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I adjusted the pedal free play at the clevis on the clutch master cylinder, and it feels much better now. There's a 12mm locknut on the back of the clevis that needs to be loosened before you remove your clevis pin to begin your adjustment. I adjusted it until the clevis holes lined up with the pedal linkage: the pin should fit loosely in there when you have everything lined up.

I know you fellas have looked inside of the bell housings on many, many more Subarus than I. Grossgary, thanks for detailing your observations. I was wrong about this, there is some free play in the clutch fork. As Imdew mentioned, Subarus have standard t-o bearings that are not in constant contact with the spring fingers of the pressure plate. So when the clutch is engaged (clutch pedal is up), the clips hold the clutch fork and T-O bearing together. But these clips don't take that much load because the fork doesn' pull the t-o bearing back over the snout when the clutch pedal is released. Instead, it's the fingers pushing the t-o bearing and attached clutch fork back. I'm just wondering what prevents the front of the bearing from contacting the pressure plate when the clutch is engaged because there's no return spring on the clutch fork.

Ok, I was under the impression that on hydraulically actuated systems, the angular contact T-O bearings were in constant contact with the spring fingers of the pressure plate.

I know it's been the experience of seasoned veterans on this board that these clips fail. But I'm wondering if a failed throw-out bearing takes out these clips and not vice versa. I've been emailing with a fellow board member who brought up a really good point about these clips. There's really no free play in the clutch fork so the T-O bearing is pretty much always loaded, and this load of course, increases as the clutch pedal is depressed. The tabs on the back of the throw-out bearing wedge up against the sides of the clutch fork and would prevent the bearing from from spinning on the snout of the tranny. I'm wondering if the role of the clips may be to merely hold the bearing on the clutch fork during assembly.

Yes, check your ATF level. Low ATF would cause your tranny to heat up. If they actually drained your ATF as Porcupine mentioned, then you probably want to do at least a couple of drain and fills. The effect of an overfilled crankcase would be windage, the main rod splashing the oil around causing aeration of the oil. The oil can absorb a certain amount of air, and this dissolved air is harmless to your engine. But dissolved air can come out of solution with a drop in pressure or an increase in temperature: both situations occur inside your engine. As a rule, aeration decreases the oil's ability to cool your engine. Extreme cases of aeration such as yours can cause damage to components such as hydraulic lifters and catastrophic failure of the oil pump due to cavitation. It can also cause oil to blow out your seals due to the increase of pressure inside your engine.

Try the search function on this forum. Also google: "Subaru rear wheel bearing replacement+forum," or different permutations thereof. You'll find that it works quite well.

Interesting thread. Chicken or the egg? Well I would say that zero clearance caused the burned valve. In my experience adjusting valves on cars and motorcycles, mainly with screw type adjusters, intake valve clearances increase while exhaust valve clearances decrease over time. Accordingly, I always adjust my exhaust valves to the upper limit of of the specified range and intake valves to the lower limit.

