josiahkerley

Hello guys and gals, I'm new to Yotatech, but I've seen a lot of articles in the past and this site seems to be the best out there for a guy like me.

I have a 1991 Toyota Pick SR5 3ZVE that has been giving me some trouble. A few days ago I started having issues shifting into 1st/Rev, so I went to go inspect under the hood. The clutch master cylinder had fairly dark DOT3 in it, so I decided to flush the old crud out. I hooked up a venturi vacuum brake bleeder to the bleed valve on the slave cylinder, opened the valve, and got all of the old stuff out. Next I took the line off of the master, blew it out, filled the reservoir, and primed up the master cylinder. I then reattached the hose and opened the bleeder on the slave and vacuumed fluid through until there were no more bubbles (all the while keeping the reservoir at level). Next, uh-oh! Clutch pedal only comes up half way and I can't even shift. I then talked to a guy down at Advance Auto Parts and he said it sounds like the slave cylinder went bad. So I went ahead and bought a new slave, installed it, bled the system, but still nothing! I bled it again using the old Buddy Method (as prescribed in my manual) but still no dice. Clutch pedal is only going about half way and I'm feeling little resistance. I can see the slave cylinder move when the pedal is pressed, and when I clamp off the slave, the pedal feels mushy. Any ideas? Thank you much.

slacker

iTrader: (1)

the clutch pedal bracket has a real tendance to crack ..

take a light and check it out


.

Dras16

I would check the rubber hose on the left side of the engine bay that goes down to the slave. If its cracked just a little it will release the pressure and not allow the slave to completely engage. Also make sure all the fittings that you unhooked are hooked back up tight.

WHAHAHAJR

Did you pump it up? Same method as bleeding brakes? I replaced slave and master let it gravity bleed. Felt mussy so I had my dad pump it till it got firm then hold it then I opened the bleeder to let out air. Edit: I guess this is the "buddy method" your talking about.

here they explain it better

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...clutch-213923/

check the pedal adjustment too...

My guess is slave cylinder.

josiahkerley

I had my helper pump the pedal about five times, then hold it, I opened the valve for a second, then closed it. I repeated that about 15 times, but no dice. Fittings are tight and no leaks detected (cloth method). I'll put a flashlight under the dash and see if it's cracked as soon as it stops raining.

josiahkerley

Well, I peeked under the hood and found this little beauty. I'm assuming the next step would be to replace it? Also, when my helper pumped on the pedal, it didn't seem to bulge.

josiahkerley

I also checked the clutch pedal adjustment, but like I said, it worked before, and noticed that It was adjusted nearly all the way out. I don't know if this is relevant, just thought I'd mention it. Thanks.

josiahkerley

Well, I installed a new CMC (thus solving my peddle only coming back half way) but I'm still getting a soft clutch. It's too light to shift. I can see the CSC moving, but not enough. Today I'll be replacing the rubber hose (what is that called by the way? Can I find it at AAP?) in between the two metal lines. This is leaving me really stumped. What could possible have changed? It was working before I went to bleed the first time!

blake.nemitz

if you can wiggle your clutch pedal at all side to side it needs welded up, alot of times it even hard to see the crak unless you take it out. and they can get weak and flex before cracking causing the same problem

Dras16

That rubber hose was EXACTLY what I was talking about. That could give you a mushy pedal. I would go to toyota to get that. When I bought mine I think it was around $30? That was about 3 years ago so I dont really remember. Unfortunately taking that hose off means that you have to re-bleed the clutch.

93toyrunner2

That rubber hose is a the same thing as a brake hose line. I got mine at NAPA for under $20.

josiahkerley

I'll be heading over to Napa after work and pick one up. Thanks guys, I'll tell ya how it goes.

