Accumulator Delete Kit - SOLD OUT - No More Kits

I'll take one!

 

Ok so I’ve got things reconnected but haven’t started the bleed yet. Had to remove the exhaust support bracket, I think that’s the easy way?

consensus is leave the 3 12mm accumulator bolts out? They don’t sit flush so I figure they aren’t keeping water out.

I adjusted the bends a bit, I think I remember reading that’s normal. It was difficult to get the threads started on the slave cylinder, I wonder if it’d have been easier to connect that side first?

Got some nice scrapes on my forearm from the exhaust pipe too, hope I don’t get tetanus.

left the o2 sensor connected, it wasn’t on the way.

any tips before I start the bleed and attempt to close?

 

Sounds like a typical install to me. Give it hell man

 

thanks. On the bleed. Do I need to hunt down a water bottle or is a small bucket ok? Does it need to be semi airtight? Or just needs a spot to drain to?

 

Its like pissing in a foil tin. All about the aim

 

Cool, so it doesn’t need air pressure in the bottle to make it work? I can’t see any bubbles but since it’s my first time bleeding anything I have no clue. Did 3 rounds. Maybe a couple more and call it good? Going from max to min each time.

 

That should be plenty if you're just gravity bleeding. I think I just left the slave cracked for 30 seconds or so and it's been perfect for somewhere around 5k now.

 

Well I did 10 rounds. Burned through most of the bottle of fluid. Couldn’t really see any bubbles at all really. Shower time then see if I get through a test drive. Hope I don’t have to tow it back home.

 

Well no one can say you're not ambitious! You should be bueno.

 

Accumulator Delete Kit Installation Instructions for dummies

First, I recommend attempting this mod with a fresh swatch of poison oak burning your arm or leg. It worked very well for me to keep me focused, provide a sense of urgency, and remind me that pain is only ever temporary. If you live on the east coast, poison ivy should suffice.

Step 0: Clamp the hose from the clutch fluid reservoir to the firewall. I purchased a plastic clamp for this but I think any decent high-strength clamp should do If you don't know which part is your clutch fluid cylinder, it's between the driver's seat and the battery, just aft (that's toward the arse end) of the fuse box. It's nearly on top (vertically) of your front driver-side wheel. It's round. And it has fluid in it. There really isn't anything else which looks like a cylinder in this general area. Yeah, I know, I am not a mechanic.

Step 1: Locate your target. Seriously, I had no clue where this thing was, only that it was somewhere near the transmission. I thought it was in the engine bay. If you don't know already, it's behind the front axle and up underneath the front driveshaft. Even someone as clueless as me should be able to crawl under their truck and locate the front driveshaft. NOTE: If you know how to remove a front driveshaft, don't waste your time reading this. I'm going to assume anyone continuing on is far too intimidated to consider removing a key mechanical piece of the drivetrain.

Step 2: Make sure if you're recently driven your truck it has time to cool off. Refuel and/or rehydrate if you need to wait a bit. You want to be able to touch the exhaust without pain. If you think you can do this mod without touching the exhaust, you're either way too awesome to be reading this or someone who'll be stoked with the resulting burn.

Step 3: Remove the exhaust support bracket. This piece of steel (I assume it's steel?) is the key to the entire mod. I know this seems counter-intuitive, after all you're removing the accumulator right? The thing is, I don't think the mod is possible without removal of the exhaust support and if it is, it requires some trickery or toolery which I don't have. Removal of the exhaust support bracket should be the first thing you do and reinstalling it should be your final step. If you can't get this step done, abort. Note that reinstalling it is actually quite difficult, possibly more difficult than removing it. There are three bolts, two up top, one down below. I recommend removing from high to low using a 14mm short socket and 3/8" wrench for the top two and a medium length extension when tackling the bottom bolt. I recommend reinstalling from low to high, first finger-tight then you can tighten in any order you like. NOTE the lower bolt was more rusted than the uppers on my truck and required the socket wrench for most of the way out, while the uppers were nice and clean once I cracked them.