Not a problem, Fairtax. Tom, you'll find that others on this board such as Davebugs are also very generous with knowledge and even their shop space if you're local. But back to your case. In general, I think mechanics are sometimes unfairly demonized. The general public often doesn't recognize the difference between good and shoddy work and are, therefore, sometimes unwilling to pay for the former. But for $1200, your daughter deserves thorough and careful work using quality parts. A clutch job is fairly straight forward, and this is true for Subarus, which makes this case easy to dispute: There is no gray area. Things like resealing the oil separator cover, replacing the throwout bearing clips, etc... are particular to Subarus, but everything about the clutch mechanism is the same as with others I've seen. As for Pinnacle, I would first try to be tactful. I would look at the invoice to see what they claimed to have done. I would ask them what they did and what parts they replaced and what parts they used. I would ask what they think is wrong to see if what they're saying makes any sense. Then I would want to test the clutch to see for myself what I think might be wrong and look around to see what else I might ask them to do while things are apart. Ultimately, though, I would tell them that they have the opportunity to fix the clutch, and that the $1200 they've already received should cover that. If they leave us no recourse, then we need a plan B -- where to take the car if they refuse? I could ask Don for quote on a Forester clutch job, and we could take your daughter's car to him, but hopefully it won't come to that. In my experience, mechanics will take advantage of those whom they perceive as most vulnerable: non-locals and women (whom they assume are less knowledgeable). One of the most frustrating cases was when my mother-in-law took in her Grand Cherokee to a place just outside of Traverse City, MI, where she spends her summers. While visiting up there last summer, I had removed the transfer case to replace the front input shaft seal. After a test drive, all was fine, but after I had already left, the car was slipping into part-time 4x4 mode while the shift lever was in RWD. All the car needed was a simple adjustment of the shift linkage. The shop told her that they'd need to remove and disassemble the transfer case, which could cost anywhere from $900 to $1500, depending on what they found. They were even nice enough to give her a ride home. I lost sleep that night, and called them early the next morning. I talked to a kid at the shop, who said the transfer case was already on the bench. I told him that there's absolutely nothing wrong with transfer case. When I had the owner on the phone later that day, the first thing he said was "You're right, we took the TC apart, and there was nothing wrong with it." I asked why he decided to remove it in the first place, because if it was working in 4WD, then everything inside is fine. I told him that I've overhauled one of these units, replacing every seal and bearing and that they don't fail unless they run dry, which is why I replaced that input seal in the first place. I asked that he adjust the shift linkage, which should not take more than 30 minutes and charge her no more than a full hour of shop time. She paid them $90, which I guess covered refilling the transfer case and the rides home from and back to the shop. At best, this place was incompetent and did unnecessary work and at worst, they shamelessly tried to take a older lady for a ride and then lied about it. But in retrospect, I regret coming on a little too strong with my East Coast "attitude," and I should have known my audience (a small town shop) a little better. I suppose I was a little angry, and my reputation was at stake.

If the shaking is not engine related, it sounds like your daughter is describing the symptoms of a slipping clutch. If that is indeed the case, then something went terribly wrong with the clutch job. They need to make this right at no charge to you but if they don't/won't, then you need to take it somewhere else. If you're forced to pursue this second option, make sure you document everything, with photos as well if possible. We are of the same mind, when I haven't been around to deal with our car issues, I've always uncovered mistakes or carelessness when a shop touches our cars. I have to take my daughter to some Halloween outings today and tomorrow but if you'd like, I could talk to the clowns at Pinnacle sometime next week on your behalf. I'm generally sympathetic toward shops because with all the overhead they have, a good mechanic is often undervalued in our economy. But they need to do good work and to stand behind it when something goes wrong. In this case, it's clearly not the customer's fault. If you need references for decent mechanics up in NYC, I can ask my friends up there who they use?

I hope you find a nice patch of sun... low 40s today. In any case, I resealed the separator plate with some Loctite 518 anerobic gasket maker. It's great stuff, and the first tube I bought was repackaged by Suzuki for their motorcycles -- higher heat and more vibration on motorcycle. It used to also be available at my local Autozone, but I had to ask them to look in their commercial catalog. No big deal on marking the original orientation of the flywheel on the crank, but if there's a paint mark on your new pressure plate, it should be lined up at least 120 degrees apart from the paint dot on the outer edge of your flywheel.

03:50 AM post ! You're a good father, and sorry to hear about your ordeal. If it's the same place, that shop is just a few blocks from my house. I do all my own work but for state inspections, I take it to Don's Auto Repair located a few blocks away from Pinnacle. Don is a very nice guy, and I like the way he runs his shop. He's just a few a couple of blocks up from the famous Cheese Steak joints in South Philly. Aside from the few particulars you want to do while you're in there, there's nothing really unique about Subaru clutches so any place should be able to get it right. For $1200, they should have installed a decent clutch kit, resurfaced the flywheel, and done all the particulars. But this far into the game, Pinnacle has an opportunity to make things right. If they don't/won't, then you may need to take it to another place to figure out what happened, and then take Pinnacle to small claims court. A fellow member of this board had to do this for a bogus rear wheel bearing job and received a full refund. Questions: How many miles are on the car? How did it fail? Is it slipping? Any noise? Is the pedal sticking to the floor? Could be a weak slave or master cylinder, in which case the shop is somewhat off the hook. The springs on my new Valeo pressure plate are also weaker than the OEM unit. Break-in won't make much of a difference as I think it's more an issue of getting used to the feel of the new pressure plate and developing muscle memory in the left foot. If it's actually slipping, then it could be anything: machining the flywheel and/or pressure plate out of specified range, defective pressure plate, loose pressure plate bolts, and as you've mentioned, installing the friction disc backwards, etc ... No way to know for sure unless to pull the engine and tranny apart again.

