Leaving a write up in case another member has an issue with their W59 equipped Toyota.
Background: A Marlin Crawler w59 rebuild was put in and everything went together as planned. After putting on about 50K miles on the transmission, it started to get difficult to get into 1st gear. I was running a HD 1,200lb Marlin clutch, new OEM tacoma flywheel, new OEM throwout bearing, new nachi pilot bearing, and had the heavy duty nylon Marlin shift bushings.
The only way to get the vehicle into gear was to cut the engine at which point putting into gear was effortless. When the engine was running and the clutch was fully depressed, no gear was accessible. The shift lever was getting blocked. As long as the vehicle was moving, it was easy to get into the next lower gear so for a couple of weeks, I had to modify my shift technique and keep it in gear at stop lights otherwise, it was next to impossible to get into gear with the engine running. After 2 weeks, I decided to park the vehicle and seriously figure out how to fix it.
This is a long email as I went though every possible fix I was able to find online.
Troubleshooting:
Knowing the issue could potentially be coming from 3 areas: transmission issue, bad clutch, or hydraulic system, I decided to start with the transmission.
Transmission:
1) Swapped in marlin heavy duty nylon bushings but they did not correct the issue. Bushings tighten up the slop in the shifter mechanism and help ensure that the shift pivot is being guided in the correct direction.
2) Depressed the the clutch fully- briefly, I could hear a faint whirring noise which would come to a stop after 4-5 seconds- when transmission was cold, trans would go into gear fine but after few minutes depressing clutch for 30-40 seconds would have no effect and trans would not go into gear.
-- I was already running MT90 which many say solves their issues but I did a drain and flush anyway at 50k miles but observed no improvement. Next option is to add more fluid which folks say is helpful . This did nothing to correct the issue.
-- Double clutching didn't really seem to make a difference either
The transmission seemed to be acting fine but the clutch was not getting the right amount of throw as it was not disengaging fully.
Clutch
3) Clutch: This had been replaced along with the rebuilt transmission but figured if the clutch was not getting the full throw needed to disengage, I would have the same symptoms.
--Replaced the clutch pedal bracket and clutch pedal assembly: turned out there was nothing wrong with my bracket or assembly. A defective bracket will have a hairline crack which flexes and prevents the clutch from fully disengaging. This solved the annoying creaking squeek (coming from a pedal assist spring wearing into the bracket) but did not fix my issue.
-- Adjusted clutch pedal freeplay- no issue, master cylinder was engaging at the right location and was not getting preloaded (recipe for failure)
Hydraulic System:
4) Looked at the slave cylinder and there was no leaking fluid. Also, depressing the clutch pedal displaced the slave pivot about 1/2" so seemed to be working correctly.
5) Flexible hydraulic hose: this hose connects the hard line from the clutch master to the clutch slave. If you can feel it swelling when stepping on the clutch, it can limit clutch disengagement. I could not detect any change when the clutch was depressed or not but as it was only part in the hydraulic system which had not been touched, I figured I would pick up a new one.
I was convinced at this point that the issue was with my pilot bearing. If the pilot bearing is seizing up, it can develop sufficient friction to keep the trans rotating. After countless hours researching, I was on the fence on whether to take the vehicle to a shop or do it myself.
With dual transfer cases and triple sticks, the vehicle is far from stock and a number of shops did not want to touch it here in Tampa, FL so I made the decision to do it myself. I purchased a new OEM stock clutch and pressure plate, throwout bearing, clutch fork and pivot, flexible clutch hose and new nachi pilot bearing.
After re-installation which took me forever to complete- (driveway mechanics unite!) I had it all back together. Did it work?
Yes
Heard a slight rubbing noise when disengaging the new clutch from idle for the first few off idle engagements and the new clutch smell but happy to say that 4 tanks of gas later, I have yet to experience the issue I initially set out to fix. I didn't save any money because I bought OEM parts and top shelf tools when needed but I'm glad to know that I now know this vehicle's drivetrain inside out.
I believe the issue stemmed from the worn pivot and shift fork as the new ones seemed to have maybe 1/16 inch combined less wear. I can't recall reading any of the threads mentioning this when talking about clutch replacement but considering the price of these items (about $45 for OEM items) seems like cheap insurance from having redo a clutch job.
On a side note, I was very impressed with the quality of the Marlin Crawler unit. The pressure plate appeared to be an OEM unit but the big differences were:
- Size of the clutch springs (heavier duty to sustain a greater shock load from higher rpm releases)
- Amount of clutch material (about 60% more material means much longer life)
- Size of friction surface (seems a bit larger than the OEM)
The HD clutch felt the same as stock to me when I had it in (light pressure) and it gripped well. In fact, I felt I was 'downgrading' when installing the OEM unit vs the Marlin Crawler unit but I wanted to get everything back to baseline. Had I not had a second transfer case with 4.7 gears installed, I probably would have wanted to higher gripping force the Marlin unit provides.
