Heavy clutch

[Andreas]

Hi,

I'm experiencing an unnecessary heavy clutch on my 2006 Prado. It's been like that since purchase, and this was the only thing Toyota mentioned after the pre-purchase inspection. Is there anything I can do myself to improve this, given that I have little mechanical experience and knowledge? Is it something that might be fixed by lubricating the wire / hinges / whatever or is it likely to sit deeper?

Cheers,
Andreas

 

[cir287]

the clutch on mine gets heavy when very dry, strangely when it gets a bit wet (large puddle, stream, etc) it lightens up lots.
Its hydraulic, so no cables, levers, etc.
Theres a pivot on the pedal but thats fine.
I havnt really checked at the box, whatever is causing the change is there.
I did read on Pradopoint a few years back about a fix for the clutch but cant remember if it was to lighten it or whatever. As far as I remember it was a swap out job when the clutch is replaced so no easy fix.

 

[clivehorridge]

I don't know the Prado, but some release bearings run on a sliding collar and they can dry out, leaving the pedal feeling stiff to operate.

Also with hydraulic cylinders, the master on the bulkhead and the slave on the bellhousing, the pistons can get sticky in the cylinders, or the rubbers can swell causing stiffness (ooh err missus!).

Can't really think of anything else...

 

[cir287]

on mine its intermittant dependant on wettness so its something around the fork & release bearing, its nothing that I'd be bothered doing anything with until I need to replace the clutch and that'll probably be a while yet.

 

[Crispin]

Mine used to give a "click" on the pedal half way through pressing it.
Was it heavy? It was heavier than the wife's 1.5 Nissan. After lots of traffic driving you could feel it in your leg