Problems with FJ40 Clutch (1 Viewer)

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T

Tinbolas

Joined
Mar 25, 2009
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Hello i'm new to the forums, I'm writing from Costa Rica, nice to meet you all...

I guess it would be wise to describe the car a little before going into detail about the clutch problem, its an fj40 with a 350 chevy, dana 44 and gm 12 bolt diferentials, rockwell transfer, arb lockers, 50k lb winch, and those kinds of things :D

Now im going to try and describe this as good as i can (english isnt my native languaje so bare with me hehe)... So i picked up the car from the mechanic, he was changing the engine oil and those kinds of things. On the way back from his shop after about a 45 minute drive i stoped at the store, i left the car on 1st gear, i got back to the car stepped on the clutch and tried to start it but it was as if i was trying to start it on 1st gear with no clutch, so i thought maybe there was some air on the fluid line so i pumped it to see if that worked and then after about 3-4 pumps the pedal was completely loose it had no pressure, i looked under the car and all the fluid was leaking. So the mechanic picked up the car and checked it, he removed the auxiliary "bomb?" (not sure whats the name is) checked it and told me it had to be changed because it was too old and wasnt working properly, so we bought a new one and he installed it and cleaned the air out of the lines and all of that. I drove the car back home it was all working good, no problems, the next day i decided to drive the car to school (about 1hr drive) i got there with no problems, but about half way back i started hearing a very very faint sqeeking noise, im not even sure if it was there before or not, anyway it sounds just like a rusted bike wheel spinning, the sound goes away when i step on the clutch. I also started noticing that shifting was harder than usual, but i got home ok, i stoped the car and went in to have a bite, after about 2hrs i got back into the car, i was going to drive it to a friends house and same thing happened just that this time there was no fluid leaks... the car was in 1st gear with me stepping on the clutch and it was as if i wasnt using the clutch, so i tried to put it on neutral but it wouldnt let me it was way to stiff, i let the car roll down hill just a little and managed to put it on neutral, i started the car and tried to change gears but i couldnt i could only use 4th gear for some reason. I called the mechanic and he came and checked the car, he said the clutch needed to be adjusted, so we did that and yes the car was working perfectly, i decided to take the car for a ride again, and same story.. about 30 minutes before i got home i started hearing the squeek again, and just as i was taking a turn next to my house i felt the clutch was getting stuck, i parked the car stepped on the clutch to leave it on 1st gear but the pedal was really stiff, so i pumped it a few times and again after a few pumps it lost all the pressure... i checked and it had leaked a lot of fluid...
So i'm not sure what to do next, i've spent quite a bit of money having this checked, "fixed" and buying new parts, anyone know what could be causing this?

Thanks in advance :D
 
I'm not sure what part you are referring to that you replaced, but it should have been the clutch master cylinder.....you'll probably want to replace the slave cylinder too. Sounds like to got a bad replacement part if it went bad so quickly....unless the mechanic installed it wrong.
 
After reading it twice, I'm still not sure which part was replaced. The part in your picture is the slave cylinder (as Cruiserstuff stated). There is a hose attached to it that runs up the firewall to the master cylinder. Replace the old one (whichever one that is). Typically, both tend to fail at the same time.

This really isn't a job that you need a mechanic for. Simply unbolt it, put the new one in, pour some fluid into it, and bleed it. Once all the air is out, you are good to go.

Good luck!

And, welcome to Mud! :cheers:
 
Make sure the hose to the slave cylinder is not cracked and leaking. They do age over time and need to be replaced (first hand experience). I replaced all three at the same time.
 
I replaced the slave cylinder about 5 days ago, will i have to replace it again?
 
double post, sorry

and thanks for the replies, have been really helpful :)
 
Clutch

You are doing fine with the english, dont worry

heres a pic that shows the slave cyl and master cylinder

Slave cylinder is on the bottom closer to the clutch


You push the pedal and the master supplies hyd fluid under pressure to the slave. The slave extends and pushes on the fork and the fork end is attached to and pushes the throwout bearing along the shaft into the clutch to overcome spring pressure and disengage the clutch from the flywheel which disconnects the engine from the transmission


You also may want to look and verify that the slave cylinder is extending and moving the fork. That the fork is attached to the throwout bearing and is the adjustment right on the slave cylinder? if not it may not allow enough fork travel to fully push the fork --you can remove the bottom inspection cover from the bell housing and watch the whole thing work without the motor running


Is the fork popped off of the pivot?---it has clips to hold it on the pivot in the bellhousing

HowStuffWorks "Fly Wheels, Clutch Plates and Friction"

Specter Off-Road Land Cruiser Parts - Page 018 Clutch Components
018-01-KIT-big.jpg
 
We took down the slave cylinder to check it and it was pretty much destroyed, the piston's rubber was cut in 3 pieces and the piston itself and the inside of the cylinder are damaged too... So the guy who helped me check it found out that the mechanic installed the new slave cylinder but he used the old cylinder's pin which was too short to work with the new one...
 
