1999 Model V-6 - Manual Shift. Sometimes the clutch pedal goes all the way down to the floor and I have to use my foot to prop it up before it lets me shift into gear. Sometimes its hard to shift into gear. After driving for a while and come to a stop sign and get into nuetral, it hard to shift back into gear. Do I need a new clutch? Before I get ripped off by garrage shops what specific parts do I need? Any ball park amount it will cost me.
Thanks.
sounds more like a problem with the hydraulic actuators (master or slave cylinder). Is the fluid at the appropriate level? Any leaking?
There is leak but not too much. I park at the same place in my garrage so that one spot is darkened and greasy. Are (master and or Slave) part of a clutch or not.
Part of the clutch mechanism. sometimes they are external (master usually is) sometimes internal (slave often is)
So is that the fix, do I just tell the shops that I need the master and slave replaced. Are there other things they will want me to replace.
You might try the cartalk mechanic finder to find one you can trust, then ask them to figure out what’s wrong and how much it’ll cost to fix. We’re guessing from here, they should be the ones to diagnose it.
Don’t tell them what you want done, in this case. Provide the symptoms and have them provide a diagnosis back to you.
Given the possible mileage and wear on the clutch altogether (you didn’t tell us that info), you may be looking at a complete clutch job as well as whatever it takes to fix the leak. It may be just as logical/economical to do the clutch and master cylinder repair, etc, rather than just fix what is broken, depending on how long this clutch has been in use on the car.
The car has more than 200,000 (two hundred thousand miles. I have absolutely no knowledge of cars and my fear is if I took it to the garrage, they will come up with all kinds of things that I may not even need.
If you have over 200,000 miles on the Camry you must know something about cars, instinctively. That’s why you should take it to a competent mechanic you can trust and describe the symptoms, just like visiting your doctor.
My sister, an accountant, has a similar car with high mileage as well. This is their third Toyota, and they have gotten excellent service form all of them.
Good luck.
There are a couple of ways to deal with this. One is to establish a relationship with a recommended independent mechanic. Once you both trust and understand each other, then the relationship can develop properly.
In the meantime, you don’t have to accept all the recommendations that may be made. If it is a long list, ask them to help prioritize what should be done now, for safety or other reaons, and ones that can be deferred, and if deferred, for about how long. You can also post the list of recommendations on forums like this, and many folks can help you determine what is truly needed for your car, and when.
Understand your concerns about being oversold services. However, if your Camry has 200K miles and a sketchy maintenance history, there may be along list of needed repairs.
Over the years, my wife and daughter have encountered some unscrupulous/inaccurate portrayals/up-sells for our vehicles, and their out was that they absolutely had to discuss the issues in person with me, first. That got them out of the shop, and they would come home with a list/recommendation set and I would evaluate that list, and then decide if/what would get fixed and when. When you use a new shop, it wouldn’t hurt to have an imaginary (or real) knowledgeable relative to need to discuss the repair issue with and not get pressured into quick decisions you might regret later.
If you can find a reputable shop that you like, then use them for your automotive needs to the maximum extent possible, so that you do develop a quality, trusting relationship with a good shop.
200,000 miles of life for a clutch is doing well. It does not really matter if your clutch is worn out now or is gone at 250,000 miles. If you get a new clutch now, it will likely be the first and last one that you buy for that car. As long as the clutch friction disk is replaced, you might as well get the slave cylinder too. If the master cylinder leaks too, that can be done later separately unless your mechanic says it is failing too. It is not important that that be combined with a clutch/slave cylinder repair.
FYI, I have replaced clutch friction disks and throwout bearings on several cars that I have owned and have never needed to replace a flywheel or pressure plate, both parts of the clutch.
Ask for the old parts to be inspected by your driveway mechanic nephew who is going next year to auto repair school.
Thank your lucky stars that you don’t need to replace an automatic transmission which could be also finished at this mileage. I don’t have a firm handle on costs but I will guess $1000 for the clutch and slave cylinder. If others can do better, please chime in but I will guess $2500 for an automatic transmission.
After I told one shop the issues I was having - Clutch Pedal droping to the floor and difficulty shifting gears, this is what he told me that needs to done.
(1)Clutch & Flywheel Replacement (with bolts, release bearing, pressure plate, clutch disc): (2) Hydraulic system (clutch master cyl and slave cyl, hydraulic fluic). Needless to say ofcourse the total cost for parts, and labor and taxes all come to about $1500. Do I need all these, can I get by doing 1 or 2 and not both. (thinking about cost of course)
Good chance you need all of it. At 200K miles, and the expectation to go another 100K miles or so, why skimp out? I watched a friend go back to a reputable shop three times because the shop did the work incrementally and it took the whole she-bang to get it right. Keep in mind the shop may not warranty their labor if you do less than what they recommend.
You REALLY got your money’s worth out of that 200k miles clutch and hydraulic system.
If you are really strapped for cash, you might want to deal first with the hydraulic system-the master and the slave cylinder. Change those first and see if that fixes your issue. My hunch is that it should, from the symptoms you’re describing.
$1500 out-the-door for the clutch system (new release bearing, pilot bearing, flywheel, clutch disk, pressure plate, master and slave cylinders) is quite reasonable.
If you get to the point when you do the clutch and they remove the tranny, make sure you also change the rear main engine oil seal. This should only add about $30-$40 to the total bill. If you won’t do it when the tranny is removed for the clutch job and the rear main seal starts leaking later on, you’ll have to waste another $500-600 on labor to get it done.
If you want to see how fair this $1500.00 job quote is, call your favorite(s) Toyota Dealer and get some quotes from them for all the parts above to get changed. Then you can see.
Good luck.