What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

I was taught how to drive a stick last weekend, while I was not all there, it seemed pretty simple, and something that could be fun. Not nearly as bad as I thought.

But I was on the mountain on a dirt road, in a Samari, way different haha.

 

Also, I don't know about everyone else's 5 speed Tacoma, but the clutch on mine doesn't grab worth a shit...at least not like my previous cars. If I slowly let off the clutch in my truck it won't pull itself forward unless I'm on perfectly flat ground and even then, it barely does. Wouldn't be a good manual to learn on, that's for sure. My previous Scion grabbed like a plumber's handshake and would pull itself along right quick.

 

I managed to find two seats out of a wrecked PreRunner back in January. They’re in the truck, they’re just not bolted down to anything haha.

I managed to shift from R to 1, 2 and I was feeling adventurous so I went into 3rd. I only stall when I’m at a stop and trying to feather the gas and clutch into 1st.

 

Yeah, that's what I mean when I say that these truck's clutches don't have much grab to them. On some cars like my old Scion, when you go to feather the clutch it grabs hard and lets you know the perfect moment to let off the clutch and give it gas. On these trucks, it takes some practice. I've stalled mine a few times because of this, especially offroading on a steep and loose/rocky incline. However it's much easier to get going that way in 4lo.

Just remember, don't give it too much gas while having too much clutch engaged or you'll smoke it. Not the end of the world really, but it does shorten the clutch's lifespan over time. Unless you really smoke it, then you'll have to get a new clutch lol.

 

And who knows when the last time this clutch was replaced. Could be the original one with 450k on it LOL

The point where the clutch engages with the transmission is where I’m having trouble. It takes some practice finding the exact “grab” point.

 

yeah it'll always be like that IME, but once you starting getting used to the sweet spot it gets easier.

I've heard of some people with 1st gens that have over 250k on the stock clutch, I don't know about 450k lol. I highly doubt it unless it was babied all it's life and 90% of those miles are long highway miles. The average lifespan of a clutch is around 100 - 150k. Mine will probably last 60k if I'm lucky because of the supercharger and offroading, but I'll definitely be upgrading it next time.

 

Definitely going to need a new clutch when I’m done learning how to drive it. I’ve stalled this thing far too many times.

But for now it sits in my driveway indefintely until I can get it titled.

 

Stalling it shouldn't hurt it, though it can't be good for the driveline if you're stalling hard. But if it's just sputtering and dying gently then the clutch is fine. Giving the truck gas while having the clutch engaged is what hurts the clutch, if you're watching the RPMs climb but not going anywhere because the clutch is still engaged, it's burning. Nothing worse than the smell of burnt clutch...

 

When it stalls it stalls hard. Whole truck shakes and dies suddenly.

 

yeah I wouldn't be worried about the clutch so much as the rest of the truck haha. It's all good though, people have been learning stick on cars much more fragile than these Tacomas for generations now. It can take some abuse.

 

Judging by the state of this truck when I bought it, all the past owners did was abuse it. Never worked on such a nastier car in my life.

That’s why I stripped the whole interior. You couldn’t sit in that thing for more than 5 minutes without gagging.

 

I 'liked' this comment just so I could 'unlike' it

 

I once worked on a Jaguar that had a cat crawl through the sunroof and proceed to get trapped and die on the carpet. No one found said cat for months. The car was parked in a garage at a seasonal home which for some reason had a cat door in the garage. The owner didn't have a cat, but when he came back he had a mummified cat. The stink was out of this world. We replaced the carpet with OEM new and the headliner and still the stink remained, it was a lot less, but still enough to make you gag. They tried an ozone machine which helped a little more, but in the end the cat was declared a total loss like the cat. The sad part was is was a nice XJR without a single flaw.

 

Btdt.

Going up hill on fumes and truck shut off. I bump started it in reverse, guess the jolt sloshed enough fuel around and was able to get it to a parking lot. Walk a mile home to get a gas can, stop and fill it up on the way back lol.

 

I used to work for a company and none of our trucks had working gas gauges so we just filled them up every 200 miles. We forgot to tell the new guy that they didn't work and he ran out of gas in the ghetto and then another time someone reset the odometer without filling up and I ran out on the highway during rush hour and I have coasted into many a gas stations.

 

Mine grabs like crazy, but then again I have a ceramic clutch in it. I've been driving manual transmission vehicles for 35 years, and with this clutch I have to pay attention because when it grabs it grabs. It's all or nothing. It would be a nightmare to learn on.

 

My old clutch felt slippy, like it took time to get to its full holding force. My new one is great though, grabs fast.

 

Cleaned off the old funky weatherstrip and applied new. Also gave all the windows some much needed love. About $600 total into this new topper, so far.

There's some more fun projects lined up for my little dude.

 

OK, first day of my trip is written up. Enjoy!

...when I found out that @mrs.turbodb was headed out of town for a week, I was quick to make plans for a return trip to Death Valley. Going solo, my route did include a few of our favorite spots (Butte Valley and Goler Wash), but focused on several new areas as well - most outside of Death Valley proper (West Side Road, Charcoal Kilns, Saline Valley + Warm Springs, Steel Pass, and Eureka Dunes)...

read on: Back to Death Valley - Day 1, 2 - A Struggle from the Start

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