99 4Runner Clutch Woes

[snowcruiser]

Well I think the clutch is on the outs in my girlfriend's '99 4Runner. It has the 3.4 liter V6 in it and close to 70K. She bought it used with about 35K. She said it was not grabbing in the usual way and I drove it and agreed. What was strange though was that she siad it happened all of a sudden IOW it was not a gradual decline. I flushed the fluid and then adjusted the plunger at the pedal so that it gripped with the pedal a little further out but better and this helped for some time. It still feels ok but now at idle when the clutch is in about 2/3 or more there is a consistent humming noise. It goes away when the truck is in gear. Any ideas? Throwout bearing? Slave Cylinder?

Also what are the opinions on aftermarket clutches for this application? TRD makes a kit but it is pricey. Any good? How about centerforce? It seems that this is the same powertrain as that of Tacoma V6 manual trannys so those of you with experience please comment. I assume I should replace the whole clutch assembly if I have to go in at all.

Thoughts, comments?

[bkg]

when you say the noise goes away when in gear, do you mean when the clutch pedal is release? If the clutch pedal is released and the tranny is in neutral, do you still hear the noise?

As for good clutches, call Marlin - he'll set you up well. www.marlincrawler.com

[keisur]

is there oil dripping from around the bellhousing near the back of the engine? if so it may be a leaky rear main seal. if you replace the clutch it's a good practice to go ahead and put a new rear main in while you have the tranny off. the oil could cause the clutch to slip if it got on it giving you a false sense that it's on it's way out.