[surfmonkey]

Hi y'all, my first post. My Taco developed a chatter the other day when releasing the clutch pedal (engaging the clutch) in 1st/2nd gears. It got a bit worse as the week has progressed. There was also a groaning feel/sound to the clutch pedal when depressing after 10 or 15 minutes of driving. I was figuring time for a new clutch. Vehicle has almost 200k miles, with 140k by me and no clutchwork. Dunno if p.o. had any clutch service done. I crawled under the truck to see what all it would take to get the tranny out (alot!) and noticed the clutch slave cylinder pushrod was making an inappropriate angle with the clutch release lever. I pushed the lever and with a clunk it pivoted up, making the pushrod straight with the lever. I was able to pivot the lever so that the pushrod bent too high, too low or right-on. I chose the right-on option. The clutch now feels normal while driving...maybe with a slight chatter. Finally the questions: Is it normal for the release lever to pivot like this? Aside from external impact how might it have pivoted to an undesireable location? Is this a harbinger of clutch pack failure?? Thanks

 

[fourwd1]

Clutches are good for 100K or so, depending on how you drive. You know you have at least 140K on it, so it's pretty obvious what it's a sign of.

And no, that kind of play isn't normal.

 

[NightOwl74]

You guys are in the U.S. so a clutch won't hit too hard, but up here in Canada I just forked out $1460 Canadian incl tax for a new clutch from AAmco transmissions. It's been a nightmare of problems since and it's only been two weeks. Had to return the truck second day because it leaked oil all over my parking spot. The motor ran WORSE the day I picked it up. Judging by the enthusiasm of the young mechanics when they saw my truck, I am 90% sure they redlined it when they test drove it, just to see what it can do. Now my truck, whith 100000 miles on it, pings and knocks and has no power. Before I dropped it off the motor was tuned to perfection. NOT A SINGLE PING OR KNOCK HEARD SINCE i BOUGHT IT.
Beware of clutch replacement, I wsould go to Toyota dealership if I had to do it again, even though I hate them.