JJ'89

Like a couple guys said, the stock brackets crack from metal fatigue. Mine was shot at 155,000 miles I had a new one installed. Lots of people will just weld/reinforce the original one. You can replace parts and bleed the system till hell freezes over, but if its cracked and flexin'; ain't gonna work. Also replace the bushing in the shifter. Known issues

josiahkerley

well, replaced the hose, still nothin. I hadn't noticed any wobble left to right when I checked the pedal, but I had my assistant press on the pedal, and I noticed the whole thing moved forward about half an inch. my question us now, how do I reinforce it for the time being? I will eventually replace if, but I won't be able to afford much more on it right now. also, I was wondered how the assembly bending effects the hydraulics? does it case the piston in the MCC to not he able to go in all the way? it looked like it was going in alright.

josiahkerley

So, I went ahead and sawed up a 2x4 and blocked up the clutch pedal bracket. It's not drivable (can't use brake) but I just wanted to eliminate any variables. It's still moving a little, but if I shake the pedal left and right it's solid. I then took off the E-brake, put it into first, tried starting, and the truck still lurched forwards. I went under the truck and observed the CCS movement while my assistant pressed the clutch pedal, and the CCS is still only moving only about half to 3/4 of an inch. What else is there? The only other thing I can think of is to pull out all of the hydraulics and test them on a bench. Do any pros out there have any other suggestions?

93toyrunner2

When your assistant is pumping the clutch during the bleeding process, is he/she bringing the clutch pedal all the way to the top (sometimes must be done by hand) until the pedal starts to get more pressure? What kind of brake fluid are you using? How old is it? Brake fluid can get moisture in it if it has been sitting for some time.
I would bleed the entire system starting at the master cylinder, following the line down to the next connection, bleeding at every connection until you have worked your way down to the slave cylinder. If my memory serves me correctly, there are 5 or 6 (10 mm) line nuts that can be bled following the line. Refill the clutch fluid after every line nut bleeding. I am not a fan of the vacuum bleeding, but do not want to get into an arguement about the benefits of one way or the other. I have used the manual bleeding method mentioned above several times when there is air trapped in the system, and it has never failed. It may take a couple times bleeding the entire system, but it will work.
How many miles on the clutch?
Possible slave cylinder (new one) is bad - it has happened!
Recommend as mentioned in a previous post, to replace the shifter seat and bushing to give you a cleaner shift. This will not help the clutch pedal though, but will help with 1st and reverse issues.

josiahkerley

My assistant pumps the pedal down almost all the way to the floor, then she pulls it back up after the valve is closed. I'm using DOT3 (fresh, I got rid of the old crap and blew out the lines) the clutch has about 10000-15000 miles on it. I'm going to replace the stick shift seat after I get her on the road again (done it before, fairly simple). Would you suggest bench bleeding the system, or leaving it in place and going down each point while it's all in the chassis?

93toyrunner2

Work your way down the line while it is all on the truck. Start at the MC, and work your way through. It may take two times to get it if there is air trapped at one of the junctions. I would also bleed each one (crack it open) 4-5 times, with the last time being a short and quick open / shut on the line nut. Refill after each one! Slow and steady pressure on the pedal, calling out to your assistant for pressure (pump it up 4-5 strokes, and hold), then the assistant calling out "pressure". Open the bleeder 10mm slowly, letting out fluid, then re-tighten it, and start again - "pressure"... Be sure that the assistant knows to hold constant pressure on the pedal, and to let it up slowly when you have closed the connection. I had my teenager assisting me with my last go round, and I had to work with him on what I needed him to do exactly and when. Once he got it right, it only took 6 minutes to go through the entire line, then we did it one more time for security.
When I was a mechanic for Ford, an Old Timer taught me this method to blow out the trapped air for brake system and clutch systems, and it would always work, even when the venturri valve vacuum bleeder system did not.

josiahkerley

Thanks. I'll give it a try after work.

blake.nemitz

if its flexinfg like you said thats the culprit, it doesnt take much to make it not disengage. bleeding it more than neccasary wont help. when it happened to mine i pulled it out welded the crack, plated over it and then put a little internal brace in there. easy fix just need to get a little creative with the welder. i bled mine by pumping the pedal with a hose over bleeder in a bottle of fluid to get air out, took like 6 pumps and done