Arty2111

Hey I've been working on this problem for about 10 months, off and on.

I have a 99 Tacoma, 3.4L, V6, manual transmission. It is extremely difficult to engage the gears, if not impossible, with the truck running. When the truck off, however, it's easy as butter to slip the stick into all the gears, including reverse.

Things to note:

This problem seems to come and go, although it seems more consistently problematic and unchanging over the last week and a half.

The lower gears seem more difficult to engage. I can't get it into 1st gear or reverse.

With the truck on, it seems a little easier to get it into 2nd-5th when I pump the clutch a few times, hold down, and revv the engine before slipping it in there.

I have a significant oil leak that I have not located. There is some oil on the hydraulic line.

The clutch fluid is murky--darker liquid floating on top of clear clutch fluid. It's been in there about 10 months.

I replaced both the master cylinder and slave cylinder 10 months ago.

I've bled the hydraulic line repeatedly. No bubbles, and there seems to be plenty of clutch pedal pressure.

The reservoir level may have dropped 1/4-1/2 inch over the last 10 months.

I've extended the clutch pedal pushrod as much as it will go.

Any ideas?

ThatGuy1295

Your clutch isnt disengaging. Pretty obvious. Either hydraulics or the clutch it self. And since you replaced the master and slave cyl id say its the clutch.
It happens.

Edit. id say at this point order up a new clutch, and dont buy a cheap one they suck and the pedal is much harder. Get an OEM or one from marlin even.

ThatGuy1295

Unless you still have air in the hydraulic system somehow.

Texas_Ace

Agreed^. Start by changing the clutch fluid and bleeding it real good. If that doesn't help then you need to get a new clutch.

j2the-e

Does the clutch release properly when you push the pedal in? If it does, maybe a seized pilot bearing. If it doesn't release, like they said^^^

ThatGuy1295

If the pilot bearing was seized the the clutch wouldnt be able to disingage would it.

Texas_Ace

It could also be a bad master/slave cylinder. After bleeding water the slave and make sure it is actually pushing the clutch fork.

j2the-e

By seized, I mean its not spinning as easily as it should, not necessarily completely seized up like its welded together. The clutch can still disengage if the pilot is seizing, however the input shaft on the trans may continue to spin, causing difficult shifting. It's unlikely that a faulty pilot bearing will transfer the full torque of the engine to the trans. So, to test for clutch dis-engagement, go about 30mph in second gear and push in the clutch(while still on the throttle). If the engine revs, clutch is disengaging and I'd be checking the pilot bearing. If the engine does not rev, clutch is not disengaging and you'll need to check the hydraulics.

ThatGuy1295

Ya your really not making any sense with that.
But either way your saying he should get a clutch kit and replace the clutch? Cause when people replace clutches, they usually replace the pilot bearing cause its part of the clutch.
So he has a bad clutch, or hydraulics. Not bad pilot bearing, or clutch, or hydraulics, or 4th spline on the input shaft, or 3rd bolt on the flywheel. And if anybody tears there transmission out to replace a pilot bearing without replacing the whole clutch is an idiot. And will spend the rest of there life working harder then everyone else with nothing to show for it.

ThatGuy1295

And a seized pilot bearing isnt capable of transferring hardly any torque, with any more then 20 ft-lbs or so the inner race of the pilot would spin on the input shaft. So you can't really test it by driving and watching rpms. But a seizing pilot can make the transmission hard to shift, yes..

j2the-e

Did you just dis-agree with me by saying the same thing I said? Is there a reason your bashing me? I'm just trying to help someone avoid unnecessary repairs.

ThatGuy1295

No not saying what your saying. Im saying the pilot bearing isnt even capable of changing the engines rpms. Thats how little torque it can transfer. Thats a bogus diagnostic concept.

Thats all. And no your not trying to save someone on uneccessary repairs. He has to pull the trans and the clutch to replace the pilot bearing. And chances are if the clutch is old enough to have a seizing pilot bearing, it needs replacing anyways. So bottom line replace the whole clutch. And im not bashing you friend, obviously you dont know what bashing is.

j2the-e

You've mis-understood my approach here. The reason for checking rpm change when pushing the clutch is to see if the clutch is dis-engaging. If the rpms change when you press the pedal, then the hydraulics are working because the clutch just released. If the op has hydraulic issues, there is no need to pull the trans. Maybe re-read what I wrote earlier. I thought I made it fairly easy to understand

ThatGuy1295

Yup, that would require the pilot bearing to be capable of transferring enough torque to change the engines rpms, which its not. No one misunderstood you.

ThatGuy1295

One more thing, if he does your test and the clutch isnt disengaging, it could still either be hydraulics or clutch. Your test doesnt diagnose anything.

ThatGuy1295

Back to the OP, It could still be just the hydraulics as I mentioned originally.
I was just leaning more towards the clutch itself.
This is the only reseon I would suspect hydraulics.

But if the OP has bleed the system properly and replaced both components of the hydrualic system then Im leaning more towards the clutch. But I wasnt there for any of that, so I dont know. But one things for sure, driving it and looking for rpm changes when pushing in the clutch isnt going to tell you why the clutch is having trouble disengaging.

j2the-e

Picture it: Half throttle, second gear, push in the clutch. What happens? The rpms will increase because you just took the load off the engine. You either mis-read or mis-understood my post

ThatGuy1295

Would you stop repeating yourself. I know what your saying.

Dont think just because you dont make any sense, that someone read your post wrong. Gees..

j2the-e

Just thought of something else. Have you checked the clutch pedal bracket? They are notorious for cracking

ThatGuy1295

Have you checked your mouth? Its notorious for BS.