Excessive wear on throw out bearing tube

[mtnman]

95 Legacy 220k I pulled the motor to do a major reseal, everything is leaking except the vc gaskets.......what's up with that!!

 

I have been experiencing noise (rattle) from the clutch release lever ever since I bought this car several years ago so thought I would see what was going on in there. Both the clips that hold the throwout bearing to the release lever were laying in the bottom of the bell housing. The tube that the release bearing slides on is worn excessively. There is about a 1/16th in. gap between where the bearing rides on the tube/extension housing and the inner part of the bearing. This part is not replaceable like on some transmissions. Has anyone ever run across this before, is this common on older subies? Any ideas on fixing, I was thinking maybe JB weld and some filing/sanding. It is functioning fine, never had any issues except the rattle from the release lever. As worn as everything is in there, I now know why. Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.

[lmdew]

I've seen this before, I smooth them out as much as possible and put a light coat of grease on the shaft.

 

Most of the rattle was most likely from the TOB and Fork not being held together with the spring pins.

[Bserk]

When I was shopping prices for the clutch parts on my 97 Impreza a month ago, our local parts store offered me 2 choices.... one kit came with a sleeve to fit over the worn tube, and (I assume) a oversized T/O bearing to slide on this new sleeve. I assumed then, that it must be a common problem, so I waited until I had my car apart before I decided on what clutch I was going for. My 'tube' was in perfect shape so i didnt need the repair kit, but this may be something to look into for you.

[Legacy777]

It's called the tranquil clutch sleeve kit. It's gotten pretty good results and has been around for a while.

 

You can get it from a couple different places, but here's two links

 

http://www.smart-service.com/store-tranquil-sleeve-kit.html

http://www.hotsubarus.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=435

[NOMAD327]

I used a sleeve kit on a ford a decade or so ago, problem initially is you have a steel bearing sliding on aluminum, at least on that application. The kit I had was greased oversize steel bearing on a steel sleeve, some I have seen use a plastic lined bearing on a steel sleeve. This is a good simple fix and shouldn't be too expensive if one is available for you. Mine is still running fine.