Background: A Marlin Crawler w59 rebuild was put in and everything went together as planned. After putting on about 50K miles on the transmission, it started to get difficult to get into 1st gear. I was running a HD 1,200lb Marlin clutch, new OEM tacoma flywheel, new OEM throwout bearing, new nachi pilot bearing, and had the heavy duty nylon Marlin shift bushings.
The only way to get the vehicle into gear was to cut the engine at which point putting into gear was effortless. When the engine was running and the clutch was fully depressed, no gear was accessible. The shift lever was getting blocked. As long as the vehicle was moving, it was easy to get into the next lower gear so for a couple of weeks, I had to modify my shift technique and keep it in gear at stop lights otherwise, it was next to impossible to get into gear with the engine running. After 2 weeks, I decided to park the vehicle and seriously figure out how to fix it.
This is a long email as I went though every possible fix I was able to find online.
Troubleshooting:
Knowing the issue could potentially be coming from 3 areas: transmission issue, bad clutch, or hydraulic system, I decided to start with the transmission.
Transmission:
1) Swapped in marlin heavy duty nylon bushings but they did not correct the issue. Bushings tighten up the slop in the shifter mechanism and help ensure that the shift pivot is being guided in the correct direction.
2) Depressed the the clutch fully- briefly, I could hear a faint whirring noise which would come to a stop after 4-5 seconds- when transmission was cold, trans would go into gear fine but after few minutes depressing clutch for 30-40 seconds would have no effect and trans would not go into gear.
-- I was already running MT90 which many say solves their issues but I did a drain and flush anyway at 50k miles but observed no improvement. Next option is to add more fluid which folks say is helpful . This did nothing to correct the issue.
-- Double clutching didn't really seem to make a difference either
The transmission seemed to be acting fine but the clutch was not getting the right amount of throw as it was not disengaging fully.
Clutch
3) Clutch: This had been replaced along with the rebuilt transmission but figured if the clutch was not getting the full throw needed to disengage, I would have the same symptoms.
--Replaced the clutch pedal bracket and clutch pedal assembly: turned out there was nothing wrong with my bracket or assembly. A defective bracket will have a hairline crack which flexes and prevents the clutch from fully disengaging. This solved the annoying creaking squeek (coming from a pedal assist spring wearing into the bracket) but did not fix my issue.
-- Adjusted clutch pedal freeplay- no issue, master cylinder was engaging at the right location and was not getting preloaded (recipe for failure)
Hydraulic System:
4) Looked at the slave cylinder and there was no leaking fluid. Also, depressing the clutch pedal displaced the slave pivot about 1/2" so seemed to be working correctly.
5) Flexible hydraulic hose: this hose connects the hard line from the clutch master to the clutch slave. If you can feel it swelling when stepping on the clutch, it can limit clutch disengagement. I could not detect any change when the clutch was depressed or not but as it was only part in the hydraulic system which had not been touched, I figured I would pick up a new one.
I was convinced at this point that the issue was with my pilot bearing. If the pilot bearing is seizing up, it can develop sufficient friction to keep the trans rotating. After countless hours researching, I was on the fence on whether to take the vehicle to a shop or do it myself.
With dual transfer cases and triple sticks, the vehicle is far from stock and a number of shops did not want to touch it here in Tampa, FL so I made the decision to do it myself. I purchased a new OEM stock clutch and pressure plate, throwout bearing, clutch fork and pivot, flexible clutch hose and new nachi pilot bearing.
After re-installation which took me forever to complete- (driveway mechanics unite!) I had it all back together. Did it work?
Yes
Heard a slight rubbing noise when disengaging the new clutch from idle for the first few off idle engagements and the new clutch smell but happy to say that 4 tanks of gas later, I have yet to experience the issue I initially set out to fix. I didn't save any money because I bought OEM parts and top shelf tools when needed but I'm glad to know that I now know this vehicle's drivetrain inside out.
I believe the issue stemmed from the worn pivot and shift fork as the new ones seemed to have maybe 1/16 inch combined less wear. I can't recall reading any of the threads mentioning this when talking about clutch replacement but considering the price of these items (about $45 for OEM items) seems like cheap insurance from having redo a clutch job.
On a side note, I was very impressed with the quality of the Marlin Crawler unit. The pressure plate appeared to be an OEM unit but the big differences were:
- Size of the clutch springs (heavier duty to sustain a greater shock load from higher rpm releases)
- Amount of clutch material (about 60% more material means much longer life)
- Size of friction surface (seems a bit larger than the OEM)
The HD clutch felt the same as stock to me when I had it in (light pressure) and it gripped well. In fact, I felt I was 'downgrading' when installing the OEM unit vs the Marlin Crawler unit but I wanted to get everything back to baseline. Had I not had a second transfer case with 4.7 gears installed, I probably would have wanted to higher gripping force the Marlin unit provides.
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