URD fix-U hydro bearing conversion kit

wow, great thread...my TOB squeak has returned at 100k miles after having the "fix" done by Toyota at 80k...ugh. Thanks for sharing all the details about your swap!

 

What "fix" are you referring to? the TSB for the slave cylinder? That is no fix. Not even close. I've talked to a Toyota tech, the one that helped me with my trans and had done a ton of those tsb's, says that the squeak is always back after about 15k.... Long enough to get your truck out of warranty? haha. Who knows. Toyota really fucked up on this one... I'm disappointed. However, now that my clutch is fixed, I have no other complaints!

My throwout bearing was toast. It had a ton of corrosion all around the face of the bearing that contacts the fingers. The old clutch plate fingers also looked like garbage. Corrosion and pitting all over that thing. The quill had some pretty terrible groves in it that I would say had a variant of about 1 or 2 mm. If you look close, you can even see it.

 

Yes, the TSB...that's why "fix" was in quotes...since that's what Toyota thinks it is.

 

Hehe, yeah. I get you now. Some fix from Toyota....

 

Yep, and I called the dealership to ask about any warranty on the parts that failed again and they said since it's been over a year, no coverage. ugh.

 

Well, I still have some miles to put on my truck before I can give this setup a really good rating, but so far i'm impressed with the design and how the installation went. All of their tolerances seemed to be very tight. I like that. Everything fit nice and snug.

 

It takes two people to do this. You can gain access to the pressure plate bolts thru the hole where the original fork stuck out/slave cylinder. You have to have your helper press the clutch pedal to the floor which releases the pressure plate and shoves it against the flywheel. After doing one bolt you have to spin the crank to the next bolt and repeat the process. I found the original torqueing wasn't high enough with the additional pressure from the URD pressure plate to have it seated securely against the flywheel. Did you get one pretty good pop on the first initial release of the pressure plate after installation?

 

Okay I get what you're saying now. So first of all, that Toyota tech saved my life. Without him, I wouldnt have had the confidence to do what we did. Him and I discussed this issue going into it and decided we were going to start out with a SLIGHTLY higher torque spec than what was recommended. We were sure to clean EVERYTHING very well before installation and we used red locktite as recommended. So far I have not had any issues with engagement other than the slight creaky noise caused by the adapter ring that goes around the clutch plate fingers. The only thing I can say is that I still need to adjust the play in my clutch pedal. Besides that, its working great so far. I'd say I've put close to 150 - 200 miles so far on the new clutch.

 

So for anyone else reading this, here is what I found about the stock release system.

First of all, the release-bearing face was rusty, corroded, had pitting, and just looked like garbage.

The clutch plate fingers looked exactly like the release-bearing face.

My clutch had actually been replaced before. There was still 60 - 70% clutch material on the clutch plate. When it was replaced, it was replaced with 100% stock parts. The Toyota tech helping me said he couldn't even tell someone had yanked the transmission before. He was almost certain it was most likely done under warranty at a Toyota dealer.

Looking through the window into the bell housing before removing the trans, it was very clear that the bearing and clutch plate fingers were always in constant contact.

As a matter of fact, even with brand new parts, I don't see how there could ever be an "air gap" between the clutch plate fingers and the release-bearing.

There has been lots of arguments on this. Some people say the squeak is caused after the "air gap" is eliminated because the clutch plate wears out and the release fingers move towards the transmission, causing intermittent contact with the release-bearing.

While it is true that the clutch plate fingers do move toward the rear of the trans as the clutch disc wears out, it does not line up with the symptoms because the bearing and clutch plate fingers were making contact to begin with.

Here is my theory. First of all, when the clutch plate fingers move towards the rear of the trans as the clutch disk wears, I believe that eventually it will start to apply a slight pressure to the bearing, causing the corrosion and pitting. That makes sense. There is friction going on there.

Now lets talk about the quill for a minute. Mine was heavily grooved. The difference in the flattness of the material where the grooves were was between at least 1 - 2 mm. Now lets think about that for a second.

When I press my clutch in and my release-fork slides across that quill, it has to work its way over that groove. So then the question is, when I release my clutch pedal, is there enough spring pressure to push that release-fork back over that groove on the quill? My guess is absolutely not.

The only spring force pushing that clutch fork back in place is the spring clip on the bearing. Those will wear out quick.

So my theory? The bearing is meant for contact with the clutch plate fingers full time, WITHOUT pressure.

The spring clip on the release-bearing is weak.

The quill gets a groove on it making sliding the fork across the quill impossible without some decent force.

This traps the bearing between the fork and the clutch release fingers with just enough pressure to cause squeaking, rubbing material, corrosion, pitting, etc etc....

Plus there is no way to lube these things. That doesnt help.

Anyway, my 2 cents.

 

So we did this tranny job a few years ago with the URD sleeve kit not the hydro and has held up over 50k no squeak the first models of it had an issue because of the wrong TOB, I couldn't justify the price of the hydro knowing there was another fix for cheaper, but keep in mind the sleeve kit doesn't work for everyone, hence OPs concerns.

 

No I agree with you 100%. There are multiple issues going on here for sure. I think it probably depends how soon you're able to catch the issue. Just a speculation there. I didn't want to take the chance of spending the money on the sleeve just to have to spend the money again on the hydro bearing conversion. One and done. So far no complaints. The ONLY thing that scares me is that if this thing fails at all, I have to replace it with the same setup. I can't go back to a regular quill and fork now... Leap of faith here. My fingers will continue to stay crossed. However, I'm feeling pretty confident that everything is working well and has no issues. I see this setup lasting a very long time.

 

Yea i have heard that's a 100% fix, when i took my tranny out the quil was pretty rough, you could feel it, how rough it was, and for the poor saps who take it to the delorship toyota is never gonna do anything but install another TOB which isnt even the issue, it makes the chirp go away for mybe 1000. But i love the 6 speed my hurst short throw shifter comes in today so i will be installing that tonight!

 

Dude let me know what you think. I almost threw the URD short throw in with my clutch kit but it was just too damn expensive as it was. :/

 

Tell me about it, i was gonna order the URD ss but the reviews on the hurst were really good and there was reports of people breaking the URD one because its not the whole assembly just the block, so it snaps the ball at the bottom. This one comes with the whole assembly and bolts right on. I hear it makes a world of a difference from the stock one.

 

how much? and where? got a website link or something?

 

https://core-shifters.com/collections/shifters-for-toyota-tacoma $289 0_0 but i hear well worth it, my truck has been needing this since i got it! i want nice tight throws!

 

I'm not arguing against your theory but remember the slave cylinder is spring loaded as well to push the release bearing against the pressure plate.

 

Got it all installed, posted a couple videos on the Facebook TacomaWorld, its much much better. Nice and tight

 

@koda925 How is everything doing a month in?
Has the slight noise from the hydro-bearing gone away?
I am researching options, and this setup is so far the leader, would like a one and done setup with forward compatibility.
Too soon for a review?
it'll be a lil' while before I can pull the trigger on this, but I'm excited to deal with all the little issues with the 6mt for good.
Thanks!

 

Also very interested