Toyota Repair: toyota 1987 clutch, clutch master cylinder, clutch plate

Question
clutch seems to be loose to press foot pedal and hard to push shift stick into
gear. i had to force it for first gear but revese is ok ...to me it feels like cable
tenstion weaked and hopefully can be retightened..and hope i dont have to
rip tranny out to replace clutch plate. its a toyota any thing hard has turned
out easy w/ patience and proper understanding of function that needs
repair.any help before i even open the hood is apprecated thx.

Answer
Darrin,
How many miles? First thing to try is; Check the level of brake fluid in the CLUTCH master cylinder under the hood !! If its down add some !! If its up to the full level or it was down now try this; with the vehicle NOT running and your foot on the brake, pump the clutch pedal about 50 times, in and out all the way. Now start up the vehicle and try shifting. If it now goes in and out of gear ok then the slave or master cylinder for the clutch is bad. If every thing is good then its the clutch and pressure plate.

Let me know,
Tim