idanity

i just bought my 88 v6,

when i depress the clutch, i get a whirling sound.

a mechanic says its the throwout bearing, and will fail soon. *(it only whirls when i actually hit the clutch in, not in drive or nuetral)

is this true,
and if so,
is the cost about 1k to fix.?

the same mechanic told me the timing belt is more important (but the engine seems normal, w/no bad sounds, and a very clean head (inside the oil cap, i peeked inside to look at the rockers and walls, and i saw brilliant allloy (no yellow, brown or black))). This leads me to believe the P.O. on saying it was rebuilt (plus new fluids were in everything, nothing was black)...

so,
am i wrong to think the clutch and throwout bearing need attention more than anything else ?
and
would a clutch + throwout bearing cost 1k

im new to this engine and need to learn. (plus i can actually do the timing belt, whereas the clutch is more of a pita) but if i hear from everyone from every bb, that the clutch is easy, i will try to do that too. (*the truck is lifted a few inches, so room would be okay.

ozziesironmanoffroad

can you hear rattling in the engine? does it sound like a diesel? if not, then your timing is fine. id focus on the clutch. if you do it yourself you can do it for as cheap as 80 bucks, if you arent too picky on the clutch. when i do mine im gonna get a factory clutch, but you can get a exedy stage 1 racing clutch assembly on ebay for like 81.99 plus 15 shipping. it does involve rermoving the crossmember, the front swaybar, both driveshafts(for 4x4), and droppin the tranny, and might as well do front tranny seal as well. i can do it, but im procrastinating cuz i dont want to... get it? .

stormin94

Hell no! That's like a couple hundred dollars MAX. If you do it your self, it's even less than that.

ozziesironmanoffroad

careful stormin, diff states/counties have diff labor rates. out here the labor rate is 90 an hour, and a clutch on mine was quoted at 500 something

idanity

i thought that was high. 1k for a clutch. throwout bearing.

and the engine is quiet, and great, i think i will shop around for a clutch and wait altogether on the timing belt (till i hear a noise from the engine).


the only weird noise i hear is when i depress that clutch in. (like a hydraulic pump straining) but goes away after i release the clutch .

so
what would a racing stage 1 or 2 clutch do for a truck.?

ozziesironmanoffroad

i personally havent used one, so i cannot say, i just know that they are made of softer material than OEM, so they can grab a hell of a lot harder. it seems like they wouldnt last as long as an oem clutch, though people on here do run racing clutches. from what i know about them, they would make the truck have more torque off the line to get up to speed. thats about all i know about them...

amgraham

DO THE TIMING BELT FIRST!!! The V6 will not make sounds before it starts to fail, it will simply break, leave you stranded, and most likely ruin your motor in the process. Us with the 4 cyl are fortunate that we hear the warning before the timing chain fails (which is what Ozzie was referring to) but since the V6 has a belt it will just break. If it has been more than 60K or close to it since the belt has been changed go ahead and do it. Replace the water pump while you're there and check the front main seal, cam seals, and all that good stuff.

Think about it this way.. If the clutch fails no biggie, you break down, get it towed, and replace it. If the timing belt breaks then you search for a new engine and install the new clutch when you swap them out . I have heard some throwout bearings make noise for a long time before outright failure and even if it does fail it's very unlikely that it will do any permanent damage. If you can afford to do both then great, do them both. If you have to choose then do the timing belt first.

Also, ditto on the front seal when you do the clutch. It's like $8 at NAPA and they always seem to leak for me if I don't replace them. Also, it's a good idea to do the rear main while your there for another whopping $8. I just swapped another trans in my truck yesterday and it cost me roughly $85 for the clutch kit, $70 for top of the line Amsoil gear oil (you can use regular for about half the price) and about $20 for the seals and silicone. So, for less than $200 I did mine and it took a day with me and a buddy not really hurrying, just screwing around here and there feigning productivity

Good luck man!

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

No clutch, no move.

No timing belt, no move.

Fix them both!

eric-the-red

Like amgraham said the timning belt won't make a noise or give any warning. If you don't know the age of the belt I would replace it. The good news is if it does go the 3.0 is a non-interference engine so it shouldn't damage anything. The bad news is the truck will stop, which is at the least inconvenient and at most a big tow bill.

