2nd gen manual transmission fix

Could be, i have the stage 3

 

You didn't at all, no hurt feelers here lol.

All the springs do on the disc is act as dampeners to help absorb the shock load of the clutch engaging and prevent that shock load from transferring to the rest of the drivetrain. The springs on the clutch disc have no correlation to how stiff or not the pedal feel is. Pedal feel primarily comes from how stiff the diaphragm or "fingers" of the clutch are and the pivot point of the pressure plate which correlates into how the leverage is applied from the pressure plate.

I absolutely despise clutches that make the pedal firmer or harder to push in. My pedal feel with the Clutch Masters clutch and the hydro bearing is like OE, I wouldn't consider it "flimsy". It would 100% be a big difference in feel from the URD clutch you've been using and feel a lot softer! I've driven a few trucks with URD clutches, and hundreds of cars with different clutches from different manufacturers so I have a good idea of pedal feel and what I consider is acceptable or not (just my opinion really). But just for a small opportunity to explain a few things and get everyone on the same page, there are typically 5 main components of the clutch; the cover, the diaphragm or "fingers", the pressure plate, the straps that hold the pressure plate to the cover, and the disc. I feel for lots of clutch manufactures though, pedal feel is just what it will be, because to get the clamping force they want out of the clutch they need to run a stiffer diaphragm. Many clutch manufacturers are also just using OE pressure plates. I know Clutch Masters has spent a long time refining their clutch kits and more specifically their pressure plates to be able to withstand more abuse while also still having a very close to OE pedal feel. They do this by altering the pivot point, or fulcrum, of the pressure plate and diaphragm to get more leverage out of them. So even though they are running a stiffer diaphragm to obtain more clamp load, because the way it is leveraged on the pressure plate they are able to maintain a softer pedal. Lots of other clutch manufacturers simply use a stiffer diaphragm but retain the OE pressure plate with the OE fulcrum points without modifying that fulcrum/leverage point which leads to that stiffer pedal. For some this isn't an issue but I'm mid 30s with bad knees and I want to drive a manual for as long as I can but it absolutely can't be much more harder to push in then the OE setup or more knee will be dead after a long day driving on trails or stop and go traffic.

I know lots on here aren't necessarily running a stock truck like mine and don't necessarily expect an OE pedal feel, but I have built some high powered cars in my days and I've used all the different well known clutches, and more often then not was dissatisfied with the clutch and the pedal feel, and in the end I usually always ended up going back to a Clutch Masters setup because of the pedal feel.

Hope you get something sorted out with them though and figure out what the issue could have been @garciav

 

Kevin at clutchmasters just told me over the phone that the clutch kit that was sent to me was a oe style kit shipped manufacturer direct from japan. Pretty sure they just spray painted an exedy kit white and slapped their logo on it. If this kit would have worked, i would have probably had it slipping in no time, since I'm supercharged...

 

Curious...what clutch model did you order from them?

 

Anyone down to setup another group buy? Getting to the point where I'll need to drop the trany soon.

 

So the purpose of this kit fixes the TOB squeak when in neutral with the clutch disengaged? just started noticing this on mine and this seems the best option from what i've been reading definitely would be interested in the next group buy.

 

So in an effort to prevent any miscommunication since that is my biggest pet peeve about forums, I called Kevin as well and asked him about the clutch kits for these trucks and what they do with them. First, thing is yes, they do use an OE pressure plate and cover to prevent any potential fitment issues. Starting with an OE stamped cover and pressure plate is really the only economical way to make these clutches, since they aren't selling thousands of them, there is no feasible way for them to invest in the tooling required to stamp their own covers and make an affordable clutch. Pretty much every single aftermarket clutch company does this. With the OE cover, depending on the clamping force needed for each clutch kit, the diaphragm is upgraded, and as I mentioned previously, they DO modify the pressure plate leverage/fulcrum point to maintain a nice soft pedal feel with the upgraded stiffer diaphragm. Once the cover and pressure plate are installed together, the assembly is put on a balancing machine and is then balanced. After balancing, they are usually able to get the cover assembly perfectly balanced. The OE cover assemblies are balanced but they definitely aren't spending the extra time to get the cover perfectly balanced.

