A tale of a slowly dying clutch and taking too long to fix it. . .

[Gnuman]

My poor car. It has a bad case of the Shoe Maker's Kids (saying from somewhere in Europe: "The shoemaker's Kids go unshod") I have been spending so much time fixing everyone elses car that I do not get a chance to work on my own. Several months ago, the clutch started slipping. at first it was only when I really jumped on it, then it started slipping while going uphill (steep hills at first) with the cruise control on. When it broke completely free while going up a steep hill in cruise I knew it was time to replace the clutch disk. Before you get on me about really wanting to replace the whole thing, I'll be tearing into this car sometime in the next 40K miles, to reseal it (again) and replace the timing belt. I'll put an Outback clutch in at that time. The Legacy clutches just do not hold well with the ammount of power that my EJ22 puts out. So I'll be putting on in that is designed for an Ej25. That will hold quite well thank you very much. I got a cheap POS clutch disk from Autozone/Advance for $60 and knocked the glazing off of the flywheel and pressure plate during the operation. Start to finish took 6.5 hours, and included pulling the engine, replacing the rear main seal (was not in straight), replacing the oil seperator (old one was leaking, and I had one of the newest version handy), knocking the glazing off of the flywheel (sandpaper) and pressure plate, then putting the engine back in.

 

Well, let me tell you. that old clutch had been slipping so bad, and for so long that it took me a bit to get used to it actually grabbing again. Of course, My "little" EJ22 cannot break traction on 4 P215-60R14 tires (same diameter as stock but wider, for better traction on corners), but my passengers both said Ow F%#^#$ as thier heads snapped back when I dropped the clutch fast. . .

 

All is well now, with the exception of the rear struts being worn out, but that repair will have to wait until I have the cash for AGX struts all around. . .

[Legacy777]

Glad to hear you're giving the Legacy some attention now

 

Mines been getting more attention after sitting for a while.

[edrach]

Have you been paying attention to the clutch pedal adjustment? As the clutch disk wears out normally, the adjustment tightens up and eventually you have no pedal play at all. The effect is the same as "riding the clutch" and it will start to slip since it is not fully engaged. I've put off many a clutch jobs on various subes just by readjusting the clutch pedal play.

[Gnuman]

Before replacing the clutch? Yeah sure I did. That is what I thought it was at first, but it turned out that the oil separator was leaking and had splashed oil all over the clutch disk. This caused the disk to slip badly, but I did not have the time of money to replace it. I did get a new disk, but I still had no time to do the job. When it finally went the rest of the way, I adjusted the cable again to be sure it was loose enough to fully engage, then went on a job. . . That was not fun. I was nervous all the way home that I would not make it before the clutch was totally gone. I did make it, however, and canceled a job to be able to do the work on my car. Turns out that this clutch disk (well at least it seems to be) is thicker than the one that was matched to the pressure plate I have in my car. the disk starts to grab just the instant that I take my foot off the floor, and I have to rev up a bit to keep from stalling. I'm guessing that this will correct itself in the next few days/weeks, and I'll be OK until I replace the clutch kit at 300K. This POS disk only has to hold up for 35K miles. at 300K, I'll be resealing the engine (again. I try to do this every 100K miles to prevent leaks), replacing the timing belt, I'll probably replace the idlers at that time, if they are worn. If not, I'll likely inject some light grease into them to keep them lubed. Before then, however, I need to replace the struts (rears are badly worn, and I want to upgrade to AGX) and the tie-rods (boots on both sides are torn, and all that road grit is getting in there and munging up the inners. Outers also need to be replaced as the boots at the joint are also torn) and get an alignment.