Clutch going out? My novice is showing

What’s up guys.
Recently got stuck in a dried up sandy riverbed and had a phenomenon occur.

I was able to get out of the pickle after further airing down, some digging and use of traction boards,

However, while escaping the riverbed, I was in 4 lo with the clutch completely engaged. It was reving high, and definitely didn’t match the speed tacometer. The exit of the riverbed was around 200 yards out and I did not want to stop and risk sinking again. Floated over at between 5-10 mph (tbh I cannot recall exact speed cuz of the adrenaline of being stuck alone close to sunset), and around 3-4k rpms. All in 1st gear. I was feathering the gas pedal in an attempt to keep the rpms down. Afterwards the smell of clutch was very present. (I have a M/T)


Not sure if it was due to my wheels spinning out, or if it was clutch slip. The smell was terrible. I don’t really feel like I had wheel spin. But then again, I’m not sure

I haven’t had any slip in any gears since then, but I feel maybe it was due to the resistance from the sand. I also haven’t tested it again.


What do you guys think?
Any of you had clutch slip only when under load? Or am I just inexperience with wheeling in sand. (I rly hope it’s the ladder)


Thanks in advance and please don’t roast me too hard. (Or do so if it’ll teach me to not fuck up my clutch)

 

Well it's been many moons since I drove a manual. But back in my day that nasty smell meant you smoked the friction plate which many times meant you trashed the clutch. If it's grabbing fine now then maybe you're ok but you probably took some life off that clutch.

 

I guess I was just perplexed as to why it was revving so high.
I’ve driven manual cars in Los Angeles for the last 17 years. I would say I’m not a newb.

I did have a service advisor at Toyota mention that the prior owner brought the truck in at 21K complaining about clutch smell, so that thought has been lingering in the back of my mind.
Like I said, clutch pedal was fully depressed, and 1st gear should have been fully engaged. It wasn’t the initially grab that was the problem, it was the floating over to the exit that concerned me.

 

ditto on all points.
find a steep paved hill and see if you can climb it from a stop without abnormal slipping. hopefully you are familiar enough with the old behavior to detect any new problem behavior.

 

Id try 2nd and 3rd at WOT and see if it slips. No need to go aggressive on the actual shifts, just make sure to mash the go-pedal down once the clutch is fully engaged. Keep an eye on the tach, it should be a continuous rise, you’ll see it “bump up” in a discontinuous manner if it does slip.
Other test (probably not necessary) is to cruise along in a higher gear (less stress sent down the driveline) and disengage the clutch. Float the rpm 1-2k higher than it was while cruising along and release the clutch pedal as abruptly as you can (just like a novice learning to shift). If it jerks and engine/tranny rpms match up real quick then I’d say it’s doing just fine. The more worn the clutch is, the softer the jerk will be.

 

^^^This^^^. Any load will show up first on a failing clutch. Another thing to watch if there’s any oil leaking. Rear main seal can leak oil that gets onto the plate and it burns off but keeps coming back.

 

My best guess is u over heated the clutch being in 4low 1st gear and wot . Possibly burned the clutch .in this situation u should have had it in 4high and then it would have been ok to give it more gas . Being in 4low puts a lot of strain on the clutch when u wot it .best of luck hopefully u didn’t roast that clutch .

 

IMO, you are fine. Just go drive it. Any time I change from 2wd to 4wd, I get new smells. Its just the fluids and components heating up after sitting for so long not being used. I used to panic when I first got my truck too. The only thing to worry about is if you can actually feel something different, like you have to rev it higher and higher before it starts grabbing and you start moving. How often do you use 4wd? and when was your last fluid service on your trans, diffs, and transfer case?

Also, 4Lo is a last resort IMO.

 

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

it’s grabbing fine. Maybe I just overheated it. Only time will tell.