Thread: Slipping clutch, how much time till I'm stuck?

Uhh Ohh...

It looks like the clutch on The Mystery Machine is on it's way out. It is starting to slip while climbing steep hills and fails the standing still, 4th gear clutch-in test. (Read engine keeps spinning but wheels don't move).

In normal flat driving it's not obvious, yet.

How much time until I'm stuck at the side of the road? I've owned manual trany cars my whole life but this is the first time I've had one with a worn out clutch. Any driving techniques for extending it's life? I am currently driving around Oz (yes, there will be a TR on this) and it's going to take a week to get the parts needed to where I am now.

The van is a 98 Toyota Townace with a 1.8L engine.

Thanks

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The question is really how much more cost and inconvenience will result from being stuck on the side of the road.and it will still take the same amount of days to get the parts.

This is a great time for you to start practicing shifting w/out the clutch. That way you'll be prepared when the clutch finally shits the bed. If you absolutely have to stop you can always go for a push start in 2nd or you can use the starter to propel the car forward while trying to bump start in 2nd (this is a pretty dicey maneuver but I have enjoyed some limited success with it.

Sure it's not merely an adjustment issue?

17 minutes.

Give or take a few.

Originally Posted by Big Steve

Sure it's not merely an adjustment issue?

Not if it's slipping going up hills. Surely?

Stop calling me Shirley.

Is it cable operated or hydraulic? I've seen both slip -- yes, sometimes on uphill -- due to a poorly adjusted cable or bad master or slave cylinder or air in the hydraulic line. A chick I porked years ago had a car with a clutch that would slip when going up a hill. I asked her how long it was doing that. Answer: for a few weeks. I popped the hood, adjusted the clutch cable and she drove it for another 3 years before a clutch replacement was required.

Originally Posted by Obstruction

This is a great time for you to start practicing shifting w/out the clutch. That way you'll be prepared when the clutch finally shits the bed. If you absolutely have to stop you can always go for a push start in 2nd or you can use the starter to propel the car forward while trying to bump start in 2nd (this is a pretty dicey maneuver but I have enjoyed some limited success with it.

I had an old BMW 2002 with a bad clutch that I drove around like that for a few years.

Engine off at stop signs. Put in 1st gear and turn key. Shift with no clutch by syncronizing gears with the throttle pedal, shut off engine to stop.

Warning: this is massivly unsafe if you live in an urban area, but I live in Montana and it worked ok.

Update with what Big Steve said: when I finally got off my ass and fixed it after driving like this for several years, it turned out the clutch itself was fine, just a bad master cylinder on the hydraulic clutch.

Originally Posted by Obstruction

This is a great time for you to start practicing shifting w/out the clutch. That way you'll be prepared when the clutch finally shits the bed

Doesn't it depend on the syncromeshing of the gears? Not all trannies can do this. However most can. I've used no clutch shifting on old VWs all the up to huDge Army trucks.

In light(er) vehicles the starter as first gear is gutsy but effective. With practice (sic) one can get almost anything rolling and shifting smoothly sans clutch.

Originally Posted by skiing-in-jackson

Doesn't it depend on the syncromeshing of the gears? Not all trannies can do this. However most can. I've used no clutch shifting on old VWs all the up to huDge Army trucks.

In light(er) vehicles the starter as first gear is gutsy but effective. With practice (sic) one can get almost anything rolling and shifting smoothly sans clutch.

Can't speak to every transmission but like you I've shifted w/out the clutch in big ass dump trucks (some that that were built in the 60's) asian beaters and my current 330i six speed (but only a couple of times because I actually own the thing). I've never been unable to do it although I'll admit to making some unpleasant sounds on occasion.

shifting w/o clutch is fine, but when it is really worn out it doesn't matter... it'll start slipping while you're in gear under load like getting on the freeway and like you said going up hills. That's when you need to replace it (or look around at its adjustment/cylinder like big steve said)

If you drive with a slipping clutch, you'll mess up the flywheel and pressure plate.

I've replaced 4 clutches over the years. Twice I got away with just replacing the clutch plate and throwout bearing. Once I had to replace those and the pressure plate, and once I had to replace all that and the flywheel.

The difference was in how long I drove with the slipping clutch before I fixed it. If you're driving on flat roads, you can get a surprising amount of miles out of a slipping clutch as long as you don't slip it too much and overheat it. I think I got over a thousand miles out of one driving in swampland flat Minnesota.

I'll repeat the advise to make sure it's adjusted correctly before you do anything else.

