livelarg

My clutch is in dire need of replacing. I am going to tackle it this weekend. Anyone done this recently and can give me tricks or pitfalls of the job?
I would prefer someone else do it, but I don't have the $$$.
Wish me luck!

dwh91102

a friend to help, plenty of extensions and woobler to get that top bolt. Take your time, and if it was mine, I would replace the rear main, and have the flywheel turned.

Elton

i also need to have my clutch replaced no cash means ill drive it how it is

jimbo74

make sure you get a full replacement kit, some places jsut sell the disk and pressure plate, some sell the pilot bearing, the throw out bearing, alignmnet tool disk and pressure plate... for optimum performance get the flwheel resurfaced or replaced....

marlin sells resurfaced flywheels for $75 with no core.... also check out marlins clutches... my truck is due for a clutch right now and i am looking @ getting a marlin non ceramic 1200 or 1600

Tacoma Dude

All I can say is good luck. My undercarriage is so nasty from an old oil leak that it made everything just a little harder to do.

jimbo74

how the heck did you get dirty?! decide to take a bath in gear oil?

Dr.Feelgood

Mine is a '90 so I'm not sure if it'll apply to your's, but with an extension or two, the top bolts on the tranny are much easier to get at through the shift lever opening, from inside the truck. After you've removed the shift levers of course.
Also, fill the cavity behind the pilot/throwout bearing with grease and tap a bolt through the center of the bearing to get it to pop out. You'll have to do it a few times before it comes out. The bolt diameter has to be very close to diameter of the hole in the center of the bearing, so the grease doesn't just push back out. I found that the top tranny bolt worked excellent.

livelarg

Thanks for the info.
I am buying from O'reilly's auto parts here in Oklahoma. They sell the complete kit for $140. I need to ask about resurfacing.
Hopefully I can do it without getting as dirty as Tacoma Dude.

Tacoma Dude

Oh you know how it is... oil leak gets everything spattered in oil. Go wheeling in sand and it sticks. Leave it for a while and presto! Gunk!

The previous owner wasn't too interested in keeping the underside clean. S'okay though. Under all that gunk are components that work perfectly fine

As we were working on the clutch we had bits and chunks of gunk come off and then we'd roll over it as we were working... yuck.

Intrepid

I did mine in my 98 Taco, it was a pita but worth it for the money I saved! Rent a tranny jack, and make sure to use the safety straps or chains. I agree with everyone else, have a lot of extensions and a u-joint, preferably 1/2" drive because there is too much spring in 3/8" drive when it has about 18" of extensions on it. When you finally have everything unbolted and slide the tranny out you have to slide it out perfectly straight, even a slight angle will cause it to bind in the pilot bearing. A good trick to remove the pilot bearing is to fill behind it with grease and find something that is the same size as the hole (wrap scotch tape around it to make it fit) and hit it in with a hammer, it may take 5 hits and refills but it gets it out without cutting. Be sure to install the throw out bearing correctly. Also a chiltons or haynes manual is very helpful.
While I am not sure if I would go so far as doing the rear main seal, I would definitely replace every clutch component while you are in there and get the flywheel resurfaced or buy a new one.
And you will definitely get as dirty as the picture above, all the crap that falls on the ground then gets ground into your shoulders.

northfacer581

hell yeah! thats what im talking about!

Keggo

Ahhh yes... Me and Cabbage (milton) just replaced mine about three weeks ago. Napa had all the parts I needed... The clutch kit came with the TO bearing, Pilot Bearing, alignment tool, and pressure plate. I also bought a brand new flywheel to compliment my new clutch. Anyway... took us approx. 13 hours due to some complications... that and taking breaks... heheh oh well... I'd rather pay the 300 for parts and spend 13 hours than pay $900!!! Thanks Milton!

cabbage

No, Thank YOU Kevin for getting my lazy up and actually finished cleaning the garage(and i got more practice changing clutches)!

Livelarg: What kind of engine do you have? The 22re or V6?

surf4runner

me no$$ either. got a lifetime warranty clutch kit from autozone for ~140. did it by myself (f#&^$& lazy friends) on my p/u in less than 3 hours. clean everything good first and safety glasses when underneath, keeps the sandy gunk out of the eyes . help would have been appreciated and the lift made it easy to be underneath. not a real tough job as much as it was a pita.

youngbuck

You could take it to a car wash first and wash all around the tranny real good. Working on clean parts is much better than working on dirty parts.

Tacoma Dude

Milton is awesome like that! Here's proof!