1st Subaru clutch job, any suggestions?

[TajMan]

Well tomorrow I will be starting work on my lil bro's car, his clutch went out on him. He has a '92 Legacy AWD Turbo. He's only had it for a few weeks he was really unlucky that the clutch went out on him that fast.

I've been told it shouldn't be crazy hard. I've dropped AWD DSM transmissions like 10+ times and thats a HORRIBLE tranny to drop. Do I need to unbolt motor mounts and jack the engine to rotate everything to make it easier?

Local auto parts stores really surprised me how much they wanted for a clutch. Like $350+ for every one! We found one online at www.thepartsbin.com for $180, said it would work for the AWD Turbo. We ordered it and just got it in the mail. Its made by Sachs. What do you think, good-bad? I'll definitely compare it closely to the old one when I remove it, hopefully I didn't get sent the wrong part.

[TajMan]

http://oem.thepartsbin.com/parts/thepar ... ll&dp=true

The one we got was the bottom one for $180. It says it fits multiple cars including the AWD Turbo. However the other one for $310 says Fit Note: Turbo under the description. I'm really worried we got the wrong one. Judging by autozone prices I'd say $310 is the one we need.

[greg donovan]

you may have gotten the wrong one. if not that is a very good deal. hard to tell on that site but it looks like it would work according to their site so who knows.

the SS clutch is a unusuall hydro clutch that is different from anything else subaru has offered.

nothing too hard.

if you have a engine houst and are confident pulling the engine that is the easiest way to do the clutch.

other wise you have to drop the exhaust and the driveshaft. it is a good idea to support the engine before you unbolt the tranny. you do not need to unbolt the motor mounts. you have to remove the starter.

it is a pretty easy clutch job. especially compared to a DSM.

[vrg3]

Yeah, I'm afraid that kit probably is the wrong one... No single clutch kit fits all those cars listed.

Since the fitments listed on the site are wrong, hopefully The Parts Bin will take responsibility for their error and not charge you for the return.

To open your options up some, you can also use clutch kits intended for a WRX; you just need to get a WRX flywheel to use with them. You can find a stock used WRX flywheel cheaply in NASIOC's private for-sale classifieds.

The clutch job is pretty easy. I agree with Greg that pulling the engine is probably a little easier than pulling the transmission.

If you have slender fingers, you can even do it without removing the engine -- just remove the radiator, unbolt the engine from its mounts and from the bellhousing, and move the engine away from the transmission. I did it that way once.

The unusual thing about turbo EJ-series Subaru clutches is that they're pull-type rather than push-type. The throwout bearing is in a housing that clips into the pressure plate, and the clutch fork pulls the throwout bearing away (towards the back of the car) to disengage the clutch.

So the fork just sits against the front side of the ears on the throwout bearing; there are no clips. You actually need to disegnage the fork from the throwout bearing in order to separate the engine and transmission; if you look at the diagrams (you've downloaded a copy of a manual page to help, right?) and think hard about it you can understand why. This will become clearer as you start to disassemble.

So, you'll need a 10mm allen socket to remove the plug holding the fork rod in. Then you thread a long M6 bolt into the rod and pull it out. The fork should kind of limply hang now, so you can wiggle it out of the throwout bearing.

When assembling, do not clip the throwout bearing to the pressure plate until the very end -- assemble it all with the throwout bearing sitting on the transmission's snout. Then, the transmission and engine are bolted together, you can push the top of the fork towards the rear of the car to clip the pressure plate in.

Bleeding the clutch can be a huge pain, so if possible I would try not to loosen any hydraulic fittings. Unbolt the slave cylinder and tie it up out of the way if possible.

[legacy92ej22t]

When assembling, do not clip the throwout bearing to the pressure plate until the very end -- assemble it all with the throwout bearing sitting on the transmission's snout. Then, the transmission and engine are bolted together, you can push the top of the fork towards the rear of the car to clip the pressure plate in.

+1, make sure you do it this way.

[TajMan]

So I can use a clutch kit made for like an '02 WRX if I also get the WRX flywheel?

thepartsbin has one of those for $209, I think I'd rather do that and buy a WRX flywheel rather than paying $310 for the '92 AWD Turbo clutch.

[TajMan]

And I don't have an engine hoist I'm dropping the tranny not pulling the engine.

[vrg3]

Yes, that's correct -- an 02 WRX clutch kit will work if you also get a WRX flywheel.

But I'd double-check that WRX kit... it sounds like it might be the same kind of listing error. If I'm looking at the same one you're looking at, it's also listed as fitting the non-turbo models.

[vrg3]

And it's possible to follow my suggestion of moving the engine without removing it fully without a hoist -- you can use a transmission jack (or maybe even a regular trolley jack) and a friend.