As for the clutch it does sound like a bad throwout bearing to me. It will have to be replaced, along with the rest of the clutch while you're at it. How soon depends on how bad it is, I had a throwout bearing in a Civic making noise for about a year before I got around to replacing it. $1000 sounds a bit steep to me, an entire clutch assembly can be bought for about $200, add in $300-400 for labour doesn't make it $1000.

toyotatom93

If the PO rebuilt the motor chances are the timing belt was done no?
I also have a throwout bearing that needs lube (it whines when I release it) and it has been doing it for at least 2 or 3 months...one of these days I will be able to afford a replacement.

If I were you I would wait with the clutch stuff (unless you have the $$ and time to do it right away) and get a second opinion on the belt.

My truck does sound like a diesel on startup, and I thought it was thew chain. Turns out it is just the oil getting to the heads; or the lack of oil getting to the heads right away I should say.

thook

Why not just pull the timing cover off and have a look see? It's not hard.

idanity

thanks everyone.

im happy its a non-int. engine, and even though i should do it now, i will do it soon by myself. (not pay 2500bucks for clutch, tbelt )

i just bought this 4x and im new to the v6 altogether.

my other 4x (for sale too) is a 4banger. good truck, but i always wanted all the options.

i want to get the 88 back to fully stock, and use it as a daily driver. winter months especially.

thanks for all your help.
i barely have the cash to pay anyone else to do what i could do w/your help on a saturday.

and
the black 4x is going up for sale very soon.

new(er) top end, and everything works.
new(er) front hubs, yet will need a new cv joint soon.
fastest 4cylinder truck ive been in to date.

Jay351

I will have to agree, do them bolt.

Timing belts do not give hardly any warning when they are about to break. My timing belt skipped a few teeth right before it broke so the truck was a complete DOG.
If the timing belt breaks it will not damage anything, it will just leave you stranded. Mine broke in front of my house so I was lucky.

As for the clutch, buy yourself a clutch kit and it will come with the throwout bearing.

And do yourself a favor and buy a shifter seat and bushing from marlincrawler.com cost is under 20 bucks and will GREATLY improve your shifting feel.

And last thing.. while you have the tranny dropped, change out the fluid for some redline mt90.

idanity

oyeah
i just replaced the rear tranny seal and added redline already.

i need all the tips i can get,

like
the shifter seat and bushing from marlincrawler.com (thats on the new list)
and
with the clutch and all.

really, this truck seems great. looks brand new inside the oil cap.(no black, brown or even gold, its clean alloy.).

when i do do the clutch, i will get the oem version and bearing kit.
also
i do know that (most) t.belts break on startups (due to the fact of higher stress and perhaps being really cold). and considering my truck will be a daily driver, it will always be fairly close to home.

hence, i will NOT do any road trips till its all kept up to date.

again
thanks you all for all your help

this is a very good post and i really appreciate the replies.

Targetnut

If there are no outward signs of impending failure, there would be no reason to believe that the Timing belt is about to fail. That said, If it were to fail, your engine would stop running at the moment of failure, but it would not actually do any other damage.

Your clutch release bearing (throwout bearing) can actually cause other damage if it locks up and spins on the trans snout.

I'd be inclined to fix the problem you know you have and do the maintenace timing belt replacement at a later date when it is more convenient.

Prices for labor, and even parts to some extent are regional. If you brought your truck to my shop (Northern Virginia), It would likely be about $1K for the clutch job.

Alot of areas would be less expensive and a few others may be more. If you have questions about the price, the best bet would be to do some phone shopping. Beware of lowball prices though.

I don't know that I would say that a clutch job is easy, If you have a lift and the necessary tools, it's not reallly that hard. But if you are going to do it on the ground, I think you will find it not so easy.

But it is do-able

skife

replace the timing belt and only use the clutch when you take off or stop okay?

i do it all the time.

Tacoma750

If that throw out bearing goes bad..it WILL cause hell. I mean smoke,welding itself in and it will be about 1K to fix it. I went through this with my wrangler. The throw out bearing went, filled my driveway with black smoke...welded itself in. I ended up needed a new clutch,throw out bearing, flywheel....i dont even know what all i needed. but it was $$$