Stiff clutch

[slomatt]

The clutch on my 2000 5spd seems to be getting progressively stiffer as time goes on, to the point where it's becoming a hassle to drive. The truck has 105k on it and as far as I know its the stock clutch. As with most 5spds the bushings for the clutch spring wore out long ago so I removed the factory spring and replaced it with a low-pull linear spring. A few weeks ago I bled and replaced the clutch fluid but that didn't seem to help. Both the master and slave cylinders show no leaks.

Do other people find the clutch on their 3rd gen to be significantly heaver than most manual transmission vehicles?

Any ideas on what else to look at? It's possible that these trucks just have heavy clutches, but I'm starting to wonder if my master cylinder is not working at 100% or if there is friction when sliding the clutch on the output shaft.

Thanks.

- Matt

[paddlenbike]

Mine was exceptionally heavy when the clutch pedal bushing was bad, but I replaced it and put it back together like it was when it was stock. Now it's not any heavier than a Mazda 3.

[4x4mike]

Matt I have the exact problems as you've mentioned. I've got more miles and I have no idea about the age of the clutch. I've had my 4Runner for 5 years now and it's very stiff. I can't say it's stiffer than it was 5 years ago but like you said it's a pain to drive.

Recently I pulled the stock spring and installed the Ace #70 spring that everyone says to use. The spring made no difference but made it obvious the problem is the pushing down of the pedal. FWIW my stock bushings on the spring and pedal were all in operable condition.

Ken did a little searching for me and came up with this link:
http://www.yotatech.com/f2/3rd-gen-5...d-shift-52619/

I've done little to fix things as I don't have the time and commute by other means. I have peeked around and everything looks in good repair. Nothing is leaking and the fluid levels are fine. One day when this thing blows out my knee and forces me to walk with a cane I'll dig into it deeper.

[paddlenbike]

I would start by bleeding the clutch hydraulic system at the slave cylinder. You will need two people.

[Seanz0rz]

come sit in my squareback and then we can talk about a stiff clutch...

my left leg is going to look like a Sequoia tree someday...

[slomatt]

Thanks for the replies. I had already tried bleeding it using a MightyVac, there were some bubbles still in the hose but I think they were air being pulled through the threads on the bleeder screw.

The stock clutch spring appears to provide assistance when you first start pushing the pedal, I removed mine because the bushings were gone and the holes are worn badly. Can't help but wondering if I put the spring back in if it would help out. The problem is the metal that has worn away on the fork as shown in the following picture, so I'd have to replace it or get it welded.



The big gotcha is that last month I moved into an apartment while we look for a house to purchase, so I don't have a garage to use at the moment.

- Matt




Mike, have you driven Ken's truck? Is his clutch any lighter than yours? The clutch on my 4runner is so heavy that it hurts my leg after a while. My other car is a 2002 WRX which by no means has a light clutch, and it seems at least 50% lighter than the 4runner.

[slomatt]

Here's an interesting article by a guy who replaced the plastic bushing with a bronze one.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st...ng-design.html

- Matt

[4x4mike]

I know that the spring will not help my case. My pedal was annoying the hell out of me so I was paying it a lot of attention. Then pulled the spring and tried the pedal with and without the new spring and there was no difference.

I'm thinking something is gunked up in mine and needs some maintenance or parts replaced.

[paddlenbike]

Replacing the torsion spring with the linear spring will increase pedal effort. My fork looked like yours Matt, maybe worse, so I just filled that void with JB Weld, reinstalled the bushing and all has been well since. My maintenance records show I did that January 14, 2010, so it has been over three years with no problems.

Mike has driven my truck but I think he missed your question at the bottom of your post.

[4x4mike]

Ken's pedal is very easy to depress. While on a trip I had to fart a bunch so we switched vehicles. While in his, taking care of business, it was like driving a barbie car. With no effort his pedal hit the floor. Mine wouldn't do that with three legs pushing on it.

Without any spring I stuffed myself into the footwell and pressed the pedal with my hand/arm to see what was going on as it traveled. Nothing seems to be binding but there was also no spring for me to over power. It's just tough. I probably need a bleed and inspection/