clutch issue on 1998 Tacoma - temporarily stuck in gear when truck is on

Had this happen twice now, only after very long drives (5-600 miles): the day after the long drive, when I start the truck, it's stuck in gear. If I turn it off, I can push in the clutch and shift gears, but when it's turned on, it's stuck in whatever gear I've put it in. The first time it happened, I then didn't touch it for two days, and when I tried again after it had been sitting for two days it started up and shifted with no issues. The second time, I was able to get it to shift after running for several minutes, pumping the clutch, and driving it forward slowly in 1st for a few hundred feet.

Has not happened when it's been driven on shorter trips since then. Shifts normally, no squealing, no floppy or sticky clutch.

Is this a hydraulic issue? Worried that it WON'T come back next time it happens and I'll be stuck somewhere in first gear.

 

Welcome to the forum!!

Strange things happen when vehicles get heat soaked!

Just what are we working on here always go to know?

Why not park in neutral I always do??

When was the last fluid change in the clutch and gear boxes?

It might be Hydraulic but I think more heat related in the transmission .

 

That's where I'd start looking.

 

So, when it's stuck in gear, and you try and depress the clutch pedal, what happens?
-How many miles on the clutch, master & slave cylinders?
-Have you verified that there's sufficient fluid in the master cylinder?
-Was any work done on the vehicle before it happened the first time?
-Any other noises/issues with the clutch?

 

You should be able to pull it out of gear even without the clutch. I don't think your clutch is the culprit at all. Maybe your shifter bushings are worn out and pieces of it get stuck in a spot that makes shifting hard, then moves to a less obstructive spot and things are fine until it moves again.

 

If you have the linear spring for the clutch pedal then that can become an issue as well.

 

this sounds more like a pilot bearing issue.

 

Ditto

 

Change that black fluid in clutch reservoir. Use a turkey baster to suck old fluid out and fill with Dot 3/4.
Clutch bleeding can be tricky on 1st gens.

 

When it happens, the clutch can still be pressed- it stays closer to the floor but still operates- but the stickshift just won't shift. I pushed and tugged hard enough to be worried about breaking something, no give. It was only when the engine was running; both times, when I turned the ignition off, I could then shift normally. Once it was started up it was stuck in whatever gear I shifted it into when it was off. It would engage and drive in that gear, but not shift out of it.

Most recent work before it happened the first time was an alignment, nothing with the clutch or transmission. It's a 1998 SR5 4x4 with a 3.4L V6. I just had the clutch fluid flushed a few weeks ago.

 

I'd say you need a new clutch, plain and simple.

 

Nope. Even if the clutch is toast you should still be able to get it out of gear. Heck you can shift without the clutch if you match the RPM's. Nothing with the clutch should prevent it from coming out of gear.

 

Start with fresh hydraulics
Grab a new slave cylinder and master cylinder . Bench bleed and install those two components with fresh fluid to begin .
Considering your truck is a 1988 , the seals in the slave and master cylinder are due for replacement if they haven't already been replaced .
This will eliminate the hydraulic controls for your clutch .
The job of the clutch is to remove the spinning power of the engine from the transmission .
If you can shift through the gears with the truck shut off perfectly fine , we know you have a problem with either the clutch or the hydraulic controls for your clutch .
In most cases , the hydraulic controls for the clutch leak down when the seals inside deteriorate . This makes it very difficult for the clutch to separate engine power from the transmission which in turn makes it incredibly difficult to grab a gear .Never force the shifter to grab a gear . This will destroy synchronizers and shift forks very quickly. If the transmission grinds when selecting a gear , your clutch is not removing the engine power from the transmission properly
As mentioned above , throw a fresh shifter bushing at your shifter as well .
Replacing these 3 components will make a world of difference .
When you bring your truck in to have a clutch replaced , its always a good idea to have new hydraulic controls installed . In the event you need a clutch , the hydraulic controls will be new .
This will save you a costly step if the slave and master were recently replaced .
More info here

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...on-your-5-speed-transmission-write-up.338836/

 

You're right; I was mis-reading the OPs remarks. The fact that it works normally-ish when the engine is off, and that the clutch seems to function are starting to make me think transmission. Something like a damaged/worn synchronizer?

OP: Can you get things moving, and then depress and hold the clutch pedal all the way down for an extended period (a couple of minutes)? If you do that, then can you shift out of gear, or do things feel exactly the same as when you're driving?

 

Synchronizers cut through a film of oil when the shafts are spinning inside the transmission . Synchronizers are useless when the engine is off
OP needs to replace his slave and master cylinder as well as a shifter bushing .
If he ends up needing a clutch , the slave cylinder , master cylinder and shifter bushing will already be fresh eliminating the hydraulic controls .
Its going to cost him $200 bucks to replace these components . If the clutch is faulty after replacing these components , its $200 bucks less he has to spend when he gets the clutch replaced .
Components that may surprise the OP are a worn or bent clutch release bearing fork , the over center spring under the dash , the flywheel will have to be sent to a machine shop for surfacing , a fresh pilot bearing plus shop time to remove and replace the clutch if need be .
What is the purpose of the pilot bearing ? The pilot bearing supports the spinning clutch disc when the clutch disc pulls away from the flywheel .
He is not complaining about noises when the clutch pedal is mashed to the floor . If I was installing a fresh clutch , I would definitely replace the pilot bearing mind you as its easy to tell if it wasnt replaced when a warranty clutch issue pops up
Its mandatory that the flywheel gets machined flat and the pilot bearing is replaced during a clutch install .

 

Yes- the second time it happened, I drove forward a few hundred yards in first gear (it engaged and drove fine, just wouldn't shift out of 1st), then idled for several minutes with the clutch depressed, then turned it off and pumped the clutch a few times, then started the engine again and idled it for another few minutes with the clutch depressed (still stuck in 1st) and then I was able to work it into neutral. Once I got it into neutral then it returned to shifting normally.

 

The shifter bushing makes sense, but irrespective of the condition of the hydraulics, as was already mentioned, what would prevent shifting with the engine off? That has to be a transmission issue; the only other thing would be the pilot bearing, but if that were the case, I'd expect difficulties going in to gear as well...

 

anything that puts pressure on the main shaft will cause difficulties. just because you push the clutch pedal in does not mean that the clutch disk releases from the flywheel. If the pilot bearing is sticking to the input shaft and you park it in gear when the clutch does release the clutch disk there is still pressure from the stuck pilot bearing.

as gearcruncher said, put in new hydraulics and shifter bushing and eliminate that from the diagnostics. if the problem persists, you are going to have to drop the trans anyway, check the pilot bearing then, if that is ok, examine the T/O bearing and its mechanism, if that’s ok then you have to get into the transmission.

 

Ok, I'm confused.

 

@tirediron , by "normally-ish", do you mean that the OP *must* depress the clutch to shift with the engine off?