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Clutch Vibration

Im writing this for my brother who is ill and cant do it himself and I know very little about automobiles so please bare with me.

Because of my bothers illness I helped him with the purchase of a 2002 Tacoma 4X4 w/manual transmission (74,400 miles). The day he test drove the truck he wasn't feeling well and didn't notice the clutch wasn't functioning correctly. When I drove the truck I could see the clutch didn't feel right so I took it back to the dealership and because it's a "Toyota Certified Vehicle" the dealership said everything but the clutch would be covered and charged him $350.00. When I picked the truck up the clutch felt a little better but the truck was still shuddering when I would take off in first and again when I shifted from 1st to 2nd. A week later when my brother was feeling better he took the truck back and complained, the dealership concurred and agreed to fix the truck at no charge. According to the receipt they replaced the clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, throw out bearing and pilot bearing, after all that the truck still has a slight shudder to it. We've taken the truck back twice since than the dealership insists there isnt a problem. I have a friend whose been an auto mechanic for over 20 years who test drove the truck and says otherwise, the shop my friend works for wants $1050.00 to fix the clutch

The other day I took my brother to his Dr's appointment I noticed that when I press the clutch in or let it out the clutch pedal vibrates pretty bad, if Im driving down the road and let off the accelerator and press the clutch in about an inch the vibration is even worst This is something that is new so Im pretty sure something else is wrong with clutch .

My brother went down to the car dealership and talked to the used car manager and told him about the problem, the used car manager said he'd buy the truck back for what my brother paid for it BUT he'd have to purchase a new truck from him which my brother said he'd do. When my brother called me from the dealership I told him not to do or sign anything till I looked at the deal, it appears the dealership is taking advantage of my brother's illness, he wants to charge him $23,900.00 for a truck that every other dealership in this area is selling for $21,500.00. Had I not interceded the dealership would taken him for all he had.

If anyone can possibly offer some advice on whats wrong with the truck and how to go about getting it fixed it would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you

Reply to
Mud Flap
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Since you have replaced all of the clutch components and the flywheel and pilot bearing, I'd theorize that the problem is likely not in the clutch. It is possible that the clutch replacement was done badly but I doubt that. Someone would have had to wring off one or two of the pressure plate bolts or spill oil all over the clutch disc to get the vibration you're experiencing. Not likely. Instead I might suspect the transmission input shaft bearing. The vibration you describe is caused by the clutch disc not smoothly engaging the flywheel/pressure plate. The difference between the rotation speed of the clutch disc and the rotation speed of the flywheel/pressure plate is greatest when initially engaging the clutch while stopped in first gear. The differential rotation speed lessens as one progresses through the gears. Some vibration is expected and the clutch plate has a number of short, stubby springs imbedded in it to dampen this expected vibration. If one or more of these springs break, a vibration can result during shifting. But all the clutch components are new. So I'd suspect the transmission input shaft upon which the clutch disc is splined. If the input shaft bearing is bad or if the snap ring, spacer or bearing retainer plate that secure the input shaft bearing are going bad, it could conceivably cause a slight looseness in the shaft which in turn would cause the clutch disc to vibrate. I've not seen this kind of failure so I'm strictly theorizing, but it seems plausible. If anybody drops the transaxle again in order to again replace the clutch, I'd very carefully examine the transmission input shaft for play. Good luck. Al

Reply to
al

Thank you Al

Because of my brothers health and the stress this is causing the dealer offered to buy the vehicle back BUT he (my brother) had to buy a new truck in return. I brought some literature home and my brother saw what he could afford and picked out one with all the options he wanted. I looked up what that truck cost's the dealer on edmunds.com and went down to dealership and negotiated what I thought was a pretty good deal. Now we've got a new Tacoma sitting in our driveway that will only be driven when I have to take him to his Dr's appointments. I really feel bad for my brother, when he's feeling well enough he'll get out of bed and go to the window to checkout his new truck, it's obvious that he wants to drive but his health just wont allow it. Hopefully one of these day's he'll feel good enough to take the truck out and enjoy it.

Thanks for your help

Reply to
Mud Flap

You probably did the right thing. If it's in the transmission, that's not likely an easy fix. In your situation, you don't need a hassle. I wish you both the best. Al

Reply to
al

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