In older vehicles, the clutch is engaged and disengaged using a cable. Over time, the clutch would wear out and an adjustment would be necessary to make it work properly. In more recent vehicles, like the Toyota Pickup, a hydraulic system was used to engage and disengage the clutch. This eliminated the need for time-consuming adjustments, as the hydraulic system made adjustments automatically. However, air might get into the hydraulic system and cause a spongy or soft feel to the clutch. To rectify this problem, the hydraulic system must be bled.
Open the Toyota's hood. Remove the cap from the clutch master cylinder, which is the component on the far driver's side of the firewall, near the brake master cylinder. Fill the clutch master cylinder with DOT3 brake fluid. Add about three inches of DOT3 brake fluid into the empty container.
Raise the front of the vehicle, using a floor jack, and place the jack stands beneath the Toyota's frame rails. Lower the vehicle until all of its weight is on the jack stands.
Crawl beneath the truck until you reach where the engine and transmission bolt to each other. Locate the clutch fork. It's the metal bar protruding from the driver's side of the transmission's bell housing. Trace the arm until you reach the hydraulic cylinder it is attached to, which is known as the clutch slave cylinder or clutch release cylinder.
Press one end of a 1/4-inch rubber hose on the end of the slave cylinder's bleeder valve, which is the small, gold-colored valve on the side of the slave cylinder. Submerge the other end of the hose into the brake fluid in the container, making certain to keep the end of the hose submerged through the entire bleeding process.
Instruct your assistant to press and release the clutch pedal several times, then hold the pedal to the floor. Loosen the bleeder valve using a line wrench, and observe as air bubbles escape the hose in the brake fluid.
Tighten the bleeder valve and instruct your assistant to release the clutch pedal.
Repeat steps 5 through 6 until no air escapes from the rubber hose.
Remove the rubber hose from the bleeder valve. Raise the truck from the jack stands, using the floor jack, and slowly lower the Toyota to the ground.
Check the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder. It should be between the "Min" and "Max" lines on the cylinder. Adjust the fluid level by adding fluid to reach the proper level. Close the Toyota's hood.