Step 4: Remove the heat shield. This has 4 12mm bolts. Since you removed the exhaust support bracket you can actually get the 4th bolt off with a 12mm socket and 3/8" wrench. If you want to bust out the 1/2" socket here, and you have room, go for it. I found these bolts rather sticky but my truck is 4 years old. Make a mental note to reinstall this piece before replacing the exhaust support bracket. If you forget and reinstall the exhaust support bracket first, go buy a 12mm ratcheting box wrench as there's one bolt which is just too difficult to tackle with a socket when the exhaust support bracket is in the way.

Step 5: Get a short bucket/tub and place it under the slave cylinder bleed port. Remove the flange nut or whatever it's called which feeds from the accumulator into the slave cylinder. You should get a very low speed drip for a little bit. If you don't have a bucket, a rag or used throwaway t-shirt should be enough to avoid any real mess. This part is pretty easy, enjoy it. You aren't keeping this part so you don't really need to use a 10mm flare wrench, 10mm box wrench is fine if it's easier. I'd probably start it with the flare wrench just in case though, then switch to the box wrench once it's looser.

Step 6: Remove the feeder line into the top of the accumulator. This one is harder and will take a while. Use the 10mm flare again and don't switch to a box wrench here, you are keeping this part. Take your time, you barely get one full turn of the flare wrench before you have to reposition. This step takes patience.

Step 7: Unbolt the accumulator from the transmission. It's held on by 3 12mm bolts. Use your 3/8 short socket for this. You can probably fit a 1/2" in too if you want extra power but this part went pretty smooth for me, you have decent access. Use your hands to remove the final threads and place the accumulator off to the side, perhaps seal in a ziplock if you want to have a shot at reversing this mod later. I attempted to thread the 3 bolts back into the transmission to prevent any water infiltration but they don't sit flush b/c the threads end before the bolt head so I assume everyone is leaving them out.

Now is a great time to take a break, grab a bite to eat, go pee, or stretch if you need it.

Step 8: Connect the new bypass coupler aka the kit aka the thing you purchased. I did top first (brass coupler to vertical line) and bottom second (slave cylinder) but I think in retrospect it'd be a lot easier to do the bottom first (it was very tricky for me to get the threads started) and then position and connect up top. I certainly wasn't going to redo it once connected. The thing is, you'll likely have to fine-tune the bends, they are a really good start but you need to line the two connections up to very specific points in space. If you connect the bottom, there's still adequate room to connect up top as the slave cylinder isn't in the way _and_ you have a solid connection from which to bend. If you connect up top first, you have a wiggly connection and you'll need both hands to make small bends. But I don't know if maybe it's super duper hard to connect up top once you're already connected down below.

Step 9: Tighten the line. Use a 10mm flare wrench for the piece feeding into the slave cylinder and keep turning until it's snug. The last several turns will move with resistance, keep going until you reach a legit stop. Tighten up top using 1/2" box wrench to hold the brass coupler and 10mm flare wrench for the nut. This connection required considerably fewer turns for me. Or, perhaps, when connecting it hand tight, it's much easier so the wrench is needed only for the last bit. I found it difficult to be super confident with how tight I got this connection, you're working in a tight space and you have to use wrenches in both hands. Maybe someone smarter than me can comment on smart ways to get this done.

Step 10: Remove the clamp and bleed the clutch. OP has great instructions, maybe you have a buddy who can help and make it faster, whatever method works best for you. This was my first time bleeding a clutch so I burned 2/3 of a bottle of brake fluid and went 10 rounds. A remotely competent mechanic should be able to get this done in what 5 minutes? So, anyway, this part is a little scary but I think in hindsight it might be pretty difficult to really mess things up since you clamped off when you started and there isn't any good reason why you would have introduced air into the slave cylinder. I figure with this step, worst case, you tow to a shop and get them to bleed for you, so risk is relatively low. Anyway, others have commented that it seems more intimidating than it is. I kinda agree but haven't driven the truck yet so...

Step 11: Do not reinstall the exhaust support bracket yet. Do the heat shield first. Make sure the bends fit cleanly underneath it. Tighten all 4 12mm bolts.

