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Replace 6MT clutch pedal bushings?

14K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  FJ-6MT 
#1 ·
Has anyone had to do this before? Apparently two of the bushings on the clutch pedal are pretty much destroyed, and the dealer's quoting $240 to install $8 worth of parts. I'm looking at the FSM and can easily see how if you follow those steps exactly, it's about 2 hours of labor.

However, I think I can see how it might be done without removing the clutch master cylinder if I used a C-clamp or something similar to hold the master cylinder piston in place while removing its bolt and bushing. I've never actually tried doing anything like this before, so I might be way off-base.
 
#2 ·
Never had to think about it. But, if this goes in my FJ.... I'm f'n done with this thing. LOL

Actually, the clutch bushing went in my mr2. Apparently a common problem. It was a major PITA to get to. It was plastic from factory and I replaced it with a metal bushing. No more squeek when depressing the pedal.

Is that your problem? Squeeky pedal?
 
#3 ·
Is that your problem? Squeeky pedal?
Precisely the problem. The FJ apparently has 3 different bushings in the clutch pedal assembly, and you have to break it all the way down to replace them. Since it's a hydraulic clutch, that involves draining the fluid like between the clutch master and slave cylinders, removing the master cylinder, changing the bushings, re-installing the master cylinder, and bleeding the lines.

Trying to figure out how to avoid all of that.
 
#4 ·
I haven't done them in the FJ, but I have done them in a 4runner. It was a PITA becuase of lack of space as mentioned above. I didn't do anything with the clutch master that I recall. I believe I just un did the clevis from the pedal. I haven't looked at how the FJ is set up though.:cheers:


Edit: Even if you have to unbolt the master from the fire wall you shouldn't have to drain it. The lines should give enough to get you the clearnce you need.
 
#6 ·
Hopefully you're right and they're the same. I was just going based off what the FSM said to do, which I'm sure isn't always the best way.

VT_RainMan said:
That doesn't sound right. The pedal isn't welded to the cylinder and the pivots are inside the cab. but, like I said.. I haven't really looked at it. Are they plastic/nylon bushings?

I used to hit mine with that stuff to make doors stop squeeking. It would cure it for awhile.
They're nylon bushings I believe. I've had both a dealer and a different repair shop look at it, and they both said that the bushings don't just need lube...they are actually cracked and falling apart.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to remove the panels to where I can actually reach the upper bushings on the pedal, and having a hell of a time with the damn instrument panel register (the vents). They're supposed to pull right off, but mine appears to be anchored with a near-inaccessible screw.

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...-no-1-instrument-panel-register-assembly.html
 
#5 ·
That doesn't sound right. The pedal isn't welded to the cylinder and the pivots are inside the cab. but, like I said.. I haven't really looked at it. Are they plastic/nylon bushings?

I used to hit mine with that stuff to make doors stop squeeking. It would cure it for awhile.
 
#7 ·
before I started a new thread, thought I'd try resurrecting this one... Has anyone replaced this yet? Creaky/Squeaky clutch pedal was driving me crazy...Took it to the dealer last week...they couldn't find what was wrong with it...so they slathered grease ALL over the whole clutch pedal assembly and called it a day. After taking a little closer look at it, I think what I need is listed as 31301P on this page: CLUTCH PEDAL & FLEXIBLE HOSE. Fits: FJ CRUISER | ToyotaPartsOverstock.com

After a cursory look, it doesn't seem all that hard to switch out. Just thought I'd see if anyone else had some insight. THANKS!
 
#8 ·
...After taking a little closer look at it, I think what I need is listed as 31301P on this page: CLUTCH PEDAL & FLEXIBLE HOSE. Fits: FJ CRUISER | ToyotaPartsOverstock.com

After a cursory look, it doesn't seem all that hard to switch out. Just thought I'd see if anyone else had some insight. THANKS!
That is precisely the bushing that was causing the squeak for me (I'm the OP that started this thread :]), and it wasn't hard to replace at all. Mine was so bad that the bushing fell apart in my hand when I pulled it out. You just have to be careful that you're putting the bushing on the other end of the spring (part 31353 on your diagram, I believe) back in correctly. I'd recommend taking a photo of its orientation before disassembly first, just to be sure. It wouldn't be a terrible idea to go ahead and replace that 31353 bushing while you're at it.

