Creaking Clutch Pedal and more....long...

[SubaruLegacy2003]

2003 Legacy Wagon, SE 5sp. At around 14,000 miles it developed a creak when depressing the clutch pedal, brought it to the dealer for the 15,000 service, mentioned the creak and they ended up doing the following:

 

Manual Transaxle R&R (remove & replace?)

Flywheel Assembly R&R

Radial Ball Bearing Clu (#1 30502AA051)

CCH & Flywheel & Bolt S (#32098AA020)

 

This took care of the creak....for another 15,000 miles and it came back. Dropped it off last week for the 30,000 mile service, and they removed, lubed and adjusted the pedal itself....it didn't help. There is no creak when the car is cold, but once it warms up (doesn't take long) not only can I hear it, but I can feel it, there is some sort of friction thing going on. I am considering going to a different dealer's service department, but was going to give the place where I bought the car one more chance. Any thought as to what this can be, and if they "fixed" it the first time by taking the trans out and replacing all those parts, why it came back?

 

In addition, I find the trans to be a bit (how do I describe this?) "loose" when taking my foot off the gas while in gear, doesn't seem to matter which gear, or what RPM. It really feels to me like a busted motor or trans mount, but the dealer looked (they felt was I was describing during a test drive) and pronounced them ok. The thing is, when they took the car apart @ 15,000 I thought the issue had dissapeared along with the creak, and then the car got "loose" again in a few thousand miles. Do other with '03 and similar MT cars have the same loose feeling? Could the two issues be related?

 

Before you ask, I have driven a MT for 20 years, my previous vehicle was a '90 Accord, I got 186,000 miles on the first clutch and finally sold it with 226,000 on it to get the Subaru. I had planned on another 200,000 miles so I really would like to get the clutch thing worked out, other than that the car is really terrific....thanks all!

[subeman90]

this isn't going to help you much but I had the same thing in my 02 outback. I had the clutch replaced because it shuddered mostly but it still creaked too. Anyhow the problem didn't go away and it also had the looseness that you describe (I thought it made the car a little hard to drive smoothly in my opinion). In the end you are probly wondering what I did right???? I traded it. I didn't trade it because of the small issues but for other reasons. I know this isn't necessarly the help you wanted but I know what you are talking about and have been there too...so you are not alone.

 

Matt

[Setright]

Pedal creak. It's probably coming from where the throw-out bearing pushes on the clutch spring fingers. The solution is to disconnect the clutch linkage - after removing the air intake - and slide the throw-out bearing back a little. It is then possible to apply a small amount of high-temp grease on the fingers using a long paintbrush.

Possible, but difficult. You are trying to get a brush through a hole already crammed with a clutch release fork, flexible rubber seal, and at the same time get some light and a line-of-sight down there.

 

But it does cure the creak!

[SubaruLegacy2003]

I just got back from the dealership with new everything, clutch fork, throwout bearing, pressure plate, clutch disc, flywheel...did I miss anything? They found no apparent damage to any part so here's hoping they fixed it this time with the new clutch fork. The "loosness" that I described on my earlier post seems to be gone, the transition from acceleration to deceleration seems much smoother and tighter, much like after the 1st clutch replacement. The car is much more pleasant to drive this way, I think I can actually have passengers again without the threat of nausea setting in at any moment....I will let you know if the problem comes back.

 

Any thoughts from those of you in the know regarding what could be the root cause of the loose feeling during the transition from accel to decel? The transition now is as smooth as any manual I have ever driven, not the marked change (I want to call it a thump, but there is no real sound, just a sensation) before the replacement. Could something work it'self loose over time and miles?

[Setright]

Logically, it can hardly be clutch related. The shunt must stem from the engine and transmission mounts. They are probably just soft and goo-ey to stop noise entering the cabin.

 

Of course, excessive drivetrain slack could also cause the problem, but that would take an obscene amount of gear-wear to arrive so quickly.

 

Maybe the dealer lifts the engine out to replace the clutch and puts new engine mounts in? Some people have apparently had succes with stiffer engine mounts - STi parts.