Step 12: Reinstall the exhaust support bracket. This may well be the hardest part. Some have suggested a super long extension through the left front wheelwell. I took a look at that and found it not to my liking. I recommend installing the lower 14mm bolt first, until it's a little wiggly but not tight. That will help position the upper 2 holes near where they need to go. Then do the lower of the two upper bolts, it's the easier one to get in. You won't be able to see so go by feel, place the bolt in with your left hand, get it finger tight and then back off a 1/4 turn. Now time for the upper bolt. This is what you've been waiting for this whole time, your write of passage has arrived. You won't be able to see jack and you will be lucky if you have two fingers to work with at this point, or maybe you can enlist your perfect-age child to assist. Or maybe you're not a schmuck and you've got your front end up on blocks or something so you have some space to work with. Hand tight. Now finish it off with 3/8 14mm socket nice and snug.

Shower up, go frame your accumulator, crack a beer, and write up your experience for your fellow TW's to enjoy. Cheers to you.

Driving impressions to follow...

 

I did mine with a warm exhaust....

 

OK, so, driving impressions, from a rookie.

It's definitely better. Well worth $100 + some wrenches. Very satisfying result. With that said, it's not an overwhelmingly different driving experience and anyone opting out of this isn't really missing out on some euphoric moment or anything.

The best analogy I have is that it feels like sharpening a pencil which was OK, good enough for scantron (yeah I'm that old) but a little blunt for very precise markings. With the accumulator, my clutch could be bouncy at times, not unlike the super-duper powerful brakes on an unladen truck. I definitely got used to this feeling of bouncy bouncy sloppy sloppy and it didn't really infringe on my driving style b/c I drive like grampa. Or maybe grandma?

So, after removal, the truck now drives much more like the vehicles I remember from my youth (mazda 626, my '97 F150, and my 2000 tacoma). It's more fun (but how much of that is me projecting?) Before removal, it was a tiny bit like my 86 F150 I bought in 1995, which was all beat to snot, trashed cv joints, F250 springs, snowplow welded on the front, a total disaster of a vehicle and impossible to drive with coffee b/c no cupholders, bench seat, and every time you let out the clutch it'd lurch like a bucking bronco and scald your crotch. OK, so the tacoma was never as bad as that truck. But it was just a wee bit bouncy schmouncy and I learned to adjust for that by driving extra cautiously/smoothly.

The most notable differences for me are, say exiting the freeway at 40mph in 4th, I can pop it down to 2nd, gas it up a bit, then let out the clutch and its significantly smoother, no big lurchiness. Or, slamming from first to second at 3500 rpm, far more enjoyable. Maybe that's really it, with the accumulator in I had a tendency to just drive like a total wuss b/c why poke the bear, you had to get each shift just right or it'd feel muddy, bouncy, a little yucky, kinda like greasy fingers on shag carpet. With the evil accumulator removed, you can drive like the 18 y/o testosterone fueled a-hole that you wish you still were and the truck responds predictably and reliably.

Which makes me wonder what the point of this piece is and why Toyota put it there. There's absolutely no question whatsoever that it drives better without it. I don't see how it's "safer" or "easier" for someone not used to MT to learn on with this thing in place. I don't understand the purpose it serves. Unless maybe it prolongs the life of some wearable part? But who buys an MT in this day and age and wants to have better lifetime of a wearable part at the expense of a preferable driving experience?

Anyway, I doubt that was coherent at all but TLDR is, good mod, well worth the $.

Going to bed happy tonight.

Thanks OP!

 

PM me your email address and I’ll send you a PayPal invoice.

 

Is the clutch bleed screw a ball-check style? I'm planning on tackling the accumulator delete this Sunday morning.

 

It is not a check style. It can suck air back into the slave cylinder if you have an assistant who lets the pedal up while you have the valve open.

 

So my process must be:
Open bleed screw, push down pedal and hold, close bleed screw, raise pedal, top off reservoir, repeat. Correct?

 

Yup just like the old days helpin' dad with the brakes. Pump the pedal a few times, etc, etc. repeat until no air. The pedal may stay down when you do this. Just pull it back up by hand. It will be fine once the valve is closed again.
Or, you can do do the gravity bleed method if you don't have an assistant.

 

Did you get OP’s full revised instructions? That’s how I did the bleed. Pedal will stay down with bleeder valve open.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/accumulator-delete-kit-5-kits-left.583387/page-31#post-23450200

 

Gravity bleed? Please describe. I might start this job before my assistant wakes up.

 

Open her up. Gravity does the work. Fill the reservoir so it doesn't go empty.

Bubbles with pop out as it bleeds. Maybe lump the clutch (¿)