[professor]

>>>He's only had it for a few weeks he was really unlucky that the clutch went out on him that fast. <<<

and the previous owner is lucky he sold it just when he noticed the clutch starting to slip

[TajMan]

The clutch wasn't slipping when we purchased the car, and we purchased it from a close neighbor who is a really good guy. He actually only bought the car to take the 5-speed out of and do an auto-manual swap because he has another AWD turbo Legacy wagon, but we convinced him not to part out this car and to sell it to us.

[206er]

get the exedy stage 1 clutch off of ebay. Ive got it, its great. $160.
search subaru clutch. I think the seller was clutchmasters or something.

[TajMan]

Dang $160 thats a great deal. For the turbo model?

He needs one quick though so we already bought one at autozone for $280. It'll get here on thursday. We wouldn't have wanted to wait for eBay shipping.

And I'm using a Haynes manual if anyone was wondering.

[vrg3]

Much of this file's contents is relevant too, and of much higher quality than the third-party manuals:

http://www.driftquebec.com/legacy/1992_legacy.pdf

[TajMan]

I've run into one problem. I took out the 4 bolts that hold the driveshaft together in the middle, however they will still not seperate. I'm talking even with me banging on them with a hammer and screwdriver. Its like they're just corroded/rusted together, bad.

Don't you have to seperate the driveshaft there then pull off the front section to make room to drop the tranny?

[sandals]

just keep wiggling and jerking, it'll eventually come undone. i think when i did my engine swap i might have had to start it (ever so delicately) with a flat head screwdriver. once i had enough clearance, i put a small prybar in and moved it a little at a time on all sides. it was a mofo to take apart, that's for sure.

[legacy92ej22t]

When I did mine, we undid the driveshaft back at the rear diff. Then it just pulls out.

[206er]

yeah I took the pillow block(center bearing?) thing off of the body and it was way easy to just slide the slip yoke out of the trans.

[TajMan]

Yeah I got the driveshaft apart finally.

And I also finally figured out that the front driveshafts had pins you have to remove to get them out.

I have to remove the starter and then I think I'm ready for the tranny to come off. I get the clutch tomorrow so if everything went smoothly I could be done tomorrow.

I still don't really understand how the throw out bearing connects to the pressure plate fins and pulls instead of pushes. I suppose I will figure it out trying to drop the tranny then.

How many bolts between the engine and transmission?

[vrg3]

The throwout bearing snaps into the ring in the middle of the pressure plate. It will be clear once you remove the stock TOB/PP from your car (they'll come out as one assembly) and compare them to the unassembled parts in your new kit.

There are, if I remember correctly, two bolts and two nuts holding the engine and transmission together. The bolts are accessible from above (I think one of them is the upper starter bolt and the other one is in a symmetrical position) and the nuts from below.

[555BCTurbo]

I have a Spec WRX Flywheel and Pressure plate, and a Ceramic 6 puck Clutch, all of which work very well...

I would definately suggest doing the WRX Flywheel, because aftermarket WRX clutches are way easy to find, and usually cheaper.

[Legacy777]

This pic may help
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8 ... P_5949.JPG

Make sure you install the throw out bearing on the transmission snout and don't clip it into the pressure plate.

Also, I'm not sure if it was mentioned....I didn't read all the posts, but you need to pull that pin out to unhook the clutch fork from the throw out bearing.

[TajMan]

Ok I think I finally found where that 10mm allen bolt is that holds the rod in that the clutch fork pivots on. The problem is when I crank on that 10mm allen bolt, even with a pipe as an extension on my wrench, it doesn't budge.

Any ideas or should I just try harder? I feel like I'm gonna break something.

[vrg3]

It can be very hard to remove. On my car I slipped a 4-foot pipe over a wrench to break it loose, and even then had to pull very hard.

All I can say is make sure you've got a quality allen bit and that it's seated very securely. That will minimize the chances of the bolt head being damaged.

There is one other option for getting the transmission and engine apart -- you can reach in through the starter hole and undo the six (I think it's six) bolts holding the pressure plate to the flywheel. A u-joint extension will help. Once this is done, you can pull the transmission back and the fork will pull the throwout bearing and pressure plate with it.

After you have the transmission out, maybe you'll have better luck with the allen-head plug -- you'll be able to get a better angle, although you won't have the transmission bolted to the car for leverage. Or maybe you could separate the fork from its ball-and-socket joint instead of from its rod.

[TajMan]

That allen head plug is stuck in there really good, I can torque it to the point I start stripping and messing up the head. I'm not gonne be able to get it out OUT of the car either. Are you sure it doesn't have backwards threads or anything?

And it looks like I can't take off the pressure plate bolts through the starter hole unless I go buy an odly shaped wrench. Socket wrench with a U-joint and regular a regular wrench won't fit.