Well, here's the story. My car is in dire need of a clutch, to the point where I can't even drive it. I called a few places around where I live, and they all said that it would be around $800. Dealer said $1300. Is this right? Would it be cheaper if I bought a clutch online and had them install it? I don't want to do it myself because I don't know anything about them. It just seems very expensive to me just for a clutch. Any feedback is appreciated, thanks!

doing it yourself will cost about 230 or so in parts, right from toyota.
depending on where you go, quotes to have it done will vary pretty wildly, as you have already seen.
toyota quoted me about 800 with parts and labor, and i have to say, after doing it myself, id NEVER pay to have one done again.

because most toyotas are indepently owned, their prices are all crazy, i always get quoted something different from 2 dealerships in my area.

just got to your local mechanic its not a fairly complicated process..
buy all of your own parts (ie advanced autoparts if you have it a full clutch set and fly wheel can be aroudn 150$) then your just left with labor costs

On my GT4, I got an uprated clutch for £285 and got it fitted for £220 so that is about $900???? and that is on a GT4 with a toyota book time of 16 hours!!!!!!!!!!! took the garage about a day including skimming the flywheel. Best bet would be to buy one yourself and see how much they would charge you to fit it.

HTH

Nathan

Find a Local shop willing todo it for labor, and you supply the parts. It cost me 120$ new clutch, 45$ resurface fly, and 180$ in labor.

DTE

That's what I was thinking now, is to buy the parts myself and pay for labor. I found a local shop that specializes in Toyota's, so I think I am going to take it there on Monday.

Now, I have a friend that can get me discounted prices on aftermarket parts. He said that a Clutchmaster Stage 3 full kit can run him at around $350, instead of the $530 that Clutchmaster wants. Should I get the stage 3, or just a stage 1? What about a new flywheel? Should I get one of those while I am at it? Thanks again everyone.

I have a question for the board since it relates to a clutch. I need to fix my clutch release bearing (or throw bearing I believe) as I think my problem lies with it. I want to do a swap in the next year and put a 3SGTE in my GT. What would you recommend I should do? Should I just get the release bearing fixed and then buy a new clutch setup for a 5SFE tranny and 3SGTE engine next year? Or should I buy a brand new aftermarket performance clutch now (if so what does everyone recommend) and then when I do the swap just worry about getting the flywheel resurfaced and getting a new plate that will mate the new engine?

I replaced my clutch last year and these guys had the best prices....

http://www.clutchcityonline.com/

take a look they even have performance clutches as well....

a stage 3 clutch on a relatively stock car will give very harsh engagement and make you much more likely to snap things. you want the clutch to slip just a little bit on a hard shift and not to bite instantly. that sudden harsh engagement will shock parts in the drivetrain and with sticky tires (even with a 7afe) you'll be stressing parts more than they should be stressed. something has to give a little, it sucks when its something like an axle.