brjason

All right, this is really frustrating.

I've been having troubles with my clutch. Over the course of quite a while, my clutch was less and less able to release completely, to the point where my 4runner is now pretty much undrivable... even with the pedal fully depressed, when I try to start it it moves the vehicle along at several mph.

After doing some research and after ensuring that there wasn't air in the hydraulic line, I decided the likely culprit was a faulty master or slave cylinder.

I replaced both parts (with aftermarket parts, unfortunately ), bled the system, and expected/hoped that the issue would be resolved. No dice: the clutch still isn't releasing, and at this point the sensor that makes sure the clutch pedal is depressed before letting the truck start doesn't recognize that I'm pushing on the pedal. When I'm under the tranny looking at the release cylinder while someone else pushes on the pedal, it doesn't look like the rod coming out of there is extending its full length... it only moves about 1" past its resting location when the pedal is fully depressed.

I'm also hearing a fairly loud squeak from inside the tranny/clutch area when the pedal is depressed or released. I'm sort of guessing that's probably a separate issue (release bearing?), but I'm mentioning it just in case.

I went back and made sure the master cylinder was bench-bled completely, and I replaced the new slave cylinder with another [aftermarket] one... I thought maybe the squeaking was coming from inside the slave cylinder but it wasn't. These things did not seem to affect the situation much, if at all.

This seems like it should be a really simple fix. What am I doing wrong? Is there something specific that is supposed to be done with the position of the pistons in the master and/or slaves when they're installed? (i.e. are they both supposed to be most of the way out or in, or does it matter?

Could the squeaking I'm hearing have anything to do with it (i.e. a pressure plate or something that needs replacing)?

Help! I need to get this vehicle back on the road...

WFO

Not sure where the squeking could be coming from but I had some trouble getting my clutch to work when I did my trans swap. It turned out to be the clutch braket was broke. Take a look under the dash where the pedal is and move the pedal and make sure the braket isnt moving with it.

If the braket is not broke maybe try adjusting the pedal. But I dont think theres enough adjustment to account for what youre describing.

Good luck

brjason

Should the clutch bracket be not moving at all, or is a little flex normal?

How would a flexing bracket cause the symptoms I'm seeing?

I've adjusted the pedal pretty much as far as it will go... no luck.

WFO

No it should not move at all. When it moves it changes the pivot point and doesnt push the rod into the MC far enough. It doesnt take much.
I ended up getting a long self tapping sheet metal screw and just screwed it to the firewall. Its been holding for a few months now with no problem.

brjason

Interesting... I'll check it out. I seem to remember the bracket moving just a little bit while I was under there messing with things. Thanks for the info!

Another piece of information that would be really helpful would be to know how far the clutch release fork should move, from when the pedal is at the top to when it is fully depressed. Does anybody happen to have an idea about this? If not, would anybody by any chance be able to have a look and tell me later? I would appreciate it very much!!

One last question about this. For this whole process I used the FSM for this year and followed the process exactly (not that there's much to it!). Last night, though, when I looked at a Chilton's manual, it mentioned removing the "clutch fork spring" (or something like that) when replacing the slave cylinder. It never shows that in any diagram (and it also never says to put it back on!! ), and I haven't seen that step in any other documentation for this that I've seen, but I'm wondering if that could help my issue somehow. Opinions?

Thanks!!

n4ynu1010

You did bleed the hydraulic clutch system from the slave cylinder too didn't you ?
Slave cylinder will not travel a long way , maybe 1" 1/2 - 2"
Squeaking could be alot of things , if you are having problems with clutch and this squeaking is coming from bell housing maybe your throw out bearing is gone , hard to say but need to check it visually , if you have a access door on bell housing take it off and take a peek , if throwout bearing is torn up you will see lots of metal dust/shavings.
If MC was not working slave would not be working or slave would be slowly or quickly returning while pedal was held down , slave can be bad and not leak but leaking is probably the most common .
Inspect the clutch arm per previous post as well and make sure you bleed the system at the slave valve/release valve .

Check these links:
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b.../4inspecti.pdf

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b.../2checkand.pdf

brjason

Thanks for the info. As I said before, I have the FSM for my '92, so I've seen and followed the instructions at the links provided, definitely including bleeding the system at the release cylinder.

I'll check the pedal bracket...

n4ynu1010

Cool then if the pedal hieght and bracket are ok then check the clutch assy/clutch arm then from there , its easy to damage a clutch or pressure plate installing a new set if your not careful or don't have some kind of help guiding it in .

Targetnut

Those are generic instructions.

Clutch pedal pushrod needs to have a small amount of play at rest I think Toyota specifies like 10mm-12mm freeplay at the pedal. It can be less but there has to be some play. Try pushing the slave cylinder in by pushing against the clutch release arm.If there is some air stuck in the master cylinder this will push it back to the resevoir.

observe the clutch hose while someone operates the clutch pedal. Make sure it is not "ballooning" with the pressure.

At some point it will become evident that there is nothing more to do with the hydraulic portion of the clutch, and you need to know that there are mechanical issues that can also result in your problem. Cltch disc or pressure plate warpage. Problems with the clutch spring itself. or a siezed pilot bearing.

Ultimately you may have to remove the transmission.

n4ynu1010

brjason

What clutch hose? Are you talking about the metal hydraulic line, or is there a flexible ("balloonable") hose involved somewhere?

Thanks for the info (though I don't appreciate your suggestion that I might have to remove the tranny... )

n4ynu1010

The line that goes from the Master Cylinder to the Slave cylinder , on most it is a flexible line , if you have a metal/hardline then you don't have to worry about ballooning

brjason

Well, I don't have the time right now to dive into the tranny on this, so I think I'm going to have to break down and take this to a mechanic. It sucks, since I have a crapload of tools and a decent amount of mechanical aptitude/experience, but with full-time work and 3/4-time school (plus some critical repairs needed on both of my other vehicles) I can't deal with this myself right now.

I've actually only gone to a mechanic a couple of times, and never for anything [that might be] this major. Any tips for not getting fleeced and for making sure they do a good job (besides "hope you get a good mechanic")?

n4ynu1010

Ask around or try to at least find a shop that is familiar with the Yota Trks , its a crap shoot man , ask some friends or people that have been around for a good while who is good or they have had a good relationship service wise with and if you get a referral make sure you drop thier name when you go in so they have that little extra accountability present

declipse

I know it doesn't much help if you have to take it to a mechanic, but when my clutch stopped releasing i found that it was because one of the spring retainers on the clutch disc broke off and was wedging itself between the pressure plate and the disc. Replaced it all, and everything drives happy now.

brjason

I'm thinking more and more that it might be the pedal bracket (like y'all were suggesting near the beginning... ). In addition to seeing that in different threads here, and noticing that the bracket is definitely flexing at least a little, the mechanic I called (who apparently worked for Toyota for 10 years) asked about that as the first thing he suggested after hearing the symptoms and what I've done so far.

He's offering to replace it for $150 (for the new part) plus labor... Thoughts?

n4ynu1010

Thats not bad for parts and labor if you got the green

Targetnut

The clutch hose on your V6 lives on the passenger side of the engine compartment on the firewall. It is in close proximity to the heat from the exhaust and subject to failure.

n4ynu1010

Drivers Side ..................

Targetnut

V6 is on the passenger side

4 cyl is on the driverside