After further inspection, I decided that it was still good. The play I noticed is just some clearance between the circlip and the groove into which it seats. Otherwise, the joint felt tight. I rebooted it with new grease so it's ready to go when I need it. I have a rotation of 3 front half shafts. Rebooting is such a messy ordeal that having a third one ready to go makes replacement much more pleasant. Rotating them will also extend their service life. If you don't drive with a torn boot for too long, I'd guess that these NTN units should last the life of the car. I know some Porsche guys who regularly reboot, regrease, and rotate the rear half shafts every 2 o 3 years. For those interested, here's a little service history: - 6 years/90K miles: While my wife had the car in VT, an independent shop replaced the front right unit due to a torn inner boot. Knowing the varying quality of rebuilt units, I was a little upset that I wasn't around to salvage the original half shaft. - 7 years/107K miles: I rebooted an OEM unit I purchased on Ebay, and installed it on the front left side, again due to a torn inner boot. - 170K miles: The rebuilt front right unit installed at 90K miles hadn't torn open after 7 years/80K miles of service, but I'll say that it was certainly on the verge. Both boots showed cracking between the pleats, particularly the outer boot. Still, not bad for a rebuilt unit. I just rotated in the rebooted original unit that I had saved from the left side.

Thanks, John. I have an in-lb. torque wrench for checking the preload on the bearing, though I'll also mark the pinion with and the nut with a chisel beforehand.

I'd thrown in the towel after putting everything else back together. It was late into the night, and cold. Besides, it's pretty easy to drop the propeller shaft when I'm ready to get back into the ring with this thing. Round 1 goes to the pinion nut. The electric Dewalt impact wrench, which barely fit into the recess of the front member, didn't budge the nut. Maybe I'll try it it again at some point (with some ear protection!) but I think I'll need to crack it loose with a breaker bar. Without a lift, though, getting a long breaker bar on that nut will be a challenge because the front member restricts rotation between 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock.

That's a good suggestion Imdew. I have sections of some industrial shelving frames that should work, but this will have to wait. I zipped everything back up after replacing the clutch, ball joints, and the front right CV half shaft. There's too much flex in the rear driveline to do it by engaging the brakes.

Unless you're buying a low toxicity coolant, full strength coolant is >90% ethylene glycol. Diethylene glycol, corrosion inhibitors, and dyes comprise the rest of what's in a jug of coolant. Traditional glycol based coolants in the US used silicates and phosphates as anti-corrosion agents. But their use has either been drastically reduced or replaced altogether by organic acids. Premature water pump failure was one of the factors that led to this change. Perhaps this is why people are finding that the water pumps on 2.5 Subarus are more robust.

Unless you're going non-toxic, then it's all ethylene glycol. As already mentioned, it's the corrosion inhibitors that distinguish the different types (along with variously colored high tech dyes). I wouldn't use Dexcool, particularly in a Phase II 2.5 , for reasons mentioned by Porcupine. If it springs a leak, it'll suck in air as the engine cools and lead to the formation of sludge and, therefore, clogged coolant passages. They also have a reputation for dissolving certain types of plastics. From what I've read, the Japanese OAT extended life coolants are very good. Even Ford uses them in many of their newer vehicles. And they're all more or less the same: Toyota, Honda, Subaru, etc... If you go this route, buy whatever is least expensive in your market.

I've heard from others that lining the pins and tranny input shaft can be a real struggle, which is why I picked up a tranny scissor jack for the job. With a little beginner's luck, it went in on the first try for me. If you're down here in Philly at any point this week, you're welcome to borrow it. It also helps to raise the front end of the engine, which will cant forward while the tranny is out of the car. I put a bottle jack with a little block of wood under the left engine mount.

