Scruit

So I got my car back. Cost me $1250. The tech had no solid reason for the failure except that the pressure plate "must have gone". The pressure plate show no signs of any kind of damage, just that it's old. The friction plate and throwout bearing were due to be replaced, but there was no explanation why why the clutch refused to disengage. I did notice that the new clutch is so damn light that when I first got in I thought the pedal wasn't even hooked up. The factory and first replacement clutches were both very heavy. This one is so light I'm having to get used to it like driving a different car. The concern about the clutch brand was a non-issue. Tech said that he though the old clutch should have been something other than Sachs, but when he got the new clutch from parts it was identical. So, at the end of the day, I have no clue what happened other than I did my next clutch swap about 5k miles sooner than I otherwise would have. Huh.

BTW, I got my clutch from an online subaru dealership 4 years ago (will name it if I can find which one) when I did the first clutch job. This Subaru tech today noted that I had a "inferior brand" and was "not happy with the clutch I put in there". The hub on the friction plate is labelled "Subaru" and "Sachs Germany". I made the call a long time ago that I'm keeping this car indefinitely so even though it's nearly 10 years old I use dealer parts on it. I though I was putting a Subaru clutch in there. Is Sachs not the OEM manufacturer? The clutch I put in at 65k was this: DescriptionUnit priceQtyAmountSubaru Legacy GT O.E.M. Clutch Kit Item# $285.00 USD1$285.00 USD Fred Beans Parts. 2009-11-29. I thought this was a Subaru clutch... is it not? Could this have been a NA clutch? I just searched for Sachs Germany clutch and found this: I'll be pissed if that is what has happened. I thought all the Legacy GT were turbo. It may be that I selected the wrong clutch 4 years ago and burned it up on an engine that was too powerful for it.

Interesting... Went over to the dealership to check out the car. They have it all put back together and have even had it out on a test drive. I requested the old parts back and when I got to the service bay I saw the parts were laid out ready for me to pick up tomorrow (car is not quite ready). There is nothing visibly wrong with the clutch... The friction plate appears to be about 75% of the way through it's service life (when I replaced the first one at ~65k miles the rivets on the pressure plate side were scraped clean - there is about 1mm material left above the rivet head on this one). No broken fingers, no broken springs. I'll try to get the final word from the tech tomorrow, but as it sits right now the old clutch appears to be serviceable - no clue why it wouldn't disengage. The TOB is intact although the bearings are showing the beginnings of Subaru TOB disease (rough bearings at 60-70k that will eventually lead to chirping then failure). The TOB, like the clutch, appears to be serviceable but close to end-of-life. The TOB had about 5k left on it, so the clutch job would have come due in the next 3 months for my volume of driving, so the clutch service was definitely needed. I have not seen the bill yet but I was not asked to approve a flywheel or any other components. Just confused right now as I have no current explanation for the failure-to-disengage.

Yeah, ISTR this clutch has the regular fingers that hook up to the TOB, and it has 4 springs. Anyone of those could have failed and jammed it up.

I bet it is wet dipped after every Taco Bell.

Yup. Looks likely. I wonder if the broken finger would be expected to make some kind of noise as it came loose near the spinning clutch or if it fortuitously has fallen to some safe place. After the clutch failed I limped about a mile off the freeway to my office. Never heard any noise.

The failure mode of "won't disengage" strikes me as more of a mechanical failure than an expected-end-of-service-life thing. So the fork moves normally, we can see that. The fork pushes the tob into the fingers of the pressure plate. Are the pressure plater fingers broken? Are they bent? Is the tob not being moved by the fork? Is the fork bent? No clue right now. A full clutch job should fix it but I have asked for an explanation of the failure, not just a fix. I wish the bellhousing had an inspection port on it. Oh well.

Dealer says the problem is inside the bellhousing, so I just authorized taking the trans out. While it is out I'll have them do the rear main seal. They suspect the clutch pressure plate or tob. I asked them to check the pedal height adjustment before pulling the trans.

The only other thing I can think of is the clutch pedal adjustment could have shifted. I set that 2 years ago. Hmmm

What could be wrong with the TOB? It is not creating noise (either rotational with or inline with pedal). The shift fork is moving. Can the TOB become disconnected from the shift fork?

Hah! I uploaded the wrong video. Corrected.

