FJ60 won’t shift, no clutch pressure

[peteypbomb]

Hi all,
Having some clutch troubles it seems. Made it about 100 feet down the road this morning and it was really difficult to shift. Had to really push the knob into gear. Stopped at a stop sign and then it wouldn’t go into gear at all, even with clutch pressed. With the truck off, it’ll easily go into each gear but if it’s running it won’t. Also won’t go into reverse, grinds really bad. Clutch has no pressure, it’ll go all the way to the floor with ease.

Driving the other day we smelled what smelled like clutch burning, but I wasn’t riding it at all so we were confused. Maybe linked?

Slave cylinder? Any thoughts?

 

[george_tlc]

Master reservoir at the correct level?

Hydraulic lines intact (no leaks)?

A helper can look and see if the slave 'piston' is moving in/out as you press the clutch pedal down.

That's a debug start. Update us.

And clearly, with no clutch pedal pressure, the clutch/pressure-plate aren't releasing and so of course you cant get it in gear/grinding/etc with engine running.

cheers,
george.

 

[peteypbomb]

Master reservoir at the correct level?

Hydraulic lines intact (no leaks)?

A helper can look and see if the slave 'piston' is moving in/out as you press the clutch pedal down.

That's a debug start. Update us.

And clearly, with no clutch pedal pressure, the clutch/pressure-plate aren't releasing and so of course you cant get it in gear/grinding/etc with engine running.

cheers,
george.

Just checked all that. Plenty of fluid in master reservoir. Can hear it sloshing a bit when clutch is pressed.

No visible leaks in hydraulic lines.

Slave piston moves when clutch is pressed. The rubber boot at the end of slave cylinder is loose/torn? and appears to have some fresh fluid on it? Photo below.

Any other thoughts/things to check?

 

[mongoose2231]

Leak past pistons in either master or slave. Cheap and easy to do both. Happened to me on my pickup, while driving. Lost clutch pedal entirely, went to floor and nada. Drove truck by rev matching and shifting without clutching. I'd say instead of trying to diagnose, just buy both parts and replace. Do check the hardliness though for good measure before you replace anything.

 

[Skreddy]

You can drop the inspection cover on the bottom of the bellhousing and look for movement when someone presses the pedal. May be able to see your friction material thickness. If it’s getting thin but not gone, you may just be able to adjust the slave pushrod out more and get some more life out of it.

 

[micruz60]

^^^
You’ve got the adjustable slave cylinder, read the service manual to adjust and get a few more thousands miles before replacing the clutch.

 

[UniquE]

Leak past master cylinder, at the very tip of it. Take it apart and inspect the rod with rubber at the end. Quick and cheap fix. No visible leaks. It’s within the system.

 

[peteypbomb]

^^^
You’ve got the adjustable slave cylinder, read the service manual to adjust and get a few more thousands miles before replacing the clutch.

You can drop the inspection cover on the bottom of the bellhousing and look for movement when someone presses the pedal. May be able to see your friction material thickness. If it’s getting thin but not gone, you may just be able to adjust the slave pushrod out more and get some more life out of it.

Alright finally updating here. Tried adjusting the slave as much as it would go. Clutch pedal would build pressure when pumped a few times, but then fluid started bubbling out of the master cylinder lid and it still wouldn't go into gear. Any ideas?

 

[Skreddy]

I’d replace both master and slave at this point: the line between the two also if it’s never been done.

As others said, sounds like it’s probably leaking past the piston seals in one or both. They are rebuildable if you’re up for that, or just replace.