possible clutch gone bad?

[DevilGirl]

Update: Clutch was replaced ($1400 later between parts and labor... mostly labor). We had the TRD clutch kit installed...

WOW!!!! What a major difference in feel!! Hubby actually likes driving my car now compared to how the OEM clutch felt...

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by DevilGirl

Update: Clutch was replaced ($1400 later between parts and labor... mostly labor). We had the TRD clutch kit installed...

WOW!!!! What a major difference in feel!! Hubby actually likes driving my car now compared to how the OEM clutch felt...

Did you have an independent shop do it, or a Toyota dealer?

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Did you have an independent shop do it, or a Toyota dealer?

It was a Toyota dealer. We got quotes from both the dealer ($96/hr) and from an independent shop ($99/hr). So in this case the dealer was actually cheaper.

It was a 9-hour job due to having to drop the K-frame.

Originally Posted by cali yaris

I'm sorry I missed it too. $1400 sounds excessive for that job.
Did you also buy a new flywheel? Did they resurface yours?

TRD clutch kit assembly was actually cheaper than the OEM clutch as you would have had to buy the parts seperately for the OEM. The part was $347, ordered through the dealer.

They resurfaced the flywheel, which had to be sent out to a seperate machine shop ($100 for that).

So the breakdown is this:

clutch kit assemly - $347
flywheel resurface - $100
labor - ($96 x 9hrs) - $864

total - $1311 (add tax on top of that, total was a lil under $1400)


As for what made the clutch go bad, there were several factors:
- first car I've ever owned that's manual
- relearning to drive stick (originally learned on a '88 Wrangler about 3 years prior to buying this car, but not touching stick between the 2 occassions)
- over 92,000 miles
- vast majority of those miles from my commute
- my commute frequently involving driving in Philadelphia traffic in the afternoons (morning drive in would be fine, but afternoons were a bear)
- the route out of Philly involving a highway merge going up a hill with slow moving traffic


That being said, I have since adjusted my route out of Philly for the days that I drive all the way in to avoid that highway merge section. I know see more traffic lights, but I am usually able to time the lights so that I'm only slowing down rather than stopping at most of them. I'm also a lot better at driving stick than I was when I bought the car.


I think that covers just about all of the questions...

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by DevilGirl

It was a Toyota dealer. We got quotes from both the dealer ($96/hr) and from an independent shop ($99/hr). So in this case the dealer was actually cheaper.

It was a 9-hour job due to having to drop the K-frame.



TRD clutch kit assembly was actually cheaper than the OEM clutch as you would have had to buy the parts seperately for the OEM. The part was $347, ordered through the dealer.

They resurfaced the flywheel, which had to be sent out to a seperate machine shop ($100 for that).

So the breakdown is this:

clutch kit assemly - $347
flywheel resurface - $100
labor - ($96 x 9hrs) - $864

total - $1311 (add tax on top of that, total was a lil under $1400)


As for what made the clutch go bad, there were several factors:
- first car I've ever owned that's manual
- relearning to drive stick (originally learned on a '88 Wrangler about 3 years prior to buying this car, but not touching stick between the 2 occassions)
- over 92,000 miles
- vast majority of those miles from my commute
- my commute frequently involving driving in Philadelphia traffic in the afternoons (morning drive in would be fine, but afternoons were a bear)
- the route out of Philly involving a highway merge going up a hill with slow moving traffic


That being said, I have since adjusted my route out of Philly for the days that I drive all the way in to avoid that highway merge section. I know see more traffic lights, but I am usually able to time the lights so that I'm only slowing down rather than stopping at most of them. I'm also a lot better at driving stick than I was when I bought the car.


I think that covers just about all of the questions...

Thanks for the information . If the hill was steep enough, I would think the last reason you stated might have contributed the most to the demise of the ciutch.....unless you had a REALLY harsh 'readjustment to a manual' period of time.