subie-dubie Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 My 91 Legacy LS has an intermitant problem of the manual transmission not wanting to engage. The gears grind while the engine is running. The car sat for a week, and the problem went away only to happen again after about 40 min of driving. I went to see if a clutch cable adjustment would help the problem, and that is were my questions started. At the end of the clutch cable, there is another cable that actuates a valve, which is connected to the brake master cylinder. What the heck is this thing doing?? At first I thought that it was a hydraulic assist or something. Any advice would be helpful. I called the local Subaru place and they said that the cable and the valve I was talking about didn't exsist. Gee thanks. Russ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handtool Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I think your talking about the hill holder. You can disconnect it to adjust your clutch without any adverse affects other than losing the hill holder feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subie-dubie Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 I think your talking about the hill holder. You can disconnect it to adjust your clutch without any adverse affects other than losing the hill holder feature. Hill holder?? - not really usefull here in Houston So, if the hill holder (I see it in a schematic as the PHV, which activates the front left and rear right brakes) has nothing to do with the clutch, then I probably have a clutch that is going bad? I have adjusted the clutch cable to remove any slack but the problem is persisting. I just don't understand why it goes away if it sits for a while. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handtool Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Not usefull in Chicago either. What exactly is the clutch doing? With the clutch depressed you are still ginding into gear? Or is it slipping when you get on the gas giving you a stutter or lack of power? How many miles are on the clutch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Russ, Where in Houston are you? I'm in the galleria area, if you wanted we could try and meet up, and I can take a look at it. How does the clutch feel when the grinding happens? It sounds like the clutch just isn't engaging enough to get into gear. The way the clutch fork is designed, it's held in place by clips, and over time these clips can come undone, and the clutch fork is not capable of applying enough stroke to fully engage the clutch. BTW....which subaru dealer did you talk to......they're all pretty lousy in Houston IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subie-dubie Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 Russ, Where in Houston are you? I'm in the galleria area, if you wanted we could try and meet up, and I can take a look at it. How does the clutch feel when the grinding happens? It sounds like the clutch just isn't engaging enough to get into gear. The way the clutch fork is designed, it's held in place by clips, and over time these clips can come undone, and the clutch fork is not capable of applying enough stroke to fully engage the clutch. BTW....which subaru dealer did you talk to......they're all pretty lousy in Houston IMO. I really don't recall which one I talked to. It is off of 59s. I changed the clutch out at 90k miles, now it has almost 170k. Engine is fine, tranny is fine, AC blows cold, and I just changed the bushings on the shifter. The clutch engages and disengages just as it always has, but once it heats up, I think it is not fully disengaging the tranny. Even during the grinding, the clutch feel is normal. Possibly sounds like a worn clutch, but I have never had a car act this way before. In my experience, clutch problems start small and get worse over time, not appearing, then going away. The long and short of it is that the car needs new cv joints. I am willing to fix that, but if I have to install a new clutch, the parts alone are worth more than the car. My wife uses this car to go back and forth to work in to keep the miles off of the more expensive car, but we are at the point of decision here. If in fact it is an adjustment, I would rather keep the car. I would welcome the opportunity for you to look at it. I live in Pearland, but work next to the Galeria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Gillman south is on 59s. CV axles really aren't too bad to change, with air tools and everything going well, you can get them done in an hour or so. www.cvaxles.com is a good place to get axles. However a local parts store might be just as easy. I really don't know about the clutch, I'd have to see it/drive it to try and diagnose further. Shoot me a pm, and we can discuss when's a good time to try and meet up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subie-dubie Posted June 7, 2005 Author Share Posted June 7, 2005 Update: I spent the first part of the weekend degreasing the motor and washing the Legacy. Turns out, my Grey Legacy is actually white. Who knew? Josh came by to see if he could find the problem. After test drives, adjusting the clutch, and more test drives, both of us were at a loss. We were unable to duplicate the previous problems. (the test driving was fun though). Pushing the car flat out up to redline (on a 150k motor) resulted in no slipping at all. I drove the car to work through rush hour traffic and had no problems this morning. My thanks go out to Josh for his technical knowledge and his willingness to help a complete stranger out because he happened to own a legacy. It was nice to meet another "car guy" who is willing to help a Chevy hot rodder who knows little about Subaru's. Oh, and Josh's Subaru is very nice. Clean is an understatement. I will drive it all this week to try to duplicate the problem. As of now, I am shrugging my shoulders tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Well, it does sound like your clutch is not fully disengaging. How old is the clutch cable? If Josh and yourself couldn't find anything wrong with the adjustment, then maybe the cable itself is tired. Of course it could be something less obvious, like oil on the clutch plate. If the rear crank seal is leaking, this could leave a film on the flywheel that drags the clutch along, even with the pedal down. This might explain why leaving it standing reduces the problem? Maybe. Or, you need to replace the gearbox oil. Valvoline Synpower 75W-90 has recieved a lot of praise from a local Dane who rallies an Impreza Turbo. Might be worth looking into. Otherwise, Castrol Syntorq has been a favorite of mine for a while. I have recently switched to Shell SF5288, but it's probably too thin for Texan temperatures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 With how the car drives, I just can't see it being a clutch issue. With how it was driven, if it were a clutch issue, it would have slipped. Like Russ said, we're at a loss as to what the problem is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Just trying Standard procedure with grinding gears: Clutch adjustment Oil level/condition Linkage adjustment Bearing failure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subie-dubie Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 The clutch cable is orig equipment. I drove the car home last night, and back to work today with no problems at all. Keep in mind, that this is 15 miles of serious stop and go traffic. I will take it to have the gearbox fluid level checked at lunch today, but I just don't see how that could explain the problem. I am just running out of things to check short of tearing into the clutch. Back to you with what I find later. Russ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subie-dubie Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 Plenty of oil in the tranny. Now I guess I just drive it until it starts acting up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subie-dubie Posted June 10, 2005 Author Share Posted June 10, 2005 I have driven the car all week and have not had a problem. There is absolutly no play in the clutch and it is engaging at the most extended position of the pedal. I think that the clutch is just old, and by adjusting it last weekend, we probably added a little bit of time to its life, although I fear it won't last long. Is there any adjustment on the pedal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 I don't remember if there's any adjustment on the pedal or not, but you still had room to adjust it at the cable. Like I said, I wouldn't adjust it too much because you'll be putting pressure on clutch fork when the pedal is fully released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Clark Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 Yep, and pressure on the fork engages the throw out bearing. That's why it's optimum to have about a 1/2" play in the pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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