Yesterday, while a guy was test driving my truck to buy it, so I could buy another 4x4. The clutch on my 89 2x4 pickup failed. I think. The release cylinder is leaking, so I am hoping that is the problem. However, when I press on the clutch fork I can move it back and forth by hand. Am I correct in assuming that it shouldn't be that easy to move and is thus the pressure plate may be bad? I was hoping to just get away with changing the hydraulics, but want to get some input before I rip into the clutch having never changed one before.

 

There is no clutch release cylinder There is a slave cylinder .

Which way were you moving the fork Towards the rear of the truck puts pressure on the clutch release bearing which pushes the clutch plate .

If you pushed the fork front there will be movement if the fluid is no longer under pressure .

The fork could be broke or the release bearing popped off the fork.

Fix the simple first and hope you get lucky.

 

It moves both forward and aft (clutch disengaged position) just by hand.

 

Not good

It is a shame Toyota Vehicles don`t have a inspection plate.

You need to pull the transmission to see what happened.

Then you could sell it as is.

It is a shame this happened while trying to sell it

 

I pulled the transmission and found the fingers on the pressure plate flat and a big made in China stamped on it. I've never heard of this failure before... The bearings all look good. I will replace them anyways before selling it. I unfortunately knocked out the fork that moves the throw out bearing, and it looks like it rests in there so simply that I can't belive it. I hope I can find some decent pictures of how it is supposed to look out there. What a pain.

 

A spring clip holds it on the pivot ball not real hard to figure out.

.Clutch plates made in China with soft steel and no temper give them 50 years they will get it figured out.

 

I just reinstalled the clutch release fork and throwout bearing. It is just a clip on the pivot ball and it seems to fit very loosely. Can that be all it is? And is it normally a little loose? I hope it firms up with some hydraulic pressure on it.

 

Did the clip get bent when the clutch plate went flat??

 

Apparently not. I put it back together and it works good. I have just never done a clutch before and I couldn't believe how flimsy that fork just rests on that pivot ball with just a small spring on the back to hold it on. If I pressed it too far it would pop off, but I guess when installed the back of the pressure plate prevents it from moving too far and popping off. I'm glad I got this done. I am going with buyers on the test drive from now on. The good news is I have done my first clutch. Thanks for the help!!

 

Glad you got it fixed.

Now 4x4 Clutches are more interesting because of the transfer case and front drive shaft.

 

Was a good warmup. I'll probably have to do a 4x4 in a year or two... Thanks again

 

How do you do the clutch on a 4x4? Do you drop the tranny with the transfer case attached? I could barely line up just the tranny, is there a special technique to doing it with the xfer on there? It must be a beast to do.

 

Yes it can be quite interesting

You most often drop them as a unit being real careful as it wants to twist toward the front drive shaft side.

A piece of metal over hole for the shifters and a ratchet strap works wonders

drop the engine as low as possible I use 2 floor jacks to move things into position.

I have done them alone much easier with help 3 people is ideal.

There is a seal in the transmission in the rear that makes putting the transfer case up impossible you just don`t have enough room to move