HELP!!! My clutch is BROKEN!!!!!
 

OK, back in November 0f 2009, I had the Dezod S1 Turbo kit installed along with the ACT Street Disc Clutch. This was about 20,000 miles ago as well. About a month ago, my pedal started getting stuck, then it would completely sink to the floor by itself upon depressing it VERY lightly. I took it to a Midas (probably a bad idea) and they replaced both cylinders first, but the next day, I noticed it started getting difficult to shift gears. Then when I was in 5th gear, it just popped back into neutral by itself....eventually, I wasn't able to shift at all. The pedal was fine though, no more sticking or sinking to the floor. I brought it back to Midas and I ordered another clutch (Heavy Duty Pressure Plate, SS Performance Disc) and when they took out the old clutch, everything looked fine...springs almost INTACT, minimal wear, however the pressure plate was STUCK....would not move for whatever reason. The guy was standing on it and it wouldn't budge, also I guess the TOB was bad (made noise shaking? I don't know TOO much on technicalities of the clutch system). So they put the new clutch in. When driving, the pedal felt a bit weird. First time I had the ACT clutch put in,, the pedal was stiff throughout the travel, now it felt soft for about half the travel (maybe a BIT less) then it felt stiff, and also I noticed about halfway I could feel some mechanical grinding/movement through the pedal? Just a little. The car also shuddered a bit when first leaving out of first gear and reverse. I figured the new clutch had to be broken in (like I said, not TOO knowledgeable on technicalities) but it drove fine.....for about a month. Every once and a while, the pedal stuck halfway back up and would pop up a second later....it got worse until it would stay at that halfway point...it wouldn't sink, but it would just stay. Also the disengagement point started to lower closer to the floor. It seemed also, the closer i got to the disengagement point, the stiffer the pedal got. Eventually, I COULD NOT shift, the disengagement point disappeared and I could not go into gear. I think it's also worth noting that when I got my car back, the clutch pedal made this ANNOYING squeak noise every time I depressed it. I know this is long, but I am fed up with this, and could use a second opinion guys.

it sounds like your midas guys may have not installed the both cyclinders correctly and bled the system OR did the proper pedal adjustment for the new clutch.

chances are they need to rebleed the clutch system to make sure there is no air in it, you should double check they used all OEM parts for the cyclinders and i would advise you to use an OEM toyota throw out bearing for this and not the act one.

when you FIRST were having problems that was just the clutch master cylinder going out on you OR the slave... there was no needed to put the new one in... just replace the 2 cylinders/bleed the system/ and call it a day. with stiffer pressure plates and constant pedal adjustments will wear out the clutch master cylinder or the slave.

if your new one is having problems chances are you need to again bleed the system fully and go under the clutch pedal to adjust the engagement point (the brass or silver rod connected to the clutchpedal needs to be turned or adjusted)... if u are still having shifting issues you might possibly needs a slave rod extender or push rod extender in the slave cylinder to help which can be purchased from speed source for like 20 bucks.... those are things u should try first before dishing out more money... even though midas SHOULD cover the repairs if they did not fix it the first place which IMO they probably did not. and midas should be the last place to take ur car to for a clutch job on a tc

^^aggreed^^ i have the same clutch,but me and my friends put it in,when putting in the new clutch,dont use the act bearing as stated above,cause ive herd they go out pretty quick witin like 20k miles or so,use the OEM one.Yes you have to ajust the engagement point,what kind of tranny fluid did you put back in,hope they didnt use the oem...the extender rod is only for the extemem pressure plate

Where do you think is a more reliable place to take it? I just want a mechanic who knows what he is looking for to identify the problem...also so you think it is probably a bleeding issue? When I was ATTEMPTING to adjust the rod from the master, I SWEAR it looked as if the rod wasn't traveling all the way through when I depressed the pedal....it looked like it started to go, but as soon as it got stiff, the rod looked like it was just bending up rather than pushing back into the cylinder o_O

from what you just said it looks like they installed it incorrectly. the rod should be going str8 through horizontally... and there should be no play on it what so ever. i think you need to check if they installed oem parts and not refurbished ones. i dont know where you live so i cant tell u where to go other than a dealer but thats going to cost you some cash. you might want to ask any friends or people you know with high performance cars who does the work on their car. or someone experienced with clutch installations on tc1's around your area.

Aright I'll get the OEM TOB, also I don't know what tranny fluid was put back in....why would it not be advisable to use the OEM fluid? And what fluid should i use? btw thanks for you guys' help...I'm in the process of trying to implement the BEST course of action here :?

every 30k miles/clutch swap.... new tranny fluid should be used.