Replaced Clutch Engagement

Hi all, I've used this forum as a resource for a while but it's finally time to register and ask a question.

I just finished replacing the clutch in my 2003/3rz/w59 Tacoma. Stock clutch at 155k. It was a struggle, mostly because I was working solo.

Here's what I did:
- replaced clutch disk, pressure plate, pilot bearing, and throw out bearing with an Exedy kit
- resurfaced flywheel
- replaced a rear main seal that had been leaking for a long time by the looks of it
- replaced the fork and support because the ball end had broken off of the original support (?!)

I started it up today am having some problems that I can't quite square or figure out what to do about them.

First off, it's very touchy. I have to let it out extremely slowly or the truck lurches and would probably stall, except for the second, bigger issue... Which is that it doesn't engage all the way. It slips much worse than the original ever did, in first and reverse, to the point where I can't even really accelerate enough to get into higher gears.

I put the disk in with the springs on the transmission side. I've adjusted the pedal. If I pull the slave cylinder the fork/TOB move easily.

One thing I still need to do is bleed the hydraulics. The reservoir is a hair below the minimum line. I can also compress the slave cylinder by hand, which doesn't seem normal (is it?) It seems like air in the line or low fluid would cause the opposite problem though, making it hard to disengage, so I'm not optimistic that will fix it.

Does anyone have any tips or ideas about what's wrong? I'm really dreading the idea of having to drop the transmission again, and I also don't know what I would have screwed up.

 

Any more you need to look at old parts compared to the new .

If you have air in the system it causes things to move easily while the air is being compressed

Did you install new hydraulics with the new clutch??

Bleed things see what happens hope that fixes it.

 

No new hydraulics. I didn't open that system up at all and it's not leaking. I guess it's possible I damaged the slave cylinder in the process of getting everything lined up and put back together, or finally stressed some old seal enough for it to give or let some air in. Should the slave cylinder have much sideways play on the push rod?

I'm heading out of town for a while but bleeding is the first thing I'll try once I'm back.

 

there is enough freeplay in the clutch pedal pushrod to allow the clutch master cylinder to fully retract?

 

the normal method is unbolt the slave cylinder and reattach it when all else is back together underneath.

there should have been no fighting things putting it back on if you had to force anything the fork or release bearing might be the wrong part or installed wrong

 

Yeah, I've tried the top end of the range per the FSM and the bottom, no change.

It was less of a fight than that I didn't quite have the slave cylinder out of the way enough and as I brought the transmission back up and it ended up with the push rod crooked and sticking off the edge of the fork. The push rod seems to have a lot of play that way, not sure if that's normal or if mine is just broken or worn out. As I've been troubleshooting the slave cylinder goes on and off ok, but I sometimes have to compress it slightly against the fork to line up the bolt holes.

 

I'm going to try to keep this thread updated in case someone else needs it someday.

Bleeding helped the jerky re-engagement a little bit, but not much. Still not fully engaging.

Seems like it's down to pulling the transmission again. Since that was a nightmare I'm going to get some quotes from some shops before I try it again myself.

 

Appreciate you keeping the thread updated even if things don't go as planned. It's a huge help for folks in the future, and if anything else documentation as well

 

The good news is that I might be more mechanically competent than I was feeling after all this!

I'm just an idiot.

The transfer case was just in H4. Everything seems to be fine.

I haven't used the 4wd in so long I forgot what it felt like, and never put it back into 2wd after buttoning everything else up. At least the tow was free and the shop didn't even bother to charge me...

 

That's all it was?! What a huge relief! Great to hear