Gnuman Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Overall, the trip went far better than I could have hoped for, but a few strange bits cropped up right at the end: When I idle with the clutch out (released) I get this ticking that I can feel all the way to the shifter. When I put the tranny in neutral, and engage the clutch, it all but goes away. That is the biggest one, the other is that my A/C seems to have some gunk in it that is reducing the efficiency of the A/C. I bled all of that out, and put new refigerant in, and it is better. what worried me is that the low side fitting (where you put new R134a in) was clogged so badly that I had to open the system and take a knife to open a hole so i could get new refrigerant in. . . One last: the A/C system seems to take a lot of currant from the charging system. close to 35amps, actually. with both rad fans going, and the heater fan as well, I guess there is a lot of draw, but that much? Oh, and the fans are on all the time too. . . after 1200 miles averaging close to 80MPH (set the cruise on 85), I think that is pretty good all in all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adnan Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Hi, I don't know if Subaru gearboxes have the same issue but typically, the clutch and gearbox are designed to function together in a certain way. All gearboxes have an inherent tendency to "flick" the input shaft or layshaft and this manifests itself as a ticking or clatter. If it's the mainshaft, you may feel it in the shifter. The solution to that is the spring-loaded clutch disc. Notice the fact that the center of the clutch disc is not directly coupled to the part that actually engages the flywheel; this isolation damps the flicking of the geartrain. It also, of course, allows for smoother torque transfer during take-up. On a BMW, with the M30 engine, they do this by using a dual-mass flywheel. Same idea, only much more expensive when it starts failing. What may be happening in your case is that the disc springs are weakened and therefore not damping as well as they should. One way to deal with that is to use a different gearbox fluid, such as Redline or the Porsche one, Swepco. That may be all it needs, quieting the flicking gears. Regards, Adnan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted August 10, 2005 Author Share Posted August 10, 2005 Adnan, I think you may have read that as the reverse of what I meant. when the clutch is driving the gearbox, the ticking goes away. when the clutch is not driving the gearbox it was there, this morning at least. I put the car up on jackstands this afternoon, and everything seems to be working well with the clutch engaged, so I'm not too worried about it. I did find some bad news, however: it seems that I must have hit a pothole pretty hard with low air pressure in the right front (which was on the back until I rotated the tires again today (it had been a while) and there is a small flat spot in one part of one of my alloy wheels. Does anyone know if there is a place that fixes that kind of thing? it is not real big, so it should be repairable easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Possibly a bad throw out bearing or pilot bearing? How old is the clutch? nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adnan Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Adnan, I think you may have read that as the reverse of what I meant. when the clutch is driving the gearbox, the ticking goes away. when the clutch is not driving the gearbox it was there, this morning at least. I put the car up on jackstands this afternoon, and everything seems to be working well with the clutch engaged, so I'm not too worried about it. I did find some bad news, however: it seems that I must have hit a pothole pretty hard with low air pressure in the right front (which was on the back until I rotated the tires again today (it had been a while) and there is a small flat spot in one part of one of my alloy wheels. Does anyone know if there is a place that fixes that kind of thing? it is not real big, so it should be repairable easily. Hi, Perhaps I did misread your post, sorry about that. I still need some clarification though; when you are in neutral, is your foot off the clutch pedal? If so, the input shaft is still rotating and can make noise. A throwout bearing should only make noise when the pedal is pushed in and a pilot bearing should make noise all the time. I doubt a pilot bearing will tick. Thanks, Adnan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Its kind of hard to tell from the posting .. I agree can you clairify it a bit. Does the clicking increase with engine speed? if it happens when the clutch is depressed does it increase when the engine is reved up while the clutch is dperessed, at the same rate as the engine? When the clutch is depressed, the pressure plate, bolted to the flywheel, keeps spinning. The clutch disc, which is on the input shaft of the transmission, captured between the flywheel and pressure plates spins to a stop. The only thing where there is a connection of anykind, is the pilot bearing. The input shaft of the transmission rests in the pilot bearing, which is in the center of the flywheel. This is not transmitting power, nut is used to keep everything in alignment. The throwout bearing presses against the fingers of the pressure plate. This is attached to the clutch fork. How old is the clutch. nipper nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted August 11, 2005 Author Share Posted August 11, 2005 Clutch is brand new (well 1200 miles on it. I replaced the clutch just before the trip) the ticking only happened this morning as I was dropping my daughter off at school. Ticking happens when the clutch is depressed, and