Shifting/Clutch

Sometimes when putting the vehicle into first it’s almost impossible to get it to go into gear. Sometimes it’s super smooth. Also when putting into reverse we hear a loud clunk. That one is most of the time but sometimes it goes in smooth. I was doing some looking around at the pedals because I think I am going to have to replace my master cylinder and noticed that on the inside of the vehicle where the clutch master cylinder comes into the vehicle it’s leaking black fluid. Does that automatically mean my clutch master cylinder needs to be changed? Could this be the cause of it being difficult to shift because the clutch isn’t fully disengaging?

Yep!

The seal on the back of the master cylinder is leaking.

And if there’s a leaking seal on the master cylinder, the master cylinder can’t produce the proper hydraulic pressure to operate the clutch.

Tester

When you replace the master, replace the slave too. Otherwise you’ll be back here in a month with the same problem. When one fails, the other is almost certain to follow.

HA! I just came back to post that question. Okay. On it. Let’s hope this goes well haha. I am no mechanic but I am also no idiot. YouTube is a beautiful thing. Doesn’t seem that hard. Toughest part seems to be making sure you have the bleeding done right.

Actually parts. Parts are probably going to be the hardest part for me.

Okay, I give up, what kind of car is it?

Toyota Dolphin! 1977. I thought I posted that on the last thread. It’s actually a HiLux but they made a series of campers called toyota Dolphins. I just use it for bush work during the summer. Thanks for the help,

Luke, we cannot be expected to search through other threads to try to figure out what kind of car you’re talking about. Please, when you start a thread, tell us the year, make, model, and mileage of the car you’re referring to. Otherwise it becomes a guessing game.

I always liked those Dolphins. Toyota also used to sell cabs with chassis, to which one could mount various available beds, campers, and machinery. You could buy the chassis in various configurations, including long frames and dual rear wheels. The mounting of a bed, camper, or equipment was actually done by independent companies here in the U.S. that were (for the beds) under contract to Toyota. The import tariff laws used to consider the cab & chassis assemblies “parts” rather than vehicles and the taxes were far lower, so Toyota used to ship all their trucks without anything mounted on the frame rails and have them “finished” here in eth states. I had a '79 Toyota pickup and the bed was made and mounted in Long Beach. There was a label on the bed between the bed and the cab that gave all the bed maker information. Of course that was before Toyota started manufacturing in the U.S.

“Toyota Dolphin! 1977. I thought I posted that on the last thread”

Yes, you did–finally–reveal that detail in your other thread after somebody asked for details about the vehicle. But…do you really think that it is realistic to expect that the folks volunteering their time in this forum will memorize the make and model of each new person’s vehicle?

As “mountainbike” stated, each time that a question is posted, the OP needs to state the make, model, model year, and odometer mileage of the vehicle in question. Occasionally we might ask for further details (such as past maintenance), but the identity of the vehicle is something that needs to be posted each time that a question is asked.

If this truck is now in the “beater” stage. I’d just top off the fluid in the clutch master cylinder and see how long you go between top offs. At this point you might have to bleed the line. Air in the line will cause erratic clutch action as you describe. Once you get the air out the leak might not be that bad and you might get along fine just checking the fluid level and topping off as needed.

Clutch MC’s can be hard to replace b/c they are located right in that corner of the engine compartment. And often they share space with the brake master and brake power booster. Don’t be afraid to loosen stuff that is in the way to freeup space to work. You may find you needs some speciality tools as well b/c of the accessibility problem, crowsfeet, flare wrenches, etc. When I did this job on my Corolla I had to purchase a pair of long needle nose pliers with the end bent at a 90 degree angle.

Yes Luke…use the force!!!

Yosemite