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Throwout bearing or belt squeak?


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My '01 Forester just started squealing when starting on a hill in 1st. goes away once it's run up into 5th. Sounds just like the belt squeal from turning the wheels lock to lock does sometimes. The belt is slightly worn, but not enough to make me do anything about it yet ( till now ). If I push the clutch in, it will fade away pretty quick just as once it's in 5th, it fades away quickly.. Could that be the throwout or is it just the belt slip?  Can I run it like that if it is the throwout?  I'm prepared to do a clutch. have the tools, have the cash just short on time since it's my only vehicle.. I was looking at Grip Force FX stage 1 clutches. An OEM Exedy flywheel, throwout and clutch is only $165, and their stock replacement clutch with the same stuff is $157.. I was thinking stage 1 since at some point, this cars gonna tow a boat that is just shy of 2,000 lbs fully loaded. Realistically it's about 1,800 with gear in it.

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Just a heads up on that GripForce package.  I bought that from GripForce last year.  They shipped a LUK flywheel instead of an Exedy.  I asked to return it and after many messages and calls they gave me the information to do that.  I returned the flywheel last June and to date have still not received a credit for it.  Grip Force has as many excuses for no refund as I have calls to them, about 15 or so.  Excuses range from they didn't get it (I have their signature for the package), to they can't refund because I didn't get an RMA.  Their rep on the phone said nothing about an RMA just gave me the address etc to return the flywheel.  Probably 5 or six times they said the refund would be processed that week, of course that never happened.

 

I am out the $80 or so for the flywheel.  I would be very careful dealing with Grip Force.  If there is a problem don't believe anything they say and get on your refund through different channels like PayPal or Ebay or your credit card company at the first hint of any problem.  You will get nothing but excuses  and being shined on from Grip Force.

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Well, I grabbed some belt dressing from the parts store as a test. I was able to duplicate the noise putting it in 2nd with the brake held and lugging the engine a bit. That was BEFORE... Now after the belt dressing, I can't hear the squeal, just the silence of a lubricated slipping belt.. So, I think I need a new belt. I could probably try some abrasive cleaning powder to save it, but a belt on a Subaru is pretty cheap and I might even have one from my other car..

 

Good to know about Gripforce.. If they send anything but an Exedy, it's false advertisement and Paypal/ Ebay would see it the buyers way every time. False advertisement can be considered fraud and thus is illegal.

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Belts are $15-25. I suggest a Goodyear Gatorback (pretty sure that's what I have) as they have cross-cut sections on the grooves, allowing for better grip on pulley surface. 

 

 

I installed a 130 amp alt from an ez36 Tribecca on my 95' Legacy with ej22, and rather than convert the entire assembly over to the wider Tribecca pulleys or even try and retrofit the thinner stock pulley onto the more powerful alternator, I left everything alone as the extra exposed groove on the pulley is just ignored. The overall offset of the Tribecca alt pulley was identical to the stock setup, just with an exposed ribbing in the pulley being unused. As you can imagine, running a slightly thinner belt on an accessory that really needs the larger belt can cause slippage. I didn't get any squeaking until pushing my audio system hard at night, which started exceeding the belt's ability to hold firmly, even with a new stock belt. I switched to the Goodyear with the cross-cut sections and surprisingly it's been holding up very nicely. Well worth a few extra dollars.

 

Also, as I've discovered with mine, belt being "tight" means absolutely nothing on these, especially if you have the thinner belts. My guess is your AC compressor and alternator are overpowering your stock belt's ability to not slip. If the belt is dry, has cracking when bending, or signs of glazing, it needs replaced.

 

With mine, I've had to ignore the recommended slack amount, and instead I turn everything ON (lights, heater, heated seat, defrost, A/C, and in my case turn radio up so all 3 amplifiers are making the alt work) then grab the the throttle cable bracket and slowly rev to around 3k for a couple seconds or whatever it takes to NOT allow the A/C to cut out, until no slippage occurs, then lock that adjustment in. With yours, I suspect a brand new good quality belt will solve the issue. When you are pressing the clutch in or going into neutral, your alt, A/C compressor, power steering pump, etc. are not placing the same strain on the belt, hence the slipping stops.

Edited by Bushwick
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I've bought many clutches from Gripforce and all of them have been good.

The Exedy clutch I bought from GripForce was as ordered and I used it.  It was fine. 

 

For all I know the LUK flywheel would have been fine.  It just wasn't the Exedy that I wanted and ordered and paid for.

 

The problem I had was GripForce shipping the wrong product and then refusing to refund me after I had returned that wrong product.

 

Lots of places to purchase Exedy products.  I personally have taken GripForce off my list as a place to do business with.  Any body with business practices like they have is not worth the hassle.

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