How Many teeth on Release Sector w/ New Clutch?

[MorToy]

*Sigh* I know I am missing something....just got my new clutch in and wrestled tranny in back in place when I went to hook up the new clutch cable. Set the pedal height to FSM and I am getting the pawl to engage the sector release with only about 3-4 teeth towards the end. FSM sure loves the 6 teeth minimum, but how many teeth should there be with a brand new clutch?

pedal height.jpg

teeth.jpg

Car is still on jack-stands; engine still few days away from turning over but something seems to be awry: the clutch feels spongy (granted, I have not driven this for two years). Seems like the clutch cable has too much tension on the release fork. I fear that it is slightly engaging the pressure plate without the pedal being depressed. i.e., the pedal-side spring (the bigger one on the release sector) seems to overpower the return spring on the clutch release fork lever (within the bell housing). Clutch cable length is identical to OEM. Here's how close cable is to the fork without depressing the pedal

clutch cable and fork.jpg

[Petros]

sounds like too much tension in the cable. Is the cable slack at the lever? There has been a problem with some brands of clutch where the disk was too thick. There is a thread on this topic several years old, it gives the proper disk thickness. if this is your problem it could mean taking out the trans again (now that you are good at it ).

Could also mean the throw out bearing was installed improperly, not allowing the clutch to release.

Do not attempt to drive it unless you are sure the clutch is fully engaged. There is not a lot of tolerance in clutch, if everything is correct it will work fine for 100k to 150k miles, but if the parts are not correct you can damage it after one drive.

good luck.

[MorToy]

Thanks for the response Petros. I'll poke around for that old thread on clutch thickness.

There is no slack in the cable at all. Once I hook the yoke to the release fork the fork moves several inches forward and stays there. I had another pic but was dark. There is about 11mm from the end of the cable yoke to the back of the tranny case (where the clutch cable pokes through).

You said what I was thinking (and fearing--drop the tranny and check it out). As you and my dad said, now that I know what to do it will be "easy."

Release bearing: I began to think over the weekend "I am pretty sure I installed the release bearing the right way round...I think..." Writing towards rear of car, beveled face towards engine, right? Nothing else I know I slopped too much grease on the shaft splines so I should clean those up to keep grease from spinning onto the disc.

I went with an Exedy (Daikin) kit #16039. Thought Daikins were OEM. You shouldn't have to adjust the pressure plate tines if it is coming from the factory?

I completely agree, get it right before I try to move it under it's own steam--do not want to get it "sort of" right.

As always, thanks!

[ARCHINSTL]

Here is the thread about clutch thickness - long and quite informative, with pix links. Quite a few replies with mucho info. Member xirdneh started it.
https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... utch+thick
Tom M.

[MorToy]

Thanks guys! Must have missed the right combo of key words when I did my clutch search before posting: sounds like xirdneh's issue is similar to mine so I might be looking at a clutch thickness problem...I'll drop tranny and do some measuring. We'll see.

[xirdneh]

ultimately the problem i had was not the clutch disc thickness
it was the faulty new pressure plate
i sent it back and recieved a new one that worked
i tested the pressure plates by mounting them on a tercel flywheel with clutch disc installed
just like it would be in the car
and useing a homemade hydraulic press (using a bottle jack)
i pressed the throwout bearing into the pressure plate the same distance it would travel if it was in the car
i think it was abt 3/8 inch
then i stuck a feeler gage between plate and disc
bad plate was abt .003 good plate about .05 (if i remember right)
i did play around with the clutch cable first by installing shims to tighten it up
thinking i would get more travel but 3/8 inch throwut travel is about the max needed
going any further did not increase the gap between pressure plate and clutch disk
my symptoms were difficulty shifting in the lower gears 1st, 2nd and reverse and would not go into the 4wd extra low gear at all

[MorToy]

Just realized over a year and half later I never gave my resolution:

I had installed new Exedy clutch, clutch plate, throw out bearing, and pilot bearing. Problems. When I removed the clutch to inspect, the finger springs on the Exedy pressure plate were tweaked.

I thought about xirdneh's experience and bit the bullet: bought a genuine Toyota clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing. Turns out the Exedy's kit included the exact same OEM TOYO throw out bearing so I reused that. The clutch thicknesses were identical. Installed the new Toyota parts. Immediately after installing it I was able to get the cable on the arm and the right amount of pawls on pedal. It was the Exedy pressure plate. Once I got engine runnign the car shifted perfectly. BEWARE Exedy pressure plates!

[Petros]

wow, thanks for the update. I never heard anything bad about Exedy clutch before, it would be nice to know if there was some things to measure on a new pressure plate to know it will work before you install it, sounds like there are some bad pressure plates out there. would save everyone the trouble. I would bet that Exedy is just repackaging one they source from the orient somewhere, sometimes you might get the correct pressure plate, other times not.

Xirdneh, did you ever determine was was different about your good pressure plate and the bad one? looks like you determined it would not lift far enough off the disk to fully release it, now if we only knew what to look for without having to install it.

[dlb]

i had never heard anything about exedy until i put one of their clutches in my wife's truck. has been great and trouble-free since for 5 or 6 months now, but this is good info to know.

[MorToy]

Yeah, I heard good things about Exedy too, that's why I went with them. I knew they are OEM for many manufacturers. Every part was marked "Made in Japan," so I had high hopes. I did get the technical help line guy to admit there are some variances with pressure plates, and it may cause issues...but I did have the right kit number.