Replacing clutch in 98 Corolla this weekend

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NilsonCain

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So my clutch has bitten the dust after 200,000 miles. Last week it started squealing unless the pedal was pressed in. A few days ago this behavior reversed so that it only squealed when the pedal was pressed in.

Now it's gotten to where the clutch isn't fully disengaging and the car dies with the clutch depressed and coming to a stop.

I know the clutch job is a pain, but I've got a mechanic friend and I'm pretty good with this type of stuff myself. I should have all the tools I'll need to do it.

Here's what I've got on my list to buy... can you think of anything I'm missing?
FhPys.png
 
A noise that goes away when the clutch is pressed could be a bad input shaft bearing. at that mileage, you may want to look at replacing other worn internal transmission parts while you have it out.

If the clutch isn't releasing, you may want to try bleeding it first just for kicks, but it sounds like you may have some bigger problems than just hydraulics.

Also make sure that you are using the correct manual transmission fluid. You may want more of a manual transmission fluid rather than the gear oil shown in your post.
 
Thanks for the tips. This transmission does spec 75w90 gear oil; I'll likely just grab some synthetic 75w90 at the parts store.

I replaced gear oil just over a month ago but I don't know if it will come out when I do the clutch, and I also would like to get fresh fluid in there because of the [censored] I've put on the syncros and such forcefully shifting it.
 
Why do the hydraulics? If those are okay, I'd leave them be until they fail.

The local big-name parts stores around me don't have synthetic 75w-90 gear oil in stock. It'll need to be ordered in, at least by me.
 
Get moly paste/grease for the sliding surfaces, pivots, and slave cyl rod. Make sure the Pilot Bearing is greased

Also,get brake fluid and bleed the system
 
The reason for replacing the hydraulics is they are pretty cheap and the car has 200,000 miles. I generally like to err on the side of caution and replace all related components when I can afford to do so.

I'm going to try a good flush/bleed on the hydraulics today to see if I can get it working well enough to wait another two weeks to buy the clutch -- really need to buy a plane ticket this weekend instead of a clutch.

Thanks for all the tips so far folks.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Why do the hydraulics? If those are okay, I'd leave them be until they fail.

The local big-name parts stores around me don't have synthetic 75w-90 gear oil in stock. It'll need to be ordered in, at least by me.


Especially since I believe the hydraulics are serviceable without dropping the trans-axle.

If the slave cylinder can be swapped without pulling the trans-axle, you could postpone any service on the hydraulics until it was needed.
 
I'll take that advice and wait on Hydraulics then. I'm going to do a good flush/bleed today and see if there is any improvement.
 
If you have a small separate clutch fluid reservoir be careful not to let it run dry. I have a car with a small reservoir that has the outlet hole on the side so even with a little fluid in the reservoir you will be below the hole and get air in the system.

If bleeding by the pedal I'd prefer to have a third person around to keep the reservoir topped off.
 
I've been unsuccessful in finding instructions on how to flush the clutch fluid from this vehicle... Any help here? The [censored] that is in there is [censored] near black.
 
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There should be a bleeder screw on the slave cylinder.

IIRC when I did a clutch job on my old car, I pinched off the line until I was done with the job, then bled as usual.
 
Correct there is a bleeder screw on the slave cylinder, but will I really just have to pump and hold, unscrew, repeat ad infinitum?

Seems it will take 5 forevers to swap out the fluid...
 
I'd be leery of putting a Chinese flywheel in place of your high-quality Toyota one. Same with the clutch... and the bearings. If it were me, I would shop for a Daikin or Aisin clutch kit and have a machine shop resurface the flywheel. Or find a used OEM flywheel and have it surfaced and ready to go.

I've done a clutch on a 95 Corolla, its really not that hard, but it is time-consuming. You should be able to unbolt the slave cylinder and just move it out of the way, no need to mess with the hydraulic system at all.

If you want to flush the system, do the pump/hold/unscrew process with the master reservoir topped up. You'll be totally flushed after about 10 repeats.

You might even look into adjusting the master piston pushrod on the clutch pedal in case that is causing the engagement problems.
 
No, there are all sorts of ways to bleed it.
You can also pressure bleed, gravity bleed, or vacuum bleed.
I like the Mity vac type of bleed. Insanely simple and clean.
 
Well we got the hydraulics bled with new fluid today, but the clutch bearings are apparently toast... Squeals really bad when pedal is depressed and I held it down for a while and smoke started coming out... so I assume the bearing(s) are fried and that being the main cause of it not disengaging.

Still wasn't able to shift into gear with clutch pressed in. Looks like I'll be purchasing parts Friday. Can someone point me to a good source of quality replacement parts? Thanks.
 
They sell a Beck/Arnley clutch kit with release bearing, pilot bushing, and the clutch components for $260 at Advance; about $210 after coupons...

Would that be the best choice?
 
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