Clutch Recommendations

Hello Everyone,

Can one of you recommend me a clutch for my 3rd gen tacoma? I have 35K miles on my 2019 and the clutch is beyond gone, the dealer does not want to even look at it under warranty, so I have to buy a new clutch.

Something for regular use but that will last. Don't tow much, very light off road use.

Thank you

PS. I have no idea what happened to this clutch, the truck was not abused and I have driven manuals for over 20 years.

 

Understandably, clutches are never warranty items.

The OEM clutch is generally a long life item, well over 100K for most folks, I would replace it with OEM parts.

Are you the original owner? If so there is either a problem with the truck or a foot operating the pedal. Do you have teen drivers, a spouse or ever loan out your truck to friends? (Friends might be worse than kids... )

 

I thought that there was a TSB for the 3rd gen clutch dragging..like back when the 3rd gen was new.

Maybe that was the case here? Taking the OP at face value and assuming no one is riding the clutch.

Edit: here’s what I was talking about. No idea if this still applies. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/6-speed-clutch-dragging.458197/

 

I would have normally gone with a factory clutch, just don't want the same lifespan.
Nobody drives it but me. I have driven all kinds of manuals for years, from no power Jettas, to an M3 with tons of power.
My biggest concern is if there is actually something else wrong with the truck, would hate to pay for a new one and have it go bad in 30K miles again

 

I am the original owner and never received that, wonder if I can find it and if it covers 2019. But I guess it may be too late at this point. That would be one of the only ways for it to make sense to me that it wore out so quickly

 

Burnt out my clutch at 43000 on my 2019. My mechanic initially thought it was the transmission. So it went to Toyota, just the smell alone and they said no coverage. Then when they did prove it was the clutch, it went back to my mechanic. Toyota quoted me 1900 parts and labor for another OEM clutch. I passed. 43k only? I've also been driving standards for over 20 years. Multiple manufacturers too. So when that happened, I could only think wtf. So my truck went back to my mechanic and he put a Centerforce clutch in. They have good reviews and they are out of Prescott, AZ, so I got to help a somewhat local business and got my parts quicker than expected.

 

Thank you for your information, at least I know I am not the only one.
Which of the centerforce clutches did you go with? Did you get the flywheel too?

Thank you!

 

There have been a couple of posts with photos of OEM clutches had started disintegrating. In both cases
the owners claimed that they hadn't abused the trucks. Could be bad parts, or something messed up during
assembly. The actual reason was never determined.

 

I went with this kit and had my flywheel resurfaced. I'll probably do the flywheel if/when it goes down again, ha.

Item: Centerforce ® II, Clutch Kit (KCFT508110)
Fitment Selected: 2019, TOYOTA, TACOMA, 3.5L - 6-SPD

 

If your doing it do the entire kit. Flywheel, disk, pressure plate, and throwout bearing. Those are all moving high-wear parts that wear a pattern together. only replacing one or the other and not all of it will cause uneven wear and reduce its life. Flywheels can be resurfaced but in my experience by the time you factor in downtime waiting on it from the machine shop plus the cost of the machine shop it's less of a hassle to buy a new one or a complete kit.

Centerforce is a good brand. Exeddy is also good and makes most OEMs and also aftermarket performance clutches. You or your mechanic should thoroughly inspect the hydraulics especially if you pull it apart and the clutch burned up and it wasn't a complete parts failure. If you're driving how you say your driving you should have gotten way more life out of it. I've seen vehicles with 100k plus and they had good life left in them.

 

this seems to be the issue, if you are smoking any clutch, regardless of make and model, the components will wear prematurely.
Also keep in mind, the MT's reverse gear is notoriously Tall which isn't ideal for backing up steep drives and/or backing up a load or trailer.




https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4wd-lo-steep-hill.783286/

 

At that point the clutch was already slipping and it was around 25K miles. If the clutch was good it wouldn't have been an issue

 

Hmm, I'm the second owner of my 2019. Owned it since 8k miles and I'm almost at 47k now. I'll have to keep an eye on things, however, my clutch is performing as it did the day I bought it. I live in a coastal area, very few hills but I've been on a few North-South cross country trips. What kind of terrain do you mostly travel? Any heavy loads, towing, etc? Sorry to hear about the misfortune, OP.

I don't really have any advice for replacement clutches on Tacos so I'll be following this.

 

If you haven't seen anything, I think you will be fine. Mine started showing issues at around 25K miles, but the 3 years of bumper to bumper were over.
I before the 24K miles I was in florida, no hills, no towing ( had a separate truck for boat towing) mostly city/hwy miles. After that did a 12K mile roadtrip from Florida to Panama and back. Mostly highways and city a couple of very mountainous terrain.

 

It just sunk in I have been driving manuals for 25 years. Sucks there is this issue, which engine? I am really disappointed with the gearing Toyota put in the 2nd gen manuals (not sure on 3rd gen). 1st gear ratio is like a sports car, not a truck. Mine is a 4.0 6 speed, but I've driven a couple 4cyl models as well and they force you to slip the clutch pretty bad in 1st gear.

 

So, this clutch slipped for 10,000 miles...

You would have had better luck investigating the cause when the issue first appeared.

 

Slipping at 25k? I would have tried several dealerships to see if they were willing to cover at least parts under the power train warranty.

Unfortunately it is a maintenance item and likely would be denied, but I'd worry about it being set up properly when the truck was built to go out that soon.

Replace and carry on, hopefully for way more miles. 68,000 miles on my factory clutch and still holding. I don't expect to replace it anytime soon.

 

I did actually. My mechanic tried the delete disc first. It leaked so he made his own. Definitely feels different. A lot touchier? I guess? But it also feels more precise? Like I can feel exactly when the gear is going to engage, kind of thing.

 

3rd gens are really weird. 1st gear ya gotta shift out pretty quick, but you're not taking off in second. Rest of the gears are spaced pretty nicely. I'm making a 1-2 shift before I even complete a turn. I could wind it out longer, but I don't really like to do that.

 

There are many years worth of TSBs concerning Toyota clutches. Many of them are crap, period. Toyota knows this and continues using them. Some last a really long time. Many others don't.
Replacing with OEM would be my last choice.

Don't know if South Bend makes a clutch for the 3rd gen, but that's where I would look first.