks for the info on where to buy as well.

I just want to make the comment that you guys are super, handy, and very helpful to anyone who needs it. THANKS so much! Now to get it replaced before the snow flies...!

dutchq

Oh boy, did I ask for it or what!

Got a new clutch (Luk gold) but our garage had to do the install twice as it wouldn't disengage the first time. First time they had to resurface the flywheel to .020 step. They called the mfg. to check if it was the right clutch for the Toyota 4Runner...yes...and it needs more clearance. Resurface (again) .020 step off flywheel. (He told me they took some spacer out or it wouldn't work) They then had to adjust master cylinder rod to fine tune clutch.

To step on the clutch, you have to really lift up your leg and then push down hard. (And me with a trick left knee! NOT FUN AT ALL!) It has no play to catch now, either. It's now a very unpleasant experience for me and I want my old slipping clutch back. I have to give up the car to drive my husband's F250 which sucks bigtime!

Do any of you have a suggestion as to what might have gone wrong and what can be done to remedy the current situation? I really was happy with the car and why do these things always happen to me...we even got billed twice for installing and reinstalling the clutch!

shiftless89

Strange, That is exactly the same symptoms my pro gold had. My "helper" forgot to Torque the pressure plate bolts all the way down. When we retorqued it it worked fine. The pedal is definitly heavy compared to stock. The disc are great but you may have to go back to a factory reman pressure plate to get past the stiff leg syndrome. I adjusted my clutch master which helped some as did bleeding the system. The pro gold is a much heavier system.
Good luck
Mike

4x4Lamm

I am getting a new clutch monday. Because my engine does not make nearly enough power to dictate a HD clutch I just told my mechanic (who I trust very well) to get the cheapest one he would put in his own SUV. The whole kit and caboodle is $220. I'll let you know how it workes out Tues. or Wed.

Lamm

Adam F

Asco is the stock clutch manufacturer for Toyota. That's the best clutch to get. Call Joe@ www.jtoutfitters.com and tell him you want the asco clutch kit. Or also you can get them from www.marlincrawler.com

DarylD

Luk is not the manufacturer of clutchs for Toyota . Aisian makes toyota clutchs same as Asco . I prefer new Ascos over reman. Toyota .

seafarinman

I have the centerforce Dual Friction clutch in my 94. I think that it works great OFF ROAD, but it slips a little too much on the road. Hey Daryl, is there any way to tighten up the clutch? I used to adjust the clutch right at the slave cylinder on my old 79 Datsun. I haven't seen anything adjustable on the Toyota.

gwhayduke

I went with the TRD heavy-duty clutch with a 5-lb heavier flywheel. It all comes as a kit. Use to have to rev the 3.0 to take off. Now, just let the clutch out. The heavier flywheel stores more energy for use on takeoff. Just got a '99 SR5 Highlander edition and I'm wishing the flywheel was a little heavier on it also. It really improves the drivability in stop and go traffic or on the trail.

CrazyDiamond

A Centerforce DF slipping ON road?? I honestly have never heard of that before...anyone else heard any mentions of that? Numerous friends of mine have them in BIG 4x4 rigs with V-8s and have always told me the 'grabbiness' of the DF takes a while to get used to...

Just doesn't seem like a clutch with double the torque capacity and stiffer diaphragm springs could possibly slip MORE.

Jeff B. in Michigan

Hi Adam,

I tried the DF Centerforce and it seemed to hold on the road but ... it slipped all the way down the 1/4 mile dragstrip. You can read all about it here: http://n8rws.com/TRD5.htm

Catch you later...

CrazyDiamond

How strange. Are you sure you don't have a drippy rear main that is slicking up your clutch? I've seen 2 cases where it wasn't the clutch, but a rear main drip. One type of clutch disk my friend had did a better job of absorbing the oil, and felt to grab better, but the more aggressive clutch did not absorb as well, and that's when we hit problems. Of course, we never saw wet oil on the disc because it burned off almost instantly. It was just enough to cause a slip under big load, though. Never would have thought of it normally.

Jeff B. in Michigan

Good point Adam, but I did check the rear main and it was (is) not leaking !

Blackulua

Make sure you resurface the flywheel.It really improves the grip of the clutch and flywheel connection.

CrazyDiamond

Good point about the resurface - ALWAYS resurface. BTW, anyone know where to pickup a used 30lb flywheel for a 22re? I'd like to give the heavier flywheel a try, but almost 300 bucks for a new one is not enough bang for the buck for me