Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

New clutch slipping


Recommended Posts

I had a new clutch installed on my 86 gl. It slips going up steep hills.I brought to my mechanic . He adjusted it. It still slips.He said I burned up the clutch. It has 500 miles on it. One thing I did was to disconnect the hill holder.I did not ride the clutch. Could a Subaru clutch glaze over in 500 mile even if I rode it all the time? Could the pressure plate be rebuilt and be defective. It sounds like he is going to try to get out of fixing it. The reason i got the new clutch was that the old one was slipping.

Any ideas on this one?

Thanks,

Abcus

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you disconnect the hill holder, you must put a spring on the clutch fork so it can return to its 'parked' position when the clutch is out. Without that return spring, its possible that there was enough constant pressure to damage the clutch over the course of 500 miles.

 

 

Thats the info I got when I did my 5 speed/no hillholder conversion..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

no that wont make a clutch wear out in 500 miles. I drove my car for 2 months with the hill holder disconnected, and the return spring disconnected.

 

The mechanic got oil on the pressure plate or the clutch disc. That would make it slip and burn up. Its his fault.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was the rear main seal replaced, along with the new clutch?

 

Did the mech. change the pressure plate or just the clutch disk?

 

Did he turn the Flywheel?

 

All of the above could be factor, of your problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks all for the help.

He replaced the engine seal. He machined the flywheel.He replaced the pressure plate.I do not know if the pressure plate he put in was rebuilt or new.

 

I read the fine print in the warranty and in says under no circumstances will slippage be covered by the warranty.The job was bid at $395 and cost $650 by the time he got thru with me.If the pressure plate was a bad rebuilt one maybe I could argue about that.

 

He claimed that the clutch for a 1800 cc engine cost more than a 1600 by $100. Is there any difference in the clutch between those two engines?

I called a parts house and they said no.

 

Is there any way I can find out if the pressure plate is defective without opening the bell housing again?

Thanks again,

Abcus

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yes there is a difference. the 1600 uses a 7 1/2 inch disc. EA81 uses 8 inch and EA82 uses something likea 8 1/2 or 9 inch disc.

 

A rebuilt kit for a EA81 is 135 bucks

A rebuilt kit for a EA82 is 185 bucks

 

That comes with pressure plate, clutch disc, alignment tool and pilot bearing.

 

I almost guarentee he got oil on the clutch disc. If he did everything he said he did, that'd be the only way it'd do that, unless the disc came from the factory like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some ea81s also use the 9 inch - '83 onward i think. I agree that he must have got oil on the clutch, you'd have to try pretty hard to burn out a clutch in 500 miles if it were good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the clutch properly adjusted? If the clutch is misadjusted it will slip, should have it readjusted by someone more knowledgible. I would get a return spring on the set-up and see if that helps, though it can cause pre-mature wearing of the clutch, it is totally unlikely that happened in 500 miles

 

Unless there is oil leaking from the crank seal, or front seal on the transmission, there is no way he got any oil on the new clutch.

 

You need to go back and ask him if you take it someplace else, and they find that he installed it incorrectly or the clutch disk is in new condition, is he going to rebate you the money you paid to him?

 

It is also a two stage flywheel meaning any machining done on the one surface has to be done on the other, otherwise, there will be no resistence and it will slip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also find out if he used thread sealant on the flywheel bolts. Without it oil can seep through the threads and get on the flywheel side of the clutch disc. The threaded holes go completely through the crank and are exposed to the oil from the crankcase.

 

There is also another possiblity. When turning the flywheel there are two specs for the 1800 for flywheel depth. OHC and OHV have two different specs and the difference will enable the new clutch to slip and to not be adjustable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also find out if he used thread sealant on the flywheel bolts. Without it oil can seep through the threads and get on the flywheel side of the clutch disc. The threaded holes go completely through the crank and are exposed to the oil from the crankcase.

Interesting - I did not know that - I'll remember it the next time I do my clutch

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you machine the surface the pressure plate bolts to more than the friction surface, will you get better grip? I'm having problems visualizing the "step" that the PP bolts to. Is it higher that the friction surface, or lower? Which way would you machine it to increase clamping force? And yes, I tried search.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you machine the surface the pressure plate bolts to more than the friction surface, will you get better grip? I'm having problems visualizing the "step" that the PP bolts to. Is it higher that the friction surface, or lower? Which way would you machine it to increase clamping force? And yes, I tried search.
The center of a ea82 flywheel where the clutch disk and Pressure plate gripping face sets, is recessed about 3/4" below the surface that the P/P bolts too the flywheel. The clutch is only going to grab as much as the springs in the P/P are rated for. Grinding the suface of the flywheel where the P/P bolts only, might give you a little more pressure, but it may make the clutch unable to release because of coil bind inside the P/P.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can heavier springs be installed in the pressure plate? Mabe I should wait until I take my tranny off the engine to figure out how it all works. My clutch knowledge is fuzzy at best. I know that there are fingers that the throwout bearing pushes in that compress the pressure plate springs, but I don't know what they pivot on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can heavier springs be installed in the pressure plate? Mabe I should wait until I take my tranny off the engine to figure out how it all works. My clutch knowledge is fuzzy at best. I know that there are fingers that the throwout bearing pushes in that compress the pressure plate springs, but I don't know what they pivot on.
That is not a real option. Your best bet is buying a HD or performence clutch set. From Ram clutch, Exedy, Act or another Man..
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is possible that they screwed up the machining and ground more off the center portion of the flywheel where the disk mates up than where the pressure plate bolts on. That could definitely result in slippage. Like Qman said, I would also ask if he used sealant on the flywheel bolts. If even a tiny amount of oil leaked past there, OR if he put too much grease on the input shaft, the disk could have gotten lubed up and started slipping.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am having a similar issue on my Brat... finally got back from vacation so I am finally gonna try to REALLY get it solved.

 

My money on both this car AND mine is that the flywheel is turned incorrectly. The part where the disk mates was probably turned down, but the outside (where the teeth and stuff are) probably was not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...