QuestionQUESTION: 2002 Toyota Tacoma 5 spd. 95K miles. Intermittently, clutch will not disengage. Can be difficult to put into gear w/out releasing and then reapplying clutch. May go into first gear with clutch pedal on floor and truck begin moving forward with clutch pedal on floorboard - pushing accelerator results in truck accelerating forward as if in gear - with clutch pedal on floorboard. Clutch pedal seems to have close to normal resistance if pushed down at normal or rapid rate, though resistance seems to be decreasing over time. There is practically no resistance if clutch pedal is pushed in at slower than normal rate. Thanks in advance for your help!
ANSWER: Check fluid level in master cylinder. If it is low, add fluid and find out why level is low, may be a leak.
If level is satisfactory, check your master cylinder for any leaks. Check your slave cylinder (on the tranny) for proper operation. (you will need a willing helper.
If all looks okay, try bleeding the brake system through the slave cylinder. Make sure you don't drain the master cylinder while performing this evolution. Use DOT3 brake fluid for your clutch fluid.
Hope this helps.
Vince
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Fluids are ok, and no leaks. Suggestion to check slave operation is brilliant!
Pushed in slow, slave does not operate, pushed in fast, slave operates. Does this
mean bad seal(s) in the master or slave cylinder? Or would bad seals result in a
leak?
AnswerThe slave cylinder might need replacing. The cost of new seals and the headache of putting them in is not worth the slightly higher cost of a new/rebuilt one ($2 difference for my '85 Celica).
Change out the slave cylinder and bleed the system. Let me know how it turns out.
Vince