1. Remove the spring (31301R)
2. Remove the two bushings it was hooked into
3. Slather the new bushings with grease
4. Place bushing 31301P back in its channel on the pedal
5. Hook bushing 31353 back onto the spring in its original orientation
6. Work bushing 51353 (with spring attached) back into its channel the upper bracket
7. Work the spring back into the channel on bushing 31301P

It will help if you have someone else available to sit in the driver's seat and depress the clutch pedal for you to take load off the spring. Also, pro tip: move the driver's seat all the way back to give you more room to work. :)
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the help Sile! Seems easy enough. Ordered the parts and will let you know how it works out.
 
#10 ·
Reviving old thread, props to those who ventured a solution without removing the clutch pedal assembly. For me, 31301P bushing was totally shot and was clearly the source of the awful squeak. 31353 was in good shape for me at 140k miles but was only a couple of bucks so I replaced it at same time. I also had ordered the spring itself just in case it was implicated in the noise. Upon removing the old one, I don't think it was problematic and could be re-used.

I will add that Sile's write up is extremely helpful. I don't know that I'd call it "easy", getting the spring back in place was a pain but doable pretty quickly. I will add, I don't know how you would fit someone's foot/leg down there to depress the clutch pedal AND have room to work. I found a pretty easy way to use a c-clamp to hold the clutch pedal down against the floor stop, creating the same clearance and making spring reinsertion easier.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Unfortunately the 31301P bushing broke and squeezed itself out of place on my 2013 FJ. Now the clutch pedal creaks and isn't quite as smooth. I'm concerned that if I don't fix it, the groove in the pedal for the spring will wear badly as it is now metal on metal.

I'm going to order in a new 31301P and 31353 bushing and try to replace it as in the posts above. Does anyone have any suggestions that would be helpful in how to remove and how to reinstall the 31301R spring? Especially how to do it without removing either the pedal or the whole pedal assembly. This is a fairly strong spring. Do I need to make up some kind of hooked pry tool?

Thank you for any suggestions on this.
 

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#12 ·
OUCH!

On my old Camry, the whole clutch pedal assembly comes out with a few bolts, and then all the work could be on a workbench (super easy). Studying the instructions for our FJ pedal assembly, such ease is apparently not an option. To have to remove that big spring before removing the assy from the car, and having the master cylinder inside of the passenger compartment greatly adds to the difficulty level of this repair (mainly poor access).

Now I am crossing my fingers my bushings never wear out (the bushings in my 27 year old Camry daily driver, 200k miles, looked as good as new when I replaced them this year, here's hoping).

Norm
 
#13 ·
I just did this a few weeks ago, had the exact same situation, 31301P was shot and I'd had an awful groaning noise for a long time when pressing and releasing the clutch pedal. Like you, I wanted to replace the bushings without totally removing the clutch pedal assembly. I took a photo of the spring and bushings in place from a couple of angles before I pulled the spring out, so I'd have a reference when putting back together. I also found the exploded diagram from the link above to be very helpful reference.

While the spring is pretty stout, removing it wasn't terribly difficult, just grabbed it with a pair of pliers and was able to wrestle it out of the slot on the clutch pedal without too much difficulty. Getting it back in is another story. One thing I will recommend which I think was mentioned by others - it's easier to put the spring back while the clutch pedal is fully depressed. I see no way that you yourself, or a helper, could hold the clutch pedal down while you're trying to reinsert the spring, not enough room to work. Instead, I found it pretty easy to use a small c-clamp to hold the pedal down, there's a pretty natural place where the pedal and the pedal stop come together and the clamp can hold it in place while you work the spring back in.

As for getting the spring back in place, I was able to do it using a pair of needle-nose vise grips. Seat the top of the spring properly in the 31353 bushing (which for me wasn't badly worn - I replaced it anyway), then grab the other end of the spring near it's end with the vise grips, this is what you'll fight back into the slot where you've seated the new 31301P bushing. I had to mess around with where I grabbed the end of the spring and at what angle with the vise grips before I found the optimal leverage to fight it back into the slot. It was a pain in the butt, but the whole process probably only took 10 or 15 minutes, and totally worthwhile, the blissful silence of my clutch pedal now makes me wish I'd done this long ago. If it wears out again in a few years, it won't be so bad to do it again. Good luck.
 