Yes, that sounds like a repair sleeve for the snout, which sometimes gets worn and grooved as you've already surmised. I, too, had a heck of a time separating the tranny from the engine. I very carefully tapped around the mating surfaces and it finally started to come loose with some wiggling -- jacking the tranny up and down, not unlike trying to free up a stuck drawer. Before reassembling, I cleaned up and smeared some antiseize on the mating surfaces and pins to hopefully make the next time a bit easier. It sounds like you're through with the hard part. Reassembly should go much more smoothly.

If you managed to get the old bolt out then, you can pick up a 2.5"-long 3/8" grade 8 bolt with matching nut and washers (2 flat and 1 lock washer). You'll use the nut in lieu of the threads on the rear side of the knuckle to pinch the new ball joint into place. A 7/16" bolt may work as well, but I'm not sure it'll clear the shoulders of the ball joint. The OEM bolt is 10 mm, and 3/8"~9.5mm, 7/16"~11.1mm. Then, off course, anti-seize on the bolt and ball joint socket before reassembling. I recently did both ball joints on my '99 Forester, and the right one came out with very little trouble. The driver's side was a different story. My bolt sheared off where it was threaded into the knuckle. I did them with the knuckle on the car. Are yours off the car? In hindsight, I should have searched around on USBM before starting this job. Here's some good advice from a fellow forum member: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=126528&highlight=ball+joints

1999 Forester, 170K miles I just installed a rebooted OEM halfshaft on the front right side. I'd like to reboot the one that came to have it ready when the other side goes again, but there's a little axial play in the outer joint. I don't think this is normal or is it?

I just finished up with my clutch the other night, and it was cold. I have just a couple of thoughts: My shift linkage bushings were disintegrated upon removal. I didn't feel like making the long drive out to the dealership but found this great thread from Imdew: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=114508&highlight=shift+linkage+bushing I found the bushings at the local Lowes and bored them out to fit the OEM shoulder bolt. Also, you might need exhaust manifold gaskets and the exhaust donut between the manifold and rear section of the exhaust. My local NAPA also had the spring bolt kit.

You know, I thought I'd have to run out and pick up a larger high tech PVC coupler for the rear main seal but had the filter socket laying around. Now here's another question/thought, are failure rates of rear main seals on cars equipped with manual transmissions higher due to the heat produced by the clutch? After removal, I could see that the old seal had hardened a bit as compared to the the new one.

Alright, I went ahead and replaced the seal while waiting for the machinist to resurface my flywheel, and I now understand why others recommend against replacing the bugger. It took me an eternity. I used a 93mm aluminum oil filter socket as my driver along with a small block of wood. I found that it was impossible to square the seal in there and that anytime it started to go in, the spring tension of the seal body would push it back out. I finally got it to go, and found it was helpful to get it 2/3 of the way into the opening by tapping around the circumference of the socket with a plastic hammer. Then tapping it flush with the block of wood, and lastly seating it properly with the socket. Almost seems having something to press the bearing into place, using the flywheel bolt holes, would make it much easier and more precise. I should have asked this beforehand but, GD, do you have any advice or tips to offer?

The snout at the front of the tranny was in great shape as were the input shaft splines. I hadn't intended to resurface the flywheel because run out didn't seem too, too bad but decided to heed GD's advice. I measured the thickness of the flywheel before: Tranny side to first lip on front side: 24.15 mm (.9516") and after: 23.92 mm (.9417") -- so they took off around .01", not a whole lot. The local NAPA charged me $65 for the work. I know very little about the specifics of machining, but I do know that resurfacing a flat flywheel is pretty simple. Nonetheless, I'm curious to know how their work looks from more seasoned forum members? Clutch judder is gone. The new Valeo (PHC) pressure plate looked to be of lower quality than the original which still looked and performed flawlessly. Pedal feel with the new one is much softer and spring tension doesn't feel as linear as the original. Who knows, maybe my left foot is just used to the old one. But I now wonder whether a higher tension pressure plate may contribute to clutch judder.