About to do Clutch. What should i know/do.

[Florin1]

Hello my well informed friends. I think the time has come that my car needs a clutch job. My clutch slips so bad lately, that i can be in 5th on the freeway and give it half throttle, and as soon as it starts boosting, my rpm's are like "see ya". I plan on doing it within the month. So i'm gonna start shopping around soon. My questions are for you well informed guys that have done this before. I want to know what all should i do when i do the job. (how many birds can i kill with one job). My first issue, not sure if its my rear main seal leaking, or what, but my car leaks oil like a sift. The underside is so oil gunked up that i can't tell where its coming from. Its nasty under there. Legacy777 has nothing on me! haha. Is it possible that my clutch is slipping so bad because motor oil has worked its way to the clutch disk?? Anyway, what do y'all recommend doing and what parts, links, or prices? Also, i noticed there is a lot of play/slop in the drivetrain when I'm in gear and let off the gas pedal. It seems to "bounce" back and forth a few times. Also, lately when i let off the gas in 2nd gear, it pops out of gear. Tranny going bad? Syncros? Anyway, I'm looking for some good info before i start. Thank you all in advance.

[94.GT.Wagon]

My two cents is to pull the engine, not the transmission to do the clutch job. I've pulled a couple of engines and also a couple of transmissions and pulling the engine is easier. My experience is with n/a, not turbo, but I'm guessing the turbo doesn't change the procedure too much. There will never be a better time to address your oil leaks than while the engine is out. I feel like this is obvious but don't just change the clutch disc, get pressure plate, throwout bearing, pilot bushing, and have the flywheel machined.

[kimokalihi]

Everyone I've talked to says don't machine flywheels, just replace them. The only time I've ever tried having one machined the machinist told me the cracks in it were too bad to machine out.

Definately replace your rear main seal, that may be what's leaking but it may also be coming from that plastic cover for the piston access hole. I can't remember how if it's sealed behind the cover but the plastic cover tends to crack over time. You can replace it with a metal one from the subaru dealer.

Just get an exedy oem turbo clutch kit off ebay. Don't forget the gasket for the turbo and use OEM.

[fishbone79]

There's nothing wrong with machining flywheels (as long as the cracks aren't too deep). If you drive correctly and don't beat on your car, you shouldn't have really deep cracks. I've had mine done 3 times now, in 300k and I've never had a problem. You obviously don't want to go overboard and take too much meat off, but the min. thickness tolerance is in the casting (on mine at least).

On my old work truck (which went through 5 junkyard trannys) we'd machine the flywheel every time the trans was out... why not? only costs $15 and makes an old clutch feel new (after some sandpaper, of course).

[Florin1]

so you say pull the engine huh? Hmmm never thought of that...

[log1call]

Dude... are you sure it's going to go for a month?

When they get to that stage they have a habit of giving up all of a sudden on some hillstart or something.

[Florin1]

we'll see. i have free towing trough my insurance. haha

[skatedees]

I just recently did a clutch on my n/a wagon, and I pulled my trans. It wasn't that bad, but if you don't have access to a lift and a trans jack, it can be a pain in the ass. Especially by yourself. I had none of those. It was an ass pain.

I've never pulled the engine, (I don't have the means to do so,) but the next clutch job I will make sure I have what I need. I don't want to pull the trans again. It does give you great access to your shifter assembly though which would be pain in the ass otherwise.

I also machined my flywheel and haven't had any problems.

Good luck.

[sqc151]

first off, why change the clutch if ur 2nd gear synchro is bad. best bet is find a replacement trans and do the clutch at the same time with an oem clutch. ive had several exedy oems and frankly i hate the way exedy shutters on low rpm take off. do urself and ur wallet a big favor. find a used trans install the clutch while its out. then install. might as well do the trans mounts to while ur at it. going this route will save u money and less down time for ur car.

just .02 cents.

[Florin1]

yeah but turbo tannys are hard to come by, and wrx trannys sell for like 700 and up.

[sqc151]

ur in washington, half this board is from that state. u shouldnt have a problem finding what u need.

[cj91legss]

you'd be suprised... ive been all over trying to find a 5 speed turbo tranny for weeks now

[sqc151]

that rough out there huh?

[cj91legss]

yeah...

[Florin1]

haha, yeah. I've been on NASIOC daily for the last few weeks. Sometimes like 3 times a day.

[Florin1]

So i checked online with amazon, and they have an exedy oem for our turbo leggys for like 150, and than i checked for the wrx's and they are like 170. I thought they were the same clutch. What gives? I noticed the clutch disc is 225mm for leggy, and 228mm for wrx. Is that the only difference? Is that worth an extra 20-30 bucks?

[cj91legss]

i think you can get them cheaper on ebay. alot cheaper. As far as difference between turbo legacy and wrx, yeah the wrx is a little bit bigger but when you get a wrx clutch i think you should get a matching flywheel and pressure plate.

[Aerotech]

Hot Tip: To remove the clutch fork axle, first take off the round Allen keyed cover plate on the drivers side of the bellhousing. Then insert a small metric threaded bolt (one of the 10mm should work), screw it into the axle, and pull out to remove the axle. You won't be able to separate the engine/tranny without doing this first, and it gave me fits until I figured out how to extract the axle with the bolt.

[Florin1]

^thank you on the "hot tip". Is that stage for pulling the tranny style swap or pulling the engine to do clutch? ANOTHER question i have, i read that the OEM clutch can only handle up to 220ft lb of torque? I want to make more power than that in the not to distant future. Do i need to get the way more expensive clutch?

[Aerotech]

Either one. You can't get the two apart without unhooking the clutch fork first.

You can use a stock friction disc, and get an upgraded pressure plate if you want to save some money there.

[Florin1]

Ok, so i just picked up a VF43 (td04 currently installed). I also have the 550sti installed, walbro 255, K&N, turbo back 3", MBC, Jecs (sitting waiting for revtronix) and 06 wrx top mount. Should i still get a stock exedy clutch? will it hold? I'm also looking into the ej20g heads/manny. Will it hold then? All i seem to find for clutch is either the exedy oem for $170 and next step up is exedy "race" for like $450. Anything in between?

[Aerotech]

Ebay Clutch

Something like this, then? $231 shipped, stage 2 F-1 brand

[Florin1]

Has anybody else tried this "f1" brand?

[skid542]

Tip : When you're putting everything back together and you go to push on the clutch lever to get the throw-out bearing to pop into the clutch disc - it can help tremendously to have the slave cylinder out of the way.

On a second note - most people agree that the stock Excedy WRX clutch/PP is good for around 300 ft-lbs.

[Florin1]

Hey guys. Its been a few weeks on this subject but here is where i stand. I bought the ksb03 exedy clutch off amazon.com, and i also picked up a rear main seal and turbo to dp gasket. (from the dealer). The car is going in my friends shop and i will be doing the service by myself on his hoist. woot. Anyway, today i scored this transmission from another friend. He just gave it to me. Its low mileage too, like 60K. In my other post ^ i mentioned 2nd gear syncro is going out because the car pops out of gear sometimes. The new trans code is "hd-ty754vcaaa". I done a little research and am led to believe this is the right ratio to match my rear diff. having said that, will this transmission hold up to my leggy? I drive "spirited" often. I don't powershift however. Should i put this bad boy in??