Hydraulic clutch questions.: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Jan. 28, 2011 8:01 p.m. 914Driver SuperDork

My Toyota 4-Runner has 179,000 miles on it and last weekend when firing off a red light the clutch slipped. Engine revved and forward motion didn't match.

Meh, it's time.

Dropped it off to a local shop, new clutch but he had trouble with the slave cylinder. Once the clutch was in, the slave pushed it forward but wouldn't return to its origin. Hmmmm. Clutch is fine, slave is making it slip. Maybe that was the problem all along.

The slave is as rusty as the rest of the under carriage. It seems the piston isn't happy going back to home. New slave, life is good.

Now the friction point is about 1/2" off the floor and there is no adjustment that I know of. It's not like the old mechanical guys that can be adjusted, this is hydraulic.

Question: As the new clutch "seats" will it move forward making the clutch pedal friction point higher?

If it goes the other way, friction closer to the floor, how do I pull it back?

Dan
Jan. 28, 2011 8:23 p.m. pigeon Dork

ASSuming all is right with the clutch install and it's got all the air bled out there might be an adjustment for the clutch pushrod into the master - I don't know 4-Runners so I can't say for certain.
Jan. 28, 2011 8:27 p.m. Ranger50 HalfDork

I'm going to say wrong slave matched with the wrong master. This is a common problem with the V8 Ranger swaps with a T5 that I have seen. You can get an external slave and bolt it on, but after a certain yr Ford downsized the master bore and it leads to a funky off the floor engagement. When you swap to the larger master, all the problems go away.
Jan. 28, 2011 9:17 p.m. Kramer HalfDork

Did you get a good-quality clutch, or a made-in-China knockoff? The design of the pressure plate can make a big difference in the release point.

Clutches from Perfection and AMS, as well as the eBay clutches are often poorly reverse-engineered versions of the OE item.
Jan. 28, 2011 10:08 p.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

I don't know your vehicle specifically, but I recently did a MC on my Rolla (total PITA and Oreilley's owes me a kit), and there is an adjustment at the pedal. Assume the Lotus Position (upside down under the dashboard) and you will see the rod from the pedal lever to the MC. Loosen the lock nut, adjust the rod length, tighten the nut.

And make sure all the air is out of the system. Oh, and I also converted the clutch to DoT 5.
Jan. 29, 2011 4:41 a.m. thatsnowinnebago Dork

What year 4Runner? My 1987 4x4 pickup has an adjustable rode coming off the master cylinder. I don't think these trucks changed too much between 1986 and 1995,
Jan. 29, 2011 11:05 a.m. curtis73 Dork

A hydraulic clutch is self-adjusting. You can often alter the length of the pushrod to get engagement higher or lower, but but the master cylinder displaces the same amount of fluid each time, which means its always at the same spot. Even as the clutch wears down, the fluid is replaced by the reservoir.

Same thing with brakes. As the pads wear, the pedal doesn't get closer to the floor.
Jan. 29, 2011 11:17 a.m. Streetwiseguy Dork

Its normal, especially in Toyota trucks.. As you drive, two things will happen- the fuzzy stuff will wear off the surface of the disc, and your legs muscle memory will adapt.

Make sure you don't have any extra floor mats preventing the pedal from travelling all the way to the floor, and you can probably adjust some slack out of the master push rod to compensate for wear. Make sure you leave a bit of free play, you don't want to prevent the master from returning all the way.