Clutch Warning - 09 Tacoma 2.7l/5 Speed/ 4x4

[abeaudin1971]

Hey folks,

Just as a warning - watch out for premature clutch wear on your 2.7l/5 speed/4x4

I have a canadian model with 66500km/40000miles on it and the clutch is slipping already with 80 to 90% highway miles on it and no offroad.

The Toyota dealership is hiding behind the 'wear item' that it considers the clutch to be and I haven't heard back from Toyota Canada yet.

If you have one and notice that the clutch is releasing high in the pedal travel, let Toyota know.

and ya - I do know how to drive standard, been doing so for 24 years now.

Just never expected to have to pay $1260 to fix something that should have lasted 2 to 3 times as long as it did.

Thanks Toyota (and boy do I miss my old '89)

 

[Willman]

Sorry to here about this!

how many miles on the rig?

2009 model right?

Wouldn't that be covered under warranty?

 

[abeaudin1971]

yup - I was sorry to hear of it too - it's a 2009 model - been on the road a little over 13 months with 40000 miles/66500 kilometers

only thing I can do is make sure others know. and look for an 89 4x4 extended cab with a 22RE to fix up for eventual daily driver usage.

 

[MotoDave]

Does the clutch mechanism have any adjustment to it? I know most modern hydraulic clutch assemblies are 'self adjusting', but have seen some cases where there is still manual adjustment. I've also seen cases where the slave cylinder being out of adjustment caused the clutch to never engage fully, causing slipping that wasn't truly due to a worn out clutch.

 

[abeaudin1971]

it's hydraulic so as far as I know - self adjusting.

 

[datrupr]

My 95 Rodeo went 200,000 miles on one clutch. I did have to replace the slave cylender twice though, but that was a t a cost of only $300 each. That sucks, I'm sorry. Hopefully Toyota will do something about it.

 

[abeaudin1971]

so as an update - clutch was replaced and the old one, while showing normal wear only had very light glazing and I took it and the pressure plate to a clutch shop who pressure tested the pressure plate and it held 2000 lbs of pressure so it seems to be ok

the disconcerting thing is that it was slipping, no mistake about that. I feel better that there's a new one in the truck but concerned that the slippage did happen..

odd.....

Guess when I replace this new one, I'll put something aftermarket in it that's built a little tougher

 

[abeaudin1971]

so I was chatting with a machinist friend of mine tonight during a snowshoe and he was thinking that the heavy headwinds the night of the initial slippage might have had something to do with it so I went back to the physics theory on drag and here's what I found out.

1. When you double speed, drag increases four fold.
2. When you double speed, power required increases eight fold.

This means that if I'm driving the truck at 50mph, I require x power to maintain that speed.

If I drive at 100mph (which is what the truck was doing airspeed - 60mph plus gusts up to 40mph) then the power required is 8x.


I think what happened is that the clutch was starting to slip because of the load and got glazed so I was able to slip it again on the next couple of days but that the glaze eventually wore off and the clutch was 'ok' again.

Am I out to lunch here or does this sound reasonable..

 

[alextreme76]

46k on my 05 4cyl 4x4 5spd and i have smoked it a good number of times offroad and taught 2 friends to drive stick on it. no slippage at all :victory:

 

[abeaudin1971]

so to follow up on the thread - the clutch was replaced at 66500kms (about 40K miles) - and now at 73500kms - less than 5000 miles later the release bearing started to chirp.

it's heading back to the dealership next week - 12 month, 20,000 km warranty on the parts and I'm hoping the labour as well.

I was speaking to a tech at another Toyota shop - he indicated that there are issues with the clutches in the newer Tacomas and that the best thing to do would be to see if they'll R&R the release bearing but purchase a Stage2 after market clutch and get them to install it - the tech indicated that it'll make a world of difference with the truck.

Question to the forum - got any recommendations for the '09 Tacoma 4x4 with a 2.7l?

 

[Hunter'06FLKY]

i just had to have the pilot bearig and throwout bearing replaced on my 08 4 cyl. Luckily it was till under warranty at 36 thousand. I asked the woman why it would go out so soon and she simply said it was faulty manufacturing. very comforting...

 

[abeaudin1971]

Ya - I'm not the only one - I did talk to a clutch shop about a stage 2 clutch and since I don't drive the vehicle hard, the recommended staying away from a stage 2 as with easy driving I'd likely end up with chatter.

So I'll get the release bearing fixed and start shopping for a replacement ride.

I'd be ok if it was axle or driveshaft problems as they're easy enough to rectify once they're off warranty but having to split the engine and tranny is a big job in the driveway.

i just had to have the pilot bearig and throwout bearing replaced on my 08 4 cyl. Luckily it was till under warranty at 36 thousand. I asked the woman why it would go out so soon and she simply said it was faulty manufacturing. very comforting...

 

[timmer2008]

one of the probs is cheap bearings this was one of wantanabe's deals.
flash pan designs and cheap parts. I for one am glad he is gone.
late next year we should get a new bell housing on the RA60 and new bearings all around.

you might just want to replace the clutch and bearing w/ AM stuff

you shouldnt have issues with the pilot shaft though. if you do crack it open have them check for Lube on the shaft.

many tacos there is a lack of lubrication (esp on NUMMI plant vehicles, Cause apparantly Line speed & lube process)
on the shaft which caused the bearing to fail prematurly and (on the RA60s ) cause the shaft to be galled or scored requireing replacement of the entire bell housing due to the one peice Alluminum alloy construction. (another Wantenabe pushed deal)

Ive had my RA60 bell replaced once / TObearing replaced twice in 25K on warrantee