I bought a 91 Pickup DLX 5 Spd w/153k miles..... Driving home the Clutch died shifting into 3rd gear.
Any advice about buying a Clutch Kit? Are the Ceramic Clutch Kits worth the extra price?

 

Just what happened??

Are you sure it was not a Hydraulic Failure.

I have one Luk Clutch Kit I have one Aisin Kit I really can`t tell much difference.

I hear tell the Marlin Crawler Clutches are good If I did not have all new clutches it might be my next Choice.

If it is indeed the clutch it is best to change out the hydraulics as well.

 

Not sure yet. Mechanic hasn't looked at it yet. The Clutch was there then it wasn't. What do I need to buy to fix the Hydraulic Failure?

 

I was shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear and the Clutch Pedal lost a lot of pressure and started vibrating. I was stuck in Neutral.

 

I'm with Wyoming, I'd look at the hydraulics first, for sure. Could be just finally got too low on fluid and got air in the master cylinder. At that point the clutch pedal goes to the floor and the clutch won't disengage anymore, so you can't shift into gear unless you shut off the engine first.

 

In the 124k or so miles I had my '94, I rebuilt the clutch master cylinder twice and replaced the slave once. So a hydraulic failure is definitely a possibility.

You could also have the dreaded firewall failure. Where the firewall cracks from flexing stress over years of use at the mounting points for the master cylinder. This is bad and requires welding or other repair in very tight and uncomfortable quarters.

 

One other question. If you shut the truck off, shift in to first, and try to start the rig does it move like it's in gear? If not, it could be a total failure of the friction disc.

 

The Clutch Pedal has full range of motion. The pedal vibration occurs at the first two to three inches of space pressing down on the pedal and stops once the clutch pedal is almost halfway to the floor.

I have yet to try shifting gears while the truck is off either.

 

Mechanical Question; if the Hydraulics are shot or Firewall's cracked, should I also have the mechanic throw a new Clutch in too?

Not a bad thing to have a new Clutch on the truck I just bought last Wednesday!

 

It all depends what you want not sure the labor rate for a clutch I would bet some place between $350.00 to $500.00

Lots cheaper to fix what is broke.

If you have the extra money.

 

Turned off, Truck shifts into all gears no problem. Tried to start it n the truck tried to move. Friction disc must be working. Either Hydraulic or Clutch failure?

Ship 1-2 days for New Clutch Kit. Should I order the Clutch Kit? Or is the problem more likely a Hydraulic failure? Unsure whats involved w/Hydro Repair Ops. Will the Hydro Repairs and Clutch Kit Install near each other? Any input makes a difference!

 

Address potential hydraulic issues first.

Parts and labor for this are relatively small.

Might resolve your prob.

High labor costs for clutch replacement may be unnecessary at this time.

If it turns out that a clutch is needed, the hydraulics are best renewed anyway.

 

Here's the link to the FSM pages on the clutch. Do some reading first, before ordering anything. http://www.ether3al.com/93fsm-mobile/clutch.html

For the hydraulics, do the following.
- check the fluid level. Make sure it's completely full. If it's almost empty, fill it and bleed the system.
- Crawl under the truck (engine off) and watch the slave cylinder (passenger side on transmission bell housing) as someone operates the clutch pedal. It should move somewhere around an inch, maybe a bit less, as the pedal is depressed. If it barely moves, you have hydraulic or pedal linkage problems, or a broken pedal bracket in the cab.
- You can check the pedal bracket by putting your head under the dash and watching what moves while working the pedal. The pedal and push rod should be the only things that move. If you see the mounting bracket twisting around, you have a broken bracket that will need to be fixed. There are some articles on this forum about that that you can search for.
- If the bracket is solid, check the pedal for travel and free play. The FSM tells you how.

If slave cylinder motion is good but the clutch still won't disengage, then it's time to start looking to work on the clutch itself. This is a much bigger deal as it requires pulling the transmission and transfer case, and the labor alone will be at least $600. That's why everyone is telling you to test and/or fix the hydraulics first.

I'd say there's at least a 50% chance you simply are low on fluid and consequently have air in the system. 30 minutes and less than $10 to fix, at least to get it working again. You may want to flush the system and put all fresh fluid in it while you're doing this.

 

Okay. Thank you for the detailed response!!!! YOTATECH RULES!!!

 

If you find that you need clutch hydraulic parts don't purchase them in town.
Way too many out of the box failures and early in life failure threads on this site.
Don't let the lifetime replacement plan fool you.

Highest out of the box success rate and longest life seem to be with Asian parts.
Asian is actually what came on the truck from the factory, go figure...

Have a look on rockauto.com for your master and slave parts and prices.
Get a new rubber clutch hose while you're at it.

 

Already ordered AISIN Clutch Master Cylinder and 1991 Toyota Pickup AISIN Clutch Slave Cylinder Pickup....

Both from JC Whitney

 

Good move getting Asian parts. Haven't checked their prices in a long time.


Hope you also ordered a hose. As Wyoming likes to point out they hardly ever get changed... and he's right.


When people fail to change it they usually end up with a hose that balloons under pressure or gets brittle and develops cracks.

 

Not Asian, AISIN.
Can that hose be bought from an auto parts store?

 

Damn, been making too many mistakes lately. It's been in the 90's here for over a week and there's another week of it in the forecast. Upper 90's for the last three days. No A/C so getting very little sleep.

Sure can but I don't know about the quality. It is just a hose though. NAPA has a decent price on the Dorman hose.

 

Mistakes happen.... Its how you react to what you learn from em that matters.

Run cold water over your wrists for at least 15 seconds. Its the fastest way to lower your body temperature. If need be, keep a kooler near your bedside to dip your wrist in.