Car is a 2005 Subaru Legacy Gt 5MT AWD. Driving the other day I had a tough time getting the car out of gear for a 2-3 shift. From that point I couldn't engage any gears with the engine running. Engine off, I can select all gears and can hear them all click into place properly, so the trans is fine. There was no unusual noise associated with the failure. Had driven about 10 miles on the freeway and changed gears from 5-4-3-2 on the offramp, then after accelerating in 2nd switching up to 3 felt like clutchless shifting (when you mistime it and you feel a lot of drag on disengagement, bot not any kind of grinding or catching) Clutch pedal feels normal. Fluid level good. Not leaking. Slave cylinder moves the shift fork, and does not retract while the pedal is held down. Pumping the pedal quickly does not increase the travel of the slave cylinder. Last clutch and fluid replacement was about 2 years ago with genuine Subaru parts. If I start the engine with the trans in 1st and the clutch pedal to the floor the car lurches as if the clutch is not pressed (although the clutch interlock would normally prevents the lurch, because the pedal is being pressed the interlock is disengage) It is sitting at the dealership right now. Any ideas? I have considered (and rejected) the following: - No hydraulic fluid: Slave cylinder moves and fluid level is normal. No external leaks noted. - Air in hydraulic line: System has not been opened in 2 years. Air could only get through a hole, which would leak under pressure rather than absorb air. - Pressure plate/flywheel/clutch plates stuck: Maybe if the car had sat for a while, but it's my DD and was driving at the time of failure. - Master or slave cylinder piston seal failure: The slave cylinder moves when I press the clutch and does not retract until I release the pedal. I would expect a major piston seal failure to prevent the slave from moving at all, and a minor failure to see the piston retract slowly. - Clutch pedal height adjustment (under dash) came loose, moving biting point down bleow the carpet: This is my current prime suspect. None of my observations rule this out. I adjusted this about 2 years ago, it's possible the adjustment has wandered. The car is sitting at the subaru dealer waiting for them to take a look "early in the week". I will call in there in the morning and give them the above observations to help their tech, and to manually check the pedal height adjustment myself. I also want to make sure I catch on video that the trans currently select all gears normally while the engine is off - don't want someone to try to He-Man it into gear and snap a shift fork and blame that on me. Video of slave cylinder test (as of 21:50 ET on 1/12/2014 this video was still uploading, so won't be visible for about 30 mins)

Timing belt is like 500. If their offer of 105k service includes the timing belt then I'd take it.

He has a right to his opinion if he wants to express it. A&E has a right to broadcast, or not broadcast, who they want. You have a right to boycott A&E if you want. It's one big massive orgy of choices. I choose to not give a crap either way.

What do you base this on? Just curious.

35psi cold? What is the psi when the tires get hot. Freeway run in July?

Depends on what the max is. If no recommendation exists I'd start at 32 and go up/down from there until you find the sweet spot between the heavy steering / low mpg of underinflation versus the super-light steering / low traction of overinflation. And don't go above the tire max.

If it doesn't have a door sticker then go by whatever other method the manufacturer of the car uses to tell you.

I've had "professionals" inflate my tires to max (45psi!!!) and when I balked at that they told me "Nissan didn't make the tires, sir". "And Firestone didn't make the car!! Go by the door sticker!!"

My wife had PRK 5 years ago. Her first eye was undercorrected and they had to redo it, and they gave her an eyedrop antibiotic that she turned out to be allergic to (and they knew it/messed up). Apart from that, she loves the results. Wound up with 20/15 from 20/400. 5 years later, no change. Cost us about $1900 per eye. The redo on the first eye was free.

What happens when the credit card machine is not working and they want to use the manual roller device?

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/192068-obama-dog-knocks-over-toddler CNN is reporting that she was startled by the dog's docile approach, stepped back and tripped over the corner of the walker the boy on her left was using. FOX is reporting that Obama ordered his dog to maul the girl when he found out her parents didn't sign up for Obamacare. BBC is reporting that Nelson Mandela died.

redkow... Of course YOU know this, but for everyone else... "recklessness" does not require intent. It IS intent (for legal purposes) - Was she aware that she was putting people in danger yet continued doing what she was doing? That's all the mens rea I'd need to send her ass down the river as a juror. (At the very LEAST it's criminally negligent even if they convince the jury she was too wasted to know she was putting people in danger)

On the center stand in the corner of my workshop on a battery tender. Nothing special.

The key phrases are "No returns" (or similar) for simply-changing-your-mind returns, and "as-is" (or similar) for warranty returns. Return policies are totally voluntary and by default returns are not required to be offered - as such they can refuse the return with no recourse unless they have explicity offered returns (and not subsequently disclaimed them on the item-by-item basis) by a stated policy posted in the store, on the website or on the receipt/invoice. If they have placed the no-return wording anywhere on your receipt/invoice/box etc then it's yours forever. If it is a warranty return then they are still on the hook unless they put as-is on the receipt/invoice/box etc. By default all new items generally come with a stautory warranty and any additional warranty from the store or manufacturer. This too can be disclaimed with a statement of "as-is". There are some exceptions, such as used cars default to as-is unless a warranty is explicitly offered. I'd imagine any used item would be similar, but I'd have to read the law on that. So, is it marked as no-returns or as-is?