tesh

hey all!

backstory:
-moved to hawaii
-bought a lifted, etc 4Runner to play with
-owned it for about 20 days or less...

ran great up till today for some reason - When i parked at my friend's and was ready to leave again, i clutched while in 1st and turned the ignition; the truck lurched as if I hadn't pressed the clutch at all (it was all the way down)

there was backpressure on the clutch just fine - the problem worsened when I push the clutch and the pressure gets really high, all i hear was a loud 'creeeeeaaaakkk' from the tranny and a final 'click' at teh bottom of the pedal's reach...

i thought there were air bubbles in the clutch, since when running in neutral, with the clutch depressed in 2hi, the lever was locked out - in 4lo, it'll stay locked out, but slowly but surely gain momentum as the clutch engaged and finally get into gear...

the slave isnt leaking (not that it seemed), but i think the problem lies in the clutch level (on the tranny case)...

does anyone agree?

thanks!

nv4runner

Will it shift into gear when the engine is off? I'd start by inspecting the shift fork and make sure the throw out bearing is still attached by looking at where the shift fork ends in your bell housing.

904_runner

Look into the clutch pedal bracket.

There was a thread not to long ago, and that bracket is know for breaking and having to be welded/replaced...

Hopefully its just that and not an internal tranny problem.

Good luck

tesh

thanks for the replies guys -

unfortunately it wont shift into anything unless it's rolling (which can only happen in 4lo, when i lean on the stick into first and get some contact to get it rolling, then it slowly pops into gear..)_

there was a centerforce clutch installed not too long ago - im tempted to blame the installers on this one...

anyone have any questions for me to check? i did a pretty thorough analysis i'd say, though ive never had to ever work on a tranny; but done everything else on a car/truck...

tesh

and oh; i did read up on some other threads that had similar problems - most of those were solved by a leaky or faulty clutch slave cyl or master - i bled through and came up with teh same result of having pressure to the pedal, but either: not enough force to push that lever on the side of the tranny, or that lever is somehow stuck... could my luck be so good as to be able to 'reset' the position of that lever on the side of the tranny? im hoping its just a rock caught in there or something...
of course that would only make sense if i'd even wheeld it enough to get something stuck in it though...

UKMyers

It's pretty obvious when it's hydraulic related. It sounds like it's time to pull your tranny and see what awaits inside. Sounds like a pressure plate/throwout bearing issue.

tesh

yeah, that's what ive been inkling towards - the bearing is either jammed or stuck, something isn't releasing right to let the clutch plates separate...

one thing was that the tranny case (and everything around it) had residual oil on it; dunno how long it's been there, but some looked relatively fresh - i need to find where to check the tranny oil level; maybe it ran dry??? iono how long it'd last if that happened

tesh

THE VERDICT!!

I just got back from the shop this moring to see what was the deal with the cluch not disengaging enough to allow a shift ---> one of the Centerfoce Stage 1 clutch disc plate's cushion springs broke out of it's catch and was jammed between the pressure plate and disc...
13 years of service though, still meat on the disk pad too! It woulda gone another few years w/o any hassle...

on a lighter note, I found out my valve covers are leaking from the corners... so I'll have to dismantle the top of the motor some weekend... dunno when that'll be...

UKMyers

Valve cover gaskets take about 10 minutes to change.. super easy job. I got my replacements gaskets at Kragens for like 10 bucks. It's a pretty common problem. Just make sure you get an INCH lb torque wrench and don't overtighten them or you'll be leaking again. Glad to hear you got your clutch sorted out. Sounds like you got off pretty easy. My OEM clutch lasted till 140K. Driving style makes a huge difference on the life of a clutch.

tesh

Yeah, the crazy thing is; the flywheel still has the step cut grooves in it from the 96 job; it's like it's untouched! wich is weird cuz i always thought the clutch was slipping (wouldve caused more wear and damage i assume..)

valve cover should be quick, but with the lift, me being short, and no proper working conditions (damn apartments!!) it'll probably take more than 10 mins haha..

and gotta recharge teh AC.. odd how cold it was, then it dropped... leaky? i hope not..