1985 toyota camry probs/clutch

Another famous Toyota problem--the hydraulic clutch linkage. The cylinders (master and slave) become pitted, and fluid leaks past the pistons, and in the case of the master down the inside of the firewall. In the case of the slave, it simply leaks out onto the ground.

Beware of crappy, aftermarket rebuilds. One of these that I got was a very crude, aluminum casting from NAPA, and lasted about two days, with a sudden failure in a very bad place to break down. When I took it back, they would only replace it with another just like it! What got me going again was units from Toyota, but it set me back something like $130 for the pair. But these were dazzling looking units, compared to the NAPA master that I still have on the shelf to remind me.

For me, these need replacing about every 50,000 to 75,000 miles.

Not sure if frequent fluid changes would prevent this or not. Difficult for the home mechanic to keep moisture out of the system. And frequent fluid changes are bad for the environment, but so are replacing the whole cylinder assemblies--what's a body to do? Ride a bike whenever you can, I guess!

Best of luck.