Let’s talk clutch

2009 Tacoma access cab #manual 145K miles



I bought this truck for my 15yr old son last year for his birthday. He turns 16 at the beginning of October. His clutch seems fine to me however the pedal is very firm. My plan is to replace it before he turns 16. He has had a year to learn on that stiff pedal so I am thinking that a nice easy pedal would be nice for him.

Please what are the forum opinions on replacing the clutch? Should I go on the theory if it isn’t broke do not fix it or Should I replace it with a OEM clutch?

These are the facts. The Truck has the Under Dog short shifter, lifted and bigger tires. He does not go off roading. Well I say this until I get the call dad I’m stuck in the woods.

I feel like that I have read an older post that there is a certain clutch part to go w/ a aftermarket part.

Thanks everyone,
b

 

I'd wait until he smokes it, I've never changed one prematurely.

 

I agree, don’t fix it until you have to,
If he can drive a “stiff” clutch, he’ll be fine with anything he drives later.

BTW, go ahead and teach him how to use 4WD.
4WD works better BEFORE you get stuck.

Just ask my father, I was a kid once.
I got stuck, then I tried 4WD. It was too late, she was buried to the frame.

 

TnShooter this seems like solid advice about the 4wd.

Just to be transparent this is my Son Miles account. I just signed in under his username to ask the questions.

 

No problem,

I know as a parent, you want the best for your kid.
Unless your son is having difficulties with the clutch, I would leave it alone.
Let him drive it. I know when I was 16, all I really cared about was driving and how it my truck looked.

By the way welcome to TW.
You and Miles both don’t hesitate a bit to ask us for help or opinions.
We’ll do our best to help anytime we can.

 

What other clutch vehicles can you compare this one to? Not being snarky, just wondering if maybe the Toyota just feels different

 

b_r_o


My 1st Clutch cars were both Honda’s.
90 CRX
97 Prelude Type SH

Audi S4

Then BMW’s
99 ///M3
02 ///M3
04 ///M3
88 ///M5

currently 05 911S


None of my past car’s clutches have felt this stiff. To be fair this might just be how stiff this clutch is.

So what brand clutches do forum members typically use for street use? OEM or a aftermarket brand? If aftermarket what is a popular clutch upgrade?

 

damn you have nice taste. i left the Germans to get a Tacoma stick in my hand to slow me down.

i have a URD stage 2 in a 3rd gen truck. the springs are quite a bit heavier than stock. but it's nice and fully daily drivable, as is the engagement. and it's tough and strong, much more than OEM.

 

Subrat

thank you. My daily is a DCT ///M4. I wanted to but it in a manual however I knew in my heart that BMW wants their M cars to be driven in DCT.

 

Well, I never owned my 2011 OR manual long enough to replace the clutch.. now I'm in an auto. At work I've used Exedy/Daikin from a wholesale supplier we use.

URD is pretty popular around here although i don't have any personal experience with those

As others said, if it drives fine there may not be anything to worry about right now.

On the other hand, stiffer than normal could be a release bearing starting to seize on that part of the case it slides on. Or sometimes when the clutch cover fingers get janky it can feel harder to push against.

Hard to tell without driving it.. might be nothing, might be something..

 

Thanks b_r_o


Miles truck is bad ass. I just feel bad for him sometimes. I know when I drive it I notice how stiff it feels compared to other stick cars that I have owned or driven. Miles only knows his clutch and when he drives my Pcar.

Unfortunately there is no way to find out your points without doing clutch work.

 

I have driven a lot of manual trans cars and trucks. 60’s muscle cars, pickups, big trucks, even a school bus. Today, i had to move a Nissan 350Z. That thing had the worst clutch ever. The pedal pushed really hard. There was only about 4” of pedal travel. It went from completely disengaged to fully engaged in about 1/2” of pedal travel. When you let the clutch out, you better be pointed in the direction you want to go, because there’s no slipping the clutch and taking off easy. That thing was horrible to drive. I’m sure your sons Taco is nothing like that.

 

Muddinfun


No his clutch is not that bad at all. Haha. Other than the pedal being so stiff to push in everything seems fine. This truck has been the easiest manual that I have ever driven. I was so surprised when I only let the clutch out and the truck started moving forward without giving it any gas. There is no way you can do that on other manual driven vehicles.

 

Miles clutch just started slipping this weekend. Let me ask this question. What aftermarket clutch company are people buying that would still feel like a OEM clutch?

 

Thats to bad. I can't give you good info really but I have a manual tacoma as well. I've actually thought about going aftermarket if it ever goes out (knock on wood 3 times) but my truck is mostly stock and would probably go OE for myself. Miles is in a different boat from me having big tires and such. Hopefully someone can help better than me.

Did he start off roading at all?
I'm sure he still loves it!?

 

DiscoYaker

Miles just turned 16 a few months ago do he has not gone off-roading yet. Yea he is enjoying his truck. His focus is currently on upgrading his stereo system.

 

That's probably because of the Toyota clutch accumulator (that some of us bypass).

 

Nice, well there is alot of good info on here about stereo upgrade as well. From what I've lightly read is that you will want speakers that will also match or still sound good with the HeadUnit output. Unless yall plan on upgrading HU as well. Just something to think about. I've heard Crutchfield has great customer service. Also be aware that Miles and I have access cabs and most people don't, so some of the install instructions may differ. Mine is a 2015 and has some crappy speakers or tweeters in the headliner (rear) so I just turn those pretty much off using headunit because I don't feel like tearing all of that apart getting to them to upgrade. I looked into just upgrading the door speakers but haven't yet. Miles probably has close to the same setup

 

DiscoYanker

I have my audio system posted here
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2ed-gen-access-cab-audio-system.672675/