Last edited:
result

Ah, well now you know. I never thought of it, but I have seen ads for new slave cylinders without the rod included --the rod is ordered separately at an additional charge:mad:
 
You guys can talk defective slave or master cylinder all day long, but that's not the problem here. This is the age old problem of using a stock Chevy clutch in a Chevota conversion, and 1,000 percent of his problems specifically point to that.
Toyota hydralics DO NOT have enough travel to fully disengage a Chevy clutch (I know, some of you will argue this, I don't want to hear it). Because you don't get full disengagement allowing smooth shift, you adjust the throw out bearing right up onto the fingers of the pressure plate to ensure full disengagement. This then results in:
(a) the throw out bearing constantly riding on the fingers, ringing sound when foot not on the clutch pedal, then eventual (premature) throw out bearing defectiveness!!!
(b) over-heating and premature wear of the clutch disc because it is never fully engaged/grabbing (bearing always slightly depressing the pressure plate fingers!!!
Both Downey and AA offer special Chevota clutches to remedy this problem (pressure plates that are machined to require less travel)
Hey, you Chevota owners who are getting by with using stock Chevy clutches and stock Landcruiser radiators---more power to you!!!
 
Downey said:
You guys can talk defective slave or master cylinder all day long, but that's not the problem here. This is the age old problem of using a stock Chevy clutch in a Chevota conversion, and 1,000 percent of his problems specifically point to that.
Toyota hydralics DO NOT have enough travel to fully disengage a Chevy clutch (I know, some of you will argue this, I don't want to hear it). Because you don't get full disengagement allowing smooth shift, you adjust the throw out bearing right up onto the fingers of the pressure plate to ensure full disengagement. This then results in:
(a) the throw out bearing constantly riding on the fingers, ringing sound when foot not on the clutch pedal, then eventual (premature) throw out bearing defectiveness!!!
(b) over-heating and premature wear of the clutch disc because it is never fully engaged/grabbing (bearing always slightly depressing the pressure plate fingers!!!
Both Downey and AA offer special Chevota clutches to remedy this problem (pressure plates that are machined to require less travel)
Hey, you Chevota owners who are getting by with using stock Chevy clutches and stock Landcruiser radiators---more power to you!!!
Click to expand...

ive been runnin my stock clutch and stock radiator for 15 yrs.. and haven't had................. ya know what, im not going to fininsh that sentence in fear of bad luck.... i hope everyone knows what im triing to say.
 
clutch

I am having a similair problem I have a 1970 Fj40 just bought when I was looking at it to buy the clutch was a little wierd I had to pump it to keep it engaged, so the first thing I did was brought a new slave, with the same effect, then I rebuilt my my master and same thing... I watch the slave at first fully extend and then slowly return to it orginal postion with the clutch pedal full in... I bleed the lines 3 times over thinking it was an air bubble, check for line leaks, but cant figure it out. any help..
 
same thing

I have been working on my 72fj40 with a 350 swap and the original 3spd manual for about year and a half now and i finally got to drive it the other day. So of coarse i decided to hit a small jump with it, got about 3 inches of air landed and it stalled out, and my clutch was sticking to the floor. I thought nothing about it at the time figuring maybe i should drive it around a bit first before hitting any more jumps. When i took it for a ride after about 30 minutes i stopped at a stop sign and had my foot compressed on the clutch it first waiting to go and the truck stalled. i couldn't get it out of gear until i waiting about a minute or so and it slowly came back out on it own. I have noticed since then that if i hold the clutch down for more than 10-15 seconds it will do the same thing. I talked to a buddy of mine and his thoughts were that possibly the fluid is heating up to much with the 350. I dont know what to think, i did notice the fluid is pretty dirty so i am going to change it, and it never leaks at all.
Let me know your thoughts.
 
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