Please help me with my girl!

I have a 2007 Toyota Tacoma V6 6-speed manual and I drive ALOT! I have 105,000 miles on her, tow a two-horse trailer semi-often and am constantly loading her up with hay, grain, etc. as well as many freeway miles. I have this noise that has progressively gotten worse, and it happens when the clutch is out; its a loud, chirping, whirling sound that goes away when the clutch is depressed about an inch or two. I have been told by many people that my throw-out bearing is going out... I am a broke college student who has 3 horses to feed and a trailer payment per month. Does anyone know how much this may cost to have replaced or even a rough estimate? I have to prepare myself to have some credit card debt, but my Tacoma is WELL WORTH any amount of money I put into her. Any help would be appreciated!!! Thank you

 

Everything you need to know...
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/58278-tsb-t-o-bearing-issue.html

But here is a summary. It is probably the t/o bearing. Mine does it too, but I havent replaced it yet. From what I read the part is 98 dollars and the rest is labor totaling about 350 dollars. It will probably eventually go out again because the drive shaft is aluminum and the housing is steel, and those two don't mix well together. It was a bad design on toyota's part. Hope this helps.

 

Welcome!
Sounds like it is probably your throw out bearing. Might as well do the clutch while it's all apart.

throw out bearing thread:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/58278-tsb-t-o-bearing-issue.html

 

If you pull a lot a weight I would upgrade the whole clutch assembly with a stronger disk and plate. Includes the throw out bearing. A shop would probably charge about $600 for labor. Order the clutch kit online yourself or the shop will get a crap OE one and overcharge.

 

Thank you very much everyone for your help!! I really appreciate it! Just a few more questions... what do I look for online if I order parts and what online shops are reputable to order from and not get ripped off? Also, would you guys agree that the dealership would be way to expensive and just try to take her to a good shop and have work done? Thanks!!!!!

 

I would order from Rockauto.com. Always decent prices and easy to deal with. Even ebay can have some good deals.
I would not take it to the dealer unless it is covered under the TSB linked above. Might ask them, tho....
I would find a shop with ASE certified mechanics. They do good work and are trained well.

 

It could be the throwout bearing and I would replace the clutch while it was out too. It also could be the pilot bearing and if so you need to get it done sooner than later as it could smoke the input shaft and then you are BONED.

 

Welcome! Are you out of the warranty?

 

Really, changing the clutch assemly or just the t/o bearning is a faily simple job - especially on a truck! If you have the tools you can do this yourself and save tons of money in labor. I weigh 120 at most and can do this job on my own with the assistance of jack to hold the trani. It is always nice to have another set of hands though - if you can muster up the ego and maybe a friend, you should do it.

 

I just fixed this problem on my 08. There are several clutch set ups to choose from and not all of them include the TOB. I decided to go with the URD setup. The TOB they sell is better than stock. You can choose to buy parts you need or a complete setup. I went with the stage III w/ lightweight flywheel and upgraded TOB. Shipped to my front door cost me $1170 and I installed myself. I had a shop do this job when I owned my 05 access cab. Parts and labor were over $900. I figured be lazy and have a shop do it or spend about the same; upgrade and do it myself. NO BRAINER for me.

 

I forgot to mention there was a short throw shift kit I included with the clutch from URD for a total of $1170.

 

If you are going to order the parts, check out Marlin Crawler. Marlin has a killer clutch set up for most toys so should have one for the Taco...

 

The labor for just the TOB is going to be about the same as doing the whole thing. 100K is pretty good for a clutch that goes through what you describe, so the other components will most likely need to be replaced soon. If it were me, I would go with the AISIN Part # CKT055 at RockAuto for $300 and do it myself. But, I have the tools and have done a few clutches. It's not hard if you have the tools and some mechanical ability. Get a Haynes manual to guide you through. Otherwise, you are out about $300 for parts and between $300 and $600 for labor. But, you should be good for another 100K miles then.