#14 ·
Thank you for the suggestions. I'll be at the Toyota dealership on Monday to order in the bits. I'm hoping to be able to re and re the spring without removing the pedal. The top bolt for the pedal bracket

The FJ only has about 76000km on it (like 47000 miles). I'm a little annoyed that this part could fail so quickly. You would think that the pedal would have been tested in prototyping for millions of actuations and the failures analyzed and mitigated so the bushing failing would be extremely unlikely.
 
#16 ·
"You would think that the pedal would have been tested in prototyping for millions of actuations and the failures analyzed and mitigated so the bushing failing would be extremely unlikely."

I was thinking about that. Either it is exactly common structure with the other MT trucks like HiLux Surf, Land Cruiser, Tacoma, or it is totally unique due to the unusual FJ styling/packaging. Haven't had time to look into it, but my guess is the latter.

Everyone in the auto industry does a lot of testing, but other OEMs tend to have more field issues than Toyota. One difference at Toyota is how standardized the structures are, multiplying by many times the amount of experience gained with each one which helps reduce risk of failures in the field. Parts that have to be quite differently shaped due to unique styling raise the possibility that a common bushing gets loaded in a new way, and could lead to an unexpected issue.


Just curious: How many miles on the 5 FJs in this thread who have experienced a cracked bushing? Is this an extremely rare issue (5 so far) or are there more but only 5 have come to this forum to discuss it, between 2011 and 2019 (8 years).
 
#17 ·
To improve things until the bushing arrives, I put some white grease on the end of the spring where it engages in the (now bushingless) groove in the pedal arm. Almost all of the creak sound is gone for now.

This spring helps to make the clutch pedal have a nice feel and "throw" by changing the force profile through the motion.
 
#18 ·
So I decided to tackle this task today of replacing the pedal spring bushing. The full part number of the 31301P bushing is 90389-06055. The 31353 holder is 31353-26010. I decided to only replace the bushing. Toyota charged me $5.70ca for the part.

1. Set the parking brake. Chock at least one wheel. Move the driver's seat all the way back and down, put the steering wheel up to make a bit more room. Open both driver's side doors.

2. Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery. It is not strictly necessary for this job, but there is wiring in the area and if you slip with the pliers, there is a risk. Better to be safe.

3. Put on LED headlamp and fairly strong reading glasses since you will be close to what you are working on. Safety goggles might be a good idea since you will be working with a spring. If you lay on your back with your shoulders in the foot well, you can look straight up under the dash.

4. Use a small c-clamp to hold the clutch pedal down at the clutch start switch bracket. Not tight, just to clip the pedal down. Take a picture and note how the spring is installed.

5. Reach up with the 45 degree long nose pliers to grab the end of the spring near the pedal arm and gently pull the end of the spring out of the pedal groove.

6. Reach up and install the new bushing in the pedal groove.

7. Reinstall the spring. This make take a couple of attempts. It isn't easy but not too hard to do. I found it easiest to put the stationary end of the spring in the holder, then using the pliers, bring the end of the spring in from the far side of the pedal.

8. Put some white grease where the spring goes into the bushing groove.

9. Unclamp the pedal. Test the pedal feel and throw. Inspect that the spring is moving correctly as the pedal goes up and down.

10. Reconnect the battery. Set clock, set tone controls on radio. and recalibrate the compass. Restore seat and steering wheel position.

11. Enjoy a quiet clutch pedal.

12. Post the experience to this forum thread so that others may benefit in the future.
 

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#19 ·
I have been trying to figure out where this god awful noise was coming from for over a year! Never found a lasting solution or even a possible “could be this” answer until now. I can’t wait to get back from vacation and crawl up under the dash to see if this is my problem. Although I must say that I’ve always thought the creaky clutch pedal noise sounded like it was predominantly coming from the outside of my FJ, did y’all have the same perception? If not then I may have another issue.
 
#22 ·
Thanks for all the advice here guys. I would like to add that after a long, frustrating time trying to get the spring back in I took a "thinking moment" and was struck with inspiration. Grab a larger sized zip tie to compress the spring to the exact position you need it for reinsertion. Then once you easily place it back in slice it with a blade before you release the C-clamp. Went in instantly without any struggle!
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