I have a chirping sound coming from my clutch in 4runner. If I depress the clutch a tiny bit, the noise goes away. I think it is the throw out bearing. My Toyota mechanic said to drive it, but to save for a new clutch. The clutch action feels fine, so I would like to fix any problem before it gets larger. Anyone know what is involved in replacing the bearing, or is it better to do a new clutch plate at the same time?

You have to pull the transmission to get to the throw out bearing. You have to pull the front and rear drive shafts to pull the transmission. Heck, you might even have to pull the transfer case to get room behind the transmission to get it free from the engine.

When the transmission is out, the clutch will be staring you in the face. You might as well replace the friction plate while you're in there. It's like replacing the water pump when you replace the timing belt. You done all the work to get access, so you might as well do it. A friction plate will be less than $100. I wouldn't bother with the pressure plate.

I should have mentioned that I had already checked the adjustment. It's hydralic and I can actually push the actuator back and away (easily) from the throwout arm a couple of mm under the car at the tranny. It does spring back though so does this suggest I have air in the line? I've never felt the car pulling forward with the car in gear.

In any case I made the call to continue driving and have about 1000km behind me now. Incidently I havn't felt any more slippage but then I haven't had to accelerate up any 10 or 12% grades either.

Anyone have any experience replacing a rwd clutch on their own?

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Originally Posted by stradissimo

You have to pull the transmission to get to the throw out bearing. You have to pull the front and rear drive shafts to pull the transmission. Heck, you might even have to pull the transfer case to get room behind the transmission to get it free from the engine.

When the transmission is out, the clutch will be staring you in the face. You might as well replace the friction plate while you're in there. It's like replacing the water pump when you replace the timing belt. You done all the work to get access, so you might as well do it. A friction plate will be less than $100. I wouldn't bother with the pressure plate.

Thanks. I will be skipping all that work then. I might bleed the clutch to see if that helps.

Originally Posted by Shaggy

I should have mentioned that I had already checked the adjustment. It's hydralic and I can actually push the actuator back and away (easily) from the throwout arm a couple of mm under the car at the tranny. It does spring back though so does this suggest I have air in the line? I've never felt the car pulling forward with the car in gear.

In any case I made the call to continue driving and have about 1000km behind me now. Incidently I havn't felt any more slippage but then I haven't had to accelerate up any 10 or 12% grades either.

Anyone have any experience replacing a rwd clutch on their own?

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If you know about hydraulic versus mechanical actuator adjustment and know about bleeding, you may have what it takes to replace the clutch friction plate and/or rebuild the clutch master cylinder. Don't forget about the slave cylinder also.

By the way...when I mentioned bleeding, I wasn't referring to bleeding the hydraulic lines, I was talking about the bleeding you'll be doing when the tranny housing slips off the floor jack and lands on your finger...which happened to me and I still have the scars from it.

But really....clutch replacement and master/slave cylinder rebuilds are fairly straight forward, as long as you have a good Haynes manual for that version of Toyo....townace?????? What the hell is that??? It also helps to have the vehicle in a garage or shed while you work....preferably clean and level.

Here's a youtube vid of a similar job....this is a toyo tacoma...but at least it's 2wd, so it should be fairly similar....no transfer case.



and then this vid



and this one of a Nissan pickup:



And there is a shitload of other useful vids on the subject in the sidebar.

Who needs Chilton's manuals when you have youtube?????

EDIT: That last vid actually seems the best of the three, oddly enough. The first one sorta sucks....plus who in hell has a full car lift to work with?


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I did one in my 81 eagle sx4 in a parking lot, not ideal. It's not a difficult job, tedious and uncomfortable but with patience it requires no special sauce or voodoo. Replace the slave cylinder even if it seems fine. It's a false economy not to unless you like smashing your hands up and swearing.

FWIW, I just had the clutch in my 96 taco w/ 160K miles replaced a few months ago and it didn't start slipping until a few miles before it totally shit the bed. Tried to shift from 3rd to 4th and it kind of bucked on me. Just minutes later lost all the pressure in the clutch pedal for a couple seconds. A few miles later, it wouldn't engage at all. I could go no further and had to get it towed to the shop.

All done. I pulled the tranny and replaced the clutch in a buddy's driveway. It was a pretty straight forward procedure really. No really seized up bolts either thanks to the fact that Oz doesn't need to salt it's roads in the winter. The mystery machine is now pulling strong again

Thanks for the advice in this thread.

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