So no, Clutch Masters did not just send you an OE clutch kit that you could just go to Toyota and buy. I wanted to clarify that so others reading this thread aren't misinformed, thinking that is what they would get if they bought a Clutch Masters clutch. By all means that doesn't disregard the fact that you ran into an issue with your clutch and I hope you share with us what the outcome is and what may have happened.

Another group buy is definitely going to happen, have confirmed that with Clutch Masters. They were thinking within the next couple weeks they would start to get those details all squared away. They still have been trying to get in touch with a moderator here to get setup as vendors but they said no one has reached out back to them. So again if there is a mod reading this, please touch base with me so I can get you in touch with CM!

While yes, this kit will fix the TOB squeak, that isn't primarily what the kit was designed to accomplish. The Clutch Masters internal hydraulic slave cylinder was designed to get rid of the factory clutch fork, pivot ball, TOB setup that has been shown to have potential for catastrophic failure with the input shaft quill snapping off and then you are forced to have to replace your bellhousing. I do believe however that the TOBs will last significantly longer then the OE ones just because with the CM setup, the bearing is not preloaded against the diaphragm of the clutch as it is with the OE setup. So with the OE setup that TOB has constant pressure on it and is always spinning. Although the bearing was designed to supposedly be able to handle those conditions, they clearly do not. But this is a bearing that does spin at several thousands of RPMS for long periods of time, I have realistic expectations that it won't last forever, but I do expect it to last longer than the OE setup would. I am much more at ease now knowing that my transmission won't suffer catastrophic damage as could possibly happen with the OE system. When I was having TOB squeaking issues, I just wasn't totally satisfied with the replacement options available, and coming from a performance aftermarket background modifying cars, I had used Clutch Masters internal slaves in the past so I figured we could come up with a solution for the Tacoma/FJ as well. It goes without saying that there are other perks to the internal slave setup beyond what I mentioned and the biggest one that I've noticed is just how much more enjoyable the truck is to drive with the internal slave setup. The clutch just has a much more positive engagement feel and my left foot wants to think it feels easier to modulate, but I've got just about 2000 miles on my setup now so I'm probably just getting used to it. There is definitely a difference in how the pedal feels though vs the stock setup.

 

Ok thanks for the info and ya i don't expect them to last forever but at least not squeak or risk the failure of OE

 

Have you PM'd a mod?

 

Yep I have and Clutch Masters mentioned they have filled out the Contact Us form a couple times now with no response back.

 

@MTgirl, any chance you might be able to help grease the skids with Clutch Masters becoming a vendor? 406cruiser has the info.

As always,

 

Thanks for the info. How it holding up so far? I just changed mine out with the so called "updated" oem parts and the squeak is back after a couple hundred miles. Don't want to keep pulling of the transmission and am torn between the URD and ClutchMaster.

 

the only one that URD has on their website wont fix shit. its a band aid and will still cause a squeak eventually. thats why i replaced mine for the clutchmasters.

 

ClutchMaster ordered then

 

I keep seeing poor reviews of URDs TOB fix. I have yet to see a single poor review of Clutch Master's internal hydraulic TOB. That could just be because there's more people who have used the URD one. But it seems like a lot of people are using (and loving) the Clutch Master one without issue. I can't wait to install mine!

 

Don’t have to set airgap with the Tacoma specific kit. Can use oem clutch. Can use any clutch that is oem size stack

 

Have about 2200 miles on my CM hydro bearing setup and so far zero issues. I'm used to driving it now, but just had a buddy with an FJ who was curious about purchasing the kit drive my truck and he was shocked how smooth it felt. Albeit he is having some transmission issues but he said the clutch felt more like shifting a car then a truck with how smooth it felt.

@wrmathis is correct, it is 100% plug and play with the OEM clutch or any other aftermarket clutch that is the same overall stack height of the OEM clutch, which all of them should be.

 

I have about 1200 miles on mine now.... works perfect!!!

 

Awesome. Excited for the kit to show up. Much appreciate you bringing this to cm's attention and getting us a fix to these damn crickets

 

@406cruiser thanks for get the ball rolling on this much needed option.