[montesa]

I think everyone agrees that the clutch feel is horrible on the new Tacomas. For me, the main problem is that the clutch doesn't start to engage the transmission until it's well off of the floor. You have to pass that "dead" area before you actually start to take off. In my opinion the truck should start to take off when the clutch is about a half inch off the the floor board.

I don't know the proper names for these parts so hopefully you guys will understand what I am talking about. The rod/piston that the clutch pedal pushes into the floor board has a plunger head that is screwed onto threads on the end of the rod/piston. I think if the head of that plunger were to be screwed farther down the rod/piston that would shorten the clutch throw the distance that the head is moved down on the clutch rod/piston that is pushed into the floor board by the clutch pedal. Does this make sense to anyone? How do I remove that rod/piston?

 

[dbbd1]

No time for me to check now, but somewhere on this forum or Tacomaworld there is a mod I believe for this.

 

[montesa]

Yeah, I am very familiar with that mod. All it does it take up some of the free play when you step down onto the pedal. It reduces the take up before the pedal hits the piston. I am wanting the clutch to engage closer to the floor board.

 

[Tom Roper]

I have two identical Tacoma's 4.0L 4x4 TRD Access Cab 6-spd manuals.
My wife drives one, I drive the other. One of them had the clutch pedal TSB done to fix the squeaky pedal. The other one hasn't had the mod. The one that had the mod done engages much closer to the floor. It's actually the older truck, a 2005. The newer one is the 2008, hasn't had the mod, the clutch pedal comes off the floor a ways before engaging.

These are hydraulic clutches I believe, so there's not so much concern about the free-play adjustment as there would be on cable operated devices. In other words, I think the free play remains consistent throughout the life of it if the actual engagement point varies due to different piston rod lengths or other mods.

The worry about a cable operated clutch that engages far off the floor is that there would come a time when there was not enough free-play, and the clutch would slip and burn. I could be wrong but I don't think it's a huge worry now.

In your case, I'm assuming that the desire to have the clutch engage just off the floorboard is a driver's preference. And I don't disagree with that preference.

 

[montesa]

Yes, it's just my preference. There is nothing wrong with the clutch mechanically. I just really don't like the feel. I had a nissan pickup before this and the clutch was ten times better. If I can figure out how to remove the rod/piston that the clutch pedal presses into the floor I can screw the rod/piston head further down the rod about a half inch. That would shorten the catch point from the floor board. I just don't know what that rod/piston connects to and how to remove it or how much hassle it would be. If it goes right into the clutch master cylinder and is sealed then it wouldn't be worth the hassle of course. This truck is close to perfect except for the clutch!

 

[demoncleaner]

Here you go. Sonny's write-up is gone, but read through the posts, its pretty easy to do.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t80962.html

 

[montesa]

Here you go. Sonny's write-up is gone, but read through the posts, its pretty easy to do.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t80962.html

Thanks demoncleaner. I have already done that mod. It did help some with the feel. It took out the gap before the pedal hits the rod when pressing in the clutch. Feels much better but it didn't do anything for the catch point when letting out the clutch to take off in gear. That's what I am trying to improve. Sonny's mod did help though. Does anyone know what it takes to remove the rod/piston that the pedal presses into the firewall?

 

[montesa]

After doing some research I have determined that I need to move the Clevis sub-assembly down further on the cylinder pushrod. The Clevis sub-assembly is the part that is on the top of the pushrod and is contacted by the clutch pedal. I loosened the locknut and tried to screw it further down the pushrod. The pushrod just spins! I tried to clamp the rod with vice grips covered in tape but the clevis sub-assembly will not turn. I don't want to mar or scratch the rod. I still have a good half inch of threads left on the pushrod. Does anyone know how to get this thing to turn? The images here will make it clear what I am talking about.

http://www.empirepao.com/tsb/T-TC004-06.pdf