HELP PLEASE!! Can a bad clutch/flywheel throw a P0304?

Hi guys, I'm needing your expert help. I took my truck mudding about a month ago (prolly won't go again cause of all the headaches). I have a 3.4L extended 4WD tacoma TRD with around 175K miles with 33in tires.

On the way back from mudding, the stock alternator died from all the mud. So I replaced it with 1995 cadillac deville alternator pushing 140 amps. When I took it for a test run, I was showing 14.3 amps constant...but I heard a terrible squealing noise that was constant and I thought it was a loose belt or misaligned belt b/c the cadillac and after messing with it for a few hours with no improvement, I used a stethoscope, I heard grinding probably from mud getting in there on the lower tensioner pulley and I replaced that. The noise was still there.

I finally figured out that the noise went away when I pressed in the clutch and determined that the cause of it all was probably the throwout bearing/fork for my clutch and probably mud getting in there and possibly scraping against the flywheel. Anyway, since it's my only vehicle, I continued to drive on it for a few hundred more miles and the noise disappeared. I know I need to replace my clutch soon anyway due to mileage, but I didn't experience any slipping going up hills or anything like that, so I wasn't in a big rush to change the clutch and flywheel especially cause it's cold.

So about 800 miles later after replacing my alternator, I get this shudder while I drive. Felt like I was driving on a flat, so I pulled over...but the shudder was still there at a stop in neutral and I didn't have a flat tire. At that point, I thought it was my clutch finally dying and slipping all over the flywheel. I drive about 5 more miles and get home. The next morning I start up my truck and I get a CEL of P0304. I reset it, and the light hasn't come back but I've only driven it another 5 miles, but it definitely still shudders, so I don't want to drive on it. I'm pretty sure it's misfiring.

I put a stethascope on the the 4th cylinder fuel injector and can hear it clicking fine. I haven't had time to pull the the spark plug and check the wire yet, but I'm I'll do that next. I changed my spark plugs and those wires and timing belt/waterpump around 155k miles.

I'm wondering if there's any chance that something going wrong with the clutch affecting the flywheel can affect the crank position sensor and cause a misfire which is throwing the p0304...or you think that the mud just screwed something else up? Or could running constantly at higher voltage from the more powerful alternator have screwed something up there?

Any help would be greatly appreciated before I tear my truck apart

 

anybody?

 

I find it difficult to think that a bad clutch would cause a misfire code at idle, stopped. Not that I would say impossible, but more improbable. The thing I would suggest is the check the plugs and wires before you do anything else.

 

K thanks. I really hope so, I'll try that first, it's just weird that the clutch seemed bad then this happened with the misfire and I had just changed the plugs and wires around 20k miles ago is all.

 

Misfire code could also be a fuel issue. Faulty cyl. #4 injector?

 

Yeah it's possible, not sure how to get to it yet cause cylinder 4 injector is hidden under there. I stuck the stethoscope in there and could hear it clicking though.

 

Solenoids can click, but still not be working. Just food for thought.

 

To get to it, I gotta remove the plenum and all that stuff on top? is there any easy way to check it? I swapped the wires out and put in a new spark plug but I still throwing a p0304. Next on the list is the fuel injector... My clutch is really bad though. The shudder stops when I press the clutch in though.