Clutch issues 1987 4runner

[big_buh-gina]

Friends!

a few weeks back my clutch lost all of its fluid. luckily enough, i was able to get it into second gear to putz the 1.5 miles home off the interstate. I took it in and was told the hydraulic system needed to be replaced. Ended up replacing the master and slave cylinders, hoping this would fix all of the clutch issues i had. Sadly, this was not the case.

Before i lost all my fluid, I noticed that when I got off the interstate, first gear just didn't want to move the truck. it was like i was starting out in second gear when i was actually using first gear. When I would really hammer down on the throttle, the RPMs would get up to about 3,000 without really much acceleration. When i get above 3,000 RPMs, then you can finally feel something happen and acceleration picks up. It seems like this only happens when I get off the interstate or have been driving around town for a couple hours. This issue continued after replacing the slave and master cylinders.

My dad was thinking some of this fluid might be leaking onto the clutch, and once it burns off, the acceleration picks up.

Any Ideas?

1987 4runner. 4 cylinder. 5 spd. 4 wd. fuel injected. 253,000 miles.

[fourwd1]

The slave cylinder is external, so if it was leaking it would just drip on the ground.
How many miles are on the clutch?

[big_buh-gina]

I have absolutely no idea how many miles are on that clutch. Is it possible that there are 253,000 miles on it? I've had it since 225,000.

The mechanic who worked on it said he thought the clutch felt fine. But it normally feels fine when I fire it up after letting it sit overnight.

[jetwhine]

big_buh_gina,

Ok, Here is a question for you. Are you loosing engine oil, and have you checked the tranny fluid to see if either is leaking onto the flywheel/clutch? I would suspect if either is leaking there should be oil evidence under your rig.

[big_buh-gina]

i am leaking a little oil. if i didn't top it off, i'd say i was losing about a quart per 3,000 miles. i don't think i'm leaking any tranny fluid though. I've noticed my oil leak long before any of these clutch issues came around.

[fourwd1]

One way to check on what jetwhine is suggesting would be to unbolt the slave cylinder, carefully remove the rubber booot (without dislodging the fork) and look inside the bellhousing for signs of an engine or trans oil leak that could be getting on the clutch.