Dat clutch tho

So the clutch had always felt goofy to me. Coming out of older Toyotas, 90s and 80s, and the clutch was easy to read and drive and feel. This thing not so much. Like it had a shock or delay on the engagement Went wheeling today and it was extra annoying. Not at all what I'm used to and pretty crappy, especially in tight technical situations where you want to feel the engagement.

Was talking to my buddy who had a similar issue with an older X5 he bought. There was some accumulator thing he bypassed and now all is well.

Start searching around, there was a clutch fluid accumulator or some such on the gen 2 it looks like some folks have bypassed. Has anyone done a similar miss on the 3rd gen Turd a Gen? Doesn't look too hard but if anyone's already been there and knows what parts to get it would be awesome to hear your experience. Otherwise, I'll figure it out. Now that I understand the culprit and actually tried to wheel, it has to go!

Other problem is the throttle pedal response, but there's another thread for that going on right now...

Thanks...

 

Very curious as well. This clutch makes no sense to me either. If almost feels like there is an electronic override. What my foot does isn't what the clutch actually does...

 

This probably doesn't help. But on my BMW 335i there was a "clutch delay valve" that was in the vehicle that made driving unpleasant and some of the symptoms your describing. There's a valve in the line that limits the amount of fluid flow. The fix was replacing the valve with a larger opening. Here's a link, perhaps the Tacoma has something similiar.

https://www.zeckhausen.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=6562

 

+ 1 on the clutch delay valve. Just Google CDV delete and there is plenty of info. On my BMW it made a huge difference. I actually just took the valve off and pushed out a small metal restricter and installed the valve back. Worked like a charm. If I recall correctly BMW put this there to prevent damage to the transmission by noobs learning to drive manuals. Anyways, I have a feeling Toyota did something similar.

 

Interested on the outcome of this.. I find most hydraulic clutches kinda numb compared to the old mechanical linkage type anyway. And yeah, the throttle response...

 

Guys have bypassed the accumulator in the past with good results . The question of bypassing the accumulator which is technically an extra hydraulic cushion has come up a couple times over the years .
After doing a little research , I dont know why Toyota decided to run with a clutch accumulator on such a small truck .
With this said , you can find accumulators on big rigs and dump trucks making the clutch a little smoother on the release , but why they ever introduced it into the clutch hydraulic circuit on a light duty pick up is beyond me . May have something to do with the soccer moms and Sunday driving grandparents ?

 

Me and a buddy agreed it actually makes it harder to drive, he removed his because he wanted to teach his wife to drive a stick and wanted her to learn on a"normal" feeling clutch.

It does seem like it's designed to prevent n00bs from roasting a clutch and probably asking for warranty work... Disappointing we live in such times.

I'll be finding and fixing this thing will post up my findings.

 

Please do, and thanks

Frank

 

What is the purpose of this clutch accumulator for and how does it affect the driver and what he/she feels?

 

Found this thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-does-a-clutch-fluid-accumulator-do.180006/

Seems to conflict somewhat with previous comments, so Dunno at this point..

Haven't found any pics of the culprit yet. Can't imagine it'd be all that different between 2nd and 3rd gen, they didn't even re-think the creaky assed clutch pedal!

Frank

 

This bypass/easy button needs off.
Subscribed.

 

Well I haven't had any issues with how my clutch feels. I push on the pedal and the clutch disconnects and the reverse is true also.

 

@gearcruncher what's your opinion on a fix/modification for the 3rd gen? i personally don't find it the worst ever, but it does feel overly hydraulic if that makes sense... i would also like to tighten up the feel of the hardware downstream.

 

I tend to feel this work from 3rd to 4th. It feels as though the clutch slowly grabs then you pick up speed.

 

You dont want to hear my opinion lol .
Extreme design flaws from the very beginning starting in 2005 and going rite through to the 2017 models . Insufficient room for the release bearing to operate properly through the life of the clutch is a huge drawback for Toyota trucks . Piss poor engineering as far as I am concerned .
An aftermarket fix ?
Install a shorter release bearing allowing the necessary room for clutch adjustment . Doing this will give the clutch wear time over the years rather than partial apply like all Toyota trucks are currently experiencing.
Bring back the pilot bearing . The 6 speed input shaft currently doesnt use a pilot bearing . They say parts were beefed up to compensate for removing the pilot bearing . I would sure like to see the math and speak to the engineers who made this decision .

Considering Your hardware issue , Your clutch pedal is too tight . Far too tight .
Are you feeling play in your clutch pedal ? If you are ,Its a new truck . dont worry , that play is going to be gone very shortly .As soon as the free play is gone , your clutch wear begins

 

I'm not sure if I should be posting this, but I had my head buried in the service manual this morning and found these:

 

I hope this will give the clutch some feel. I live in the hills and the only way to tell when this clutch is beginning to engage is to watch the tach. it truly is my only complaint with the truck.

 

Just saw that they left the pilot bearing in the 5 speed (R156F) but removed it the 6 speed (RC62F)... There you go 4cyl guys, if it works, don't fuck with it!

 

Awesome, I found that page last night as well. Thank you!

What is confusing, is when I crawled under the truck, you can't see anything resembling a clutch slave cylinder. I was afraid it was INSIDE somewhere.. nope just under a little plate.

 

Are you saying not to bypass the accumulator? I get the rest of your statement but it would at best have to wait until the clutch wears out.

There's not "play" in the clutch really, just can't feel the friction point I've been used to feeling my whole driving life, and when needed, can't get right on the point in those times off-road when you just need to.

I can certainly agree there's some aftermarket parts needed here. I'm surprised there's not more as it looks like a basic carry-over from the 2nd gen.

How is the clutch life on those? Anyone in here know? Maybe i'll cruise over there and ask..