jeopardy98

My brother in law has a 97 Tacoma that has been making a squealing noise upon engagement of the clutch. My brother in law swears that it is the tires spinning but I know it is transmission noise. I'm not an expert but I told him I thought it was the release/throwout bearing.

Fast forward about 2-3 months and now he calls me and tells me that it is not going into 1st very easily at times. I had him bring me the truck and I drove it and noticed that is not only hard to get into 1st but it seems to not be fully disengaging either.

Today we replaced the master cylinder and the slave cylinder and bled the entire system and took it out for a drive. There is no change in how it engages or disengages. After driving it a few minutes I could not get it into any gear at all without cutting the truck off and putting it in gear and then starting the truck. When I did this even with the clutch pedal all the way in the truck would still try and pull forward and would try and stall. It would also not come out of gear with the clutch pushed in all the way. The last thing that I noticed was whether the clutch was pushed in all the way or not at all if I tried to go into first or second as soon as I would reach the shift gate the truck would start to pull forward.

The truck has 192,000 miles on it and the clutch was replaced at 120,000 miles. What do you all think is going on here. Is this a bad release bearing or is the clutch toasted and breaking apart? I really don't know where to go at this point. Any advice that you all could provide would be greatly appreciated.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

It all depends on your brother in laws driving habits .Some people just destroy clutches.

it is possible he has fried the clutch. You didn`t smell anything in the last outing???

In any case the transmission needs to come out . To me that means all new clutch kit .

Even if the it is only the release bearing.

just curious what brand of clutch was installed??:jessica:

jeopardy98

I will check with him and see what kind of clutch was used. We will have to pull the clutch and replace the kit. I was thinking the same thing. If we are pulling it we sure don't want to have to do it again because we didn't put a new clutch in.

What all will I need to purchase. The kit comes with the clutch fibers and pressure plate and bearings so I'm guessing he will need a new flywheel or at least to have that one resurfaced, correct?

Is this something we need to take to a shop or can a mechanically inclined person get through it with a full day and the service manual? I've never done a clutch but I've done plenty of things like timing belts, and water pumps.

Thanks for the reply.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

One can get through it although it is more bull work physical labor then doing a timing chain or belt.

two floor jacks are ideal one to move the transmission /case up and down in and out.

the second from the front to raise and lower the engine.

We all have our little short cuts.

pretty much remove all the wires the speedometer the starter the front and rear drive shafts . The clutch slave cylinder.

I remove the front sway bar some do leave it in.

the pieces to remove the shifters be sure to take note which way they are installed .

Depending on the shape of the transmission mount it would be a good time to replace since it is coming apart disconnect the mount loosen the crossmember bolts

I then get all the low bolts on the bell housing .


Now with the engine supported the jack under the transmission I remove the crossmember..

With some watching I lower the back end to make the two top bolts easier to remove..

Once all the bolts are out of the bell housing it will take a little shaking to get it loose from the pins.

Once it is free of the clutch it will want to twist toward the side of the front drive shaft . I have done this alone with a ratchet strap to help support the case. Not for the faint of heart.

Now that this is down and out of the way removing the clutch parts is a pretty straight shot.

As cheap as fly wheels are and the time and cost to have one turned I just put new ones on .

Look at your release bearing fork making sure it is not cracked

To get it installed the correct way . It is so easy to forget to put it back on.

I install the new bearing after cleaning every thing off :jessica:

Put it all back together you will have to turn the input shaft to get it to line up with the clutch splines.

Getting the transmission out and in are the hardest :jessica:parts

Team420

Dunno if its a common issue on the 96 & up tacos, but my 91 started doin exact same thing, clutch was fine, but its common on those for the clutch pedal mounting bracket to crack, allowing the mount to move with the clutch, and not fully puch the plunger in far enough to release the clutch....

Id check that 1st personally... Any movement in the bracket is bad.... Its a quick free fix if ya have a welder...

jeopardy98

What exactly are you referring to? The master cylinder is attached directly to the pedal so I think I would have seen it if the pedal was broken. Did I miss something. I can gladly take another look.

jeopardy98

So it looks like we are going to give this a go in about a month. We are installing a new clutch kit and a LUK flywheel. According to the service manual the exhaust has to be removed from the front of the engine. Is this really the case? Are there any other tricks and tips that you all have? I have access to a lift and am thinking of getting a tranny jack to use as well.

GreyToy95

My clutch started slipping just all of a sudden. First one night it was just there happening in first. Parked for a couple of days, my weekend, and now it works in 1st but won't hold in third. Read this about the clutch bracket and went and checked mine as best I could with a bad neck and a flashlight. The bracket and clutch pedal assembly was really loose left to right. Never noticed that with my foot. Anyway, will try and get up under there and see what the deal is. Could use a little hope right now as too poor for a clutch kit and another jack.

jeopardy98

Does anyone that has done this know if I have to remove the exhaust? It is really rusted and I don't want to break bolts if I don't have to.

kcpanages

No need to remove exhaust

jeopardy98

Awesome. Thank you.

jeopardy98

Okay we are going forward with this next weekend. We got our parts in and I was just curious if anyone knows the weight of the transmission/transfer case in a early model tacoma. I ask because we are trying to decide if we need to rent a transmission jack or if the two of us can handle it.

I have access to a lift but the only jack I can get is one of the low lift floor jacks. If the two of us can lower it out I would rather use the lift to uninstall and then just have someone put it on their chest and lift it if it is possible.

jeopardy98

So this weekend is the big weekend. I have the clutch kit, flywheel, and a rear main seal. I have lots of 1/2" and 3/8" extensions plus universal sockets for each as well as a 3/4" 1200 ft/lb impact gun with a 1/2" adapter socket. I'm going to purchase some 12x1.25 bolts to cut the heads off as well. I'm renting a transmission jack but it is a low one. I also have my brother in law to help me and of course we have the FSM. I've been reading and reading and reading to make sure I don't screw this up.

If we pull the transfer case from the transmission before we drop it do you think the two of us can wiggle it out and lower it down and then just use the jack to line it back up? We have a whole weekend devoted to this job so should we be okay? Is there any other tips that you all think I need to know or anything I have missed?

I'll try and have my brother in law take some pictures but I can't make any promises. Thanks so much for all the help you all have given already. Hopefully this weekend all will be well again.

jeopardy98

I guess I'll find out this weekend if I'm prepared...

jeopardy98

Well it is all done and running great. It shifts smooth as butter. One of the fins on the pressure plate was completely broken off and was floating around between the plate and the clutch disk. The clutch itself had decent life left but the flywheel and the pressure plate had a terrible ridge in the middle. The pilot bearing was still good but I swapped it and the release bearing just to be safe. Hardest part of the whole thing was getting the transmission separated from the bell housing. Getting it back on was a snap.

Once all done the truck wouldn't start and we tracked it down to the starter so I guess removing it just took the last little bit of life it had left. New starter and everything is running great.

Thanks for all the help folks!