My 1996 Tacoma has a clutch issue I need help

Not sure what is wrong it will not get out of gear, easily I removed the rubber mat soI can push in the pedtal deeper it works but some is bad now I'm scared now getting stuck my wife has a brain tumor and I'm her only support and care giver I fear not getting home in time and finding she fell. Can you guys help me again to figure out what is wrong and maybe I can find a small mech who won't rip me off
Thank you
Gary

 

How’s the pressure on the clutch pedal? Does it have resistance if you push it down slowly ?

 

Miles? Original clutch? You probably are due to have the clutch/pressure plate/throw out bearing assy replaced and likely have the flywheel resurfaced.

 

Yes very strong

 

I hope to know how I can do my tests to know what is wrong?

 

Could air be in the line to the slave cylinder and where is it located on my truck?

 

I know if I take it to a full mechanic he will say I need a full clutch replacement even if it does not

 

Mine had an issue where I’d push clutch in and while depressed it would engage and hold the gear… you couldn’t get it out. It was master cylinder fail. But at times I could depress and have little or no pressure. Doesn’t sound like your issue.

 

I asked chat AI, and it said to replace the master and slave cylinders and flush the old fluid out

 

Very strong could be a bad thing....
On some vehicles the pressure plate gets stiffer as time goes on & makes it harder to push in the clutch,
In-result puts more strain on the hydraulics....

There could be many reasons your clutch is hanging up:
faulty pressure plate, requiring a clutch job.
faulty hydraulics not dinging the clutch completely
worn-out destroyed pilot bearing, causes input shaft to bind & not disengage the disc from the pressure plate
Also on some older vehicles there could be firewall flex where the clutch pedal & clutch master cylinder go through the firewall, causes clutch to not fully disengage, I have no idea if this is a thing on Toyotas...
Ive seen cracked & flexing firewalls in the clutch pedal / master cylinder area on plenty of older ford rangers....

My guess is you need to find a shop & get your clutch replaced & this isnt going to be a quick & easy fix for you as the clutch is possibly original?

 

I've had this happen (wouldn't go into first, had to synchro shift) and in my case the fluid level had dropped too low. I'd suspect the hydraulic system. Work from least expensive to most, try the fluid flush and bleed first. Check the linkage adjustments against the manual. If it gets down to it replacing the slave cylinder is a lot less expensive than dropping the tranny for a clutch.

 

https://youtu.be/waMYTmk2nsI?si=SYsKE-Ycby121TOI

 

In a pinch you can drive it the way it is. With the engine off put it in first gear. Start the engine, it will surge forward as you are starting it. Once it’s running and you are going, shift without the clutch. It’s not really all that hard to do, just shift at a bit lower RPM than you usually would. Once you get the feel for it, it’s easy. If you have to come to a complete stop pop it into neutral as you slow down. Once you are stopped shut the engine off, and re-start it when you are ready to go the same way you did initially. Pick a route with the fewest stops. It’s not ideal, but in an emergency you can still drive it.

 

Put it in top gear give it some gas and with the brake on, let the clutch out, it should stall, if it doesn't stall easily, it's worn to the point of replacement.

Since most hydraulic systems for a clutch are self adjusting, one that is so far out of whack tends to be due to the clutch disc being worn to the point of replacement.

 

I hate to say that AI may have given the best advice here. If the truck is drivable with no perceptible clutch slip, it's likely the hydraulics. I had a failure similar to yours about 10 years ago and replacing the master and slave cylinders resolved the issue. I did have an issue a few years ago where the clutch pedal felt funny and required me to really press it to the floor to shift. This turned out to be a faulty push rod. The rod had some sort of rubber bushing where it connected to the pedal lever. The rubber deteriorated allowing the rod to skew (more of a flop) and not push the cylinder piston straight on.

Good luck figuring it out.

 

Very possible but if you push down the clutch pedal and hold it down, a system losing pressure will tend to be pretty noticeable. A leaking one.........well, that's pretty obvious also when you have to refill it. You can lose pressure because the cup/s are bad but you'll usually get leakage. If you bleed properly and nothing changes, you have no leaks, and the pedal is firm, a worn clutch assy is quite likely.