boscoe

I can't comment on the technicalities, but having laid down a lot of money on a 98 forester with a manual transmission problem, I can say that I wouldn't do it again on any car with any kind of transmission. Two major repairs, neither done correctly, both very expensive, and I'll probably scrap the vehicle when this one gives up in 5 or 10k miles. I wish I had sold it at the first sign of trouble.

Ok, so the bearing is not connected to the transmission shaft, it just slides on it loosely. That clears the concept up for me. The irking thing about this is that my clicking occurs when I'm driving also. In terms of the clutch parts, it's no different to be driving in gear than to be stopped at a light in neutral, AFAIK. But whenever people describe the classic t-o bearing symptom, they describe it while stopped and say 'it goes away when you're driving'. Mine kind of comes and goes while I'm driving, and of course it's less noticeable because of excess noise while I'm driving. Any thoughts on that symptom?

Let me see if I understand what your saying... When the pedal is down, the t-o bearing is pushed up against the fingers of the pressure plate (which are spinning with the flywheel), while the transmission shaft is presumably not rotating at all. So the outer race of the t-o bearing is spinning with the engine, and the inner race is sitting still with the transmission input shaft. Of course, if the bearing is shot, then the transmission might be spinning a little bit, which would make it hard to shift, right? When the pedal is up, and the trans in neutral, the transmission input shaft is spinning with the clutch, and so is the inner race of the t-o bearing. The outer race would sort of be left free to spin or not. What I don't understand is how the release fork is connected to the t.o. bearing, because it seems like both races will spin at one time or another.

You can dare, but sit down before you read further. The trans itself was 750 (had 64k on it). They also replaced the master and slave cylinder, and hydraulics, they also replaced the rear main seal on the engine (it was apparently leaking, and they seemed to think this was common for my engine) and they replaced some other plate on the back of the engine... Grand total was $1650. The reason they didn't replace the throwout bearing, was because they saw that the bearing and clutch were pretty new (I did have the clutch replaced at 90k, about a year and a half and 10k miles ago, by a different shop). I appreciate the fact that they weren't pushing unnecessary repairs on me, but it would have been nice if they had forseen the future and pushed that 30 dollars. The shop is eger suzuki and subaru in Norristown PA. Just a data point for anyone shopping for a mechanic in the area. All in all not a bad place, but I couldn't convince them to put in a new bearing for free... And while I'm creating data points, don't take your 98 forester manual to an Aamco for transmission work. That was a disaster, and was more expensive than this job. It only got me 10,000 further miles down the road.

This is where I get fuzzy on the details of how the whole assembly works. If it doesn't spin on the transmission shaft, why is it a bearing in the first place, and not just a loose collar around the shaft? :-\ I assumed that the outer race connects to the release lever, and the inner race was more or less tight on the transmission shaft. Obviously I've never pulled a transmission... can anyone clarify?

I just had a used manual transmission installed in my 98 forester. It seems to be running well, except the throwout bearing is chirping or clicking or whatever you want to call it. It does it in neutral, and goes away with just the faintest pressure on the clutch pedal. I'm pretty sure I've got the diagnosis straight, based on the mechanic's evaluation and past posts I've read here. The mechanic swears that this will have no effect on the longevity of surrounding parts, and just to leave it alone. Is this something that will prevent me from engaging or releasing the clutch at some point, when the bearing fails completely? It seems like it would damage the transmission shaft or tear the release lever to hell if the bearing really froze up. Also, would I be doing further damage by stepping on the clutch gently while at a stop light? All of my upbringing tells me: "don't step on the clutch while at a stop light, or you'll wear out the throwout bearing!" Thanks!

Thanks so much for the local knowledge. I'll have to give Al's a call and see what kind of shape those transmissions are in. Any idea how much one of those things weighs (should I bring a friend if I go pick it up myself)? I'll check out Deer lake. If it has anyone's stamp of approval, that's better than what I'm going on now. A two hour ride would be better than having the job botched-up, again. I was going to bring it to my independent, but I'm getting the feeling that you guys recommend having a subaru specialist do this...

Thanks for your response. Do you know any specifics on the updated clutch, or would any parts supplier supply the right thing when I (or my independent mechanic) ask for a clutch for a 98 forester? Also, when you say the clutch linkage, you're referring to the hydraulic clutch system, rather than the shift linkage, correct? I was not aware of the TSB. Thanks!

I have a '98 forester with 101k on it. This car was regretably my introduction to both subarus and manual transmissions... I suffered through the shuddering clutch syndrome from about 50k-90k, at which point I had my 1st and 2nd synchro's replaced by a bunch of circus clowns at aamco. 10,000 miles later, my synchro's are developing similar symptoms again (difficult to select 1st and 2nd in when cold, unless at a dead stop, and rattling in 2nd and 4th at certain rpm's under load). I am contemplating