follows engine speed. I drove later today, and did not experience the ticking that I felt this AM. I'll be driving it again tonight to get gas and will be looking for the ticking (trying to reproduce it). the tranny does not make any noise when the clutch is engaged, and it has smooth power in all gears. Even the speedo seems to be more accurate ( I tested it on my trip. first the odo by watching how closely the numbers on the odo matched the milage to whatever town I was approaching, then the speedo on cruise against time and distance. the odo is accurate, and the speedo matches closely to the average speed that I was going. Well within 3 or 4 MPH). I put the car up on jackstands this afternoon and discovered that the right front wheel is dragging just a bit, so I'll have to address that (probably just need to clean up any gunk I find in and around the caliper, which may be dragging a touch). Does anyone know if it is a common repair to pull out a flat spot on an alloy wheel? It is only a minor one, so it should be easily repairable. Oh, does anyone know if the Potenzas (re92) will work with a five tire rotation? From the tread pattern, I suspect that they are directional, and will not work. I need a good set of tires that will work well with a 5 tire rotation pattern, as I'm being sent an alloy wheel for the spare, and will need 5 new tires, and to rotate them with the spare in the mix. If the Potenzas will work for this, I'll go with them, unless there is a better all around all-season tire available at about the same value? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 I had a freind that made a living by repairing alloy wheels. Talk to a tire store, or a high end dealership, they may be able to refer you to somone. I dont know if your tires are directional, they would have an arrow of somekind in the sidewall if they were directional (at least my goodyear aquatreads did). I am sort of stumped on the clicking without having the car in front of me. These things usually do one of two things, either go away or get worse. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted August 11, 2005 Author Share Posted August 11, 2005 I had a freind that made a living by repairing alloy wheels. Talk to a tire store, or a high end dealership, they may be able to refer you to somone. I dont know if your tires are directional, they would have an arrow of somekind in the sidewall if they were directional (at least my goodyear aquatreads did). I am sort of stumped on the clicking without having the car in front of me. These things usually do one of two things, either go away or get worse. nipper Thanks, that sets my mind at ease concerning the wheel at least. On the ticking, I was able to reproduce it, and it does get less when the clutch is engaged, but it is still there. It very much follows engine speed, and with the clutch engaged, is very dificult to detect over the normal vibration of acceleration. With the clutch pedal depressed, and the tranny in gear, it is the most noticable, but it is still there with the tranny in neutral. when the clutch is engaged in neutral, however, the ticking all but goes away. . . It is strange, and I will be looking at a few things tomorrow to see if it is something obvious, like a loose exaust manifold or somesuch. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 No Problem gald i could help. On the clicking, in Neutral, if you slowly press in the clutch pedal, does it change pitch. Can you feel the clicking in the clutch pedal? nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted November 5, 2005 Author Share Posted November 5, 2005 OK, I'm bumping this with a recap and as clear a description as I can give: I get ticking (sounds liek one tick per rev) when the clutch is not engaged (meaning that I have my foot pressing the clutch pedal). when I allow the clutch to engage, the ticking all but goes away, to be replaced by the squealing of the release berring. This is starting to piss me off, as I have put two clutches in this car (granted, they were both DuraLast because I did not have large wads of cash laying about when I needed them), and this one seems to have failed in the first 12K miles. well, I guess I'll have to live with it until I do the engine teardown at 200K (23K from now) and check everything out. When I put this clutch in, I found out that the flywheel had been cracked (small cracking radialy in the mating surface) for an unknown time. I replaced the flywheel with one that I had had resurfaced for the occasion and was known good. If I find that this fluwheel is likewise cracked, I will have to strangle someone. . . Probably an engineer at femco. . Oh, and an update on the A/C as well: the compressor siezed up on a road trip this weekend as I was defrosting the windshield. . . DOes anyone know if these can be rebuilt? Where? or how do I get parts/documantation? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 everything that i have read is that subaru flywheels do not like being resurfaced. Seems they are pretty light already, and resurfacing makes them thinner, and prone to warping or over heating. Also there are some parts of the car you dont skimp on (read anything buried). I would also check all the shaft seals to make sure no grease is leaking on any surfaces. Also replace the clips that hold the throw out bearing in, and also replace the pilot bearing.AC compressor get it from a junker, as they tend to be very expensive (as a part goes, not just subaru), and have the entire ac system checked for leaks. It rare to hear a subaru ac compressor let go, so i would have alot of faith in a junker unit. Now if it was a GM i would say get a rebuild. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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