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Outback Clutches


rmarshall234
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New guy here.....

 

Does anyone have a suggestion for a more robust clutch assembly for the Outback? This is our 3rd Outback and 5th clutch replacement in the past 15 years. It's always the Throw Out Bearing that goes first, and so the entire clutch assbly gets replaced and always with genuine subaru parts. It seems to me that the T.O. bearing just can't take the heat, which leads to early failure. The rubber boot for the release fork tends to get cooked and fails prematurely as well.

 

My wife and I are lifetime clutch/stick shift drivers and I'm a mechanic, so poor driving habits (such as riding the clutch) are possible but unlikely.

 

I replaced one of the clutches in the past and all the components showed signs of heat stress. My theory, is that everything is just a tad underbuilt, and can't handle that high heat environment. Ideas or suggestions? Thanks.

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On models with cable clutch without the hill holder there is supposed to be a return spring on the release fork to pull the TOB away from the pressure plate when the clutch pedal is released. Models with the hill holder do not have a spring as the hill holder does the same job when it is properly adjusted. Incorrect release cable adjustment will cause the TOB to drag.

 

Hydraulic clutch models should be similar. Lack of a return spring or incorrect hill holder adjustment can cause the TOB to drag.

 

Another thing that causes problems is resting your foot on the clutch pedal or keeping it depressed while sitting at stop lights.

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Thanks. All have been hydraulic clutches w/o the Hill Holder feature. I don't specifically recall if it has a return spring on the fork or not, but will be checking that when this clutch comes out next week. Maybe it needs a stronger spring.? If the TOB is allowed to spin at all times, that would certainly explain the early failures. Resting a foot on the pedal has been ruled out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just to follow up....the clutch got replaced by a local garage (ClutchWorks in Vista, CA and the service and price were great!) and as in past the T.O. bearing was toast. The rest of the components showed normal wear and tear. Friction material that had been thrown off from the disc seemed to collect at all the lubrication points and everything looked very "dry". The only provision to return the T.O. Fork (and therefore bearing) to nuetral is the Pressure Plate and the slave clylinder. Installed an aftermarket assembly (LUK) this time, so we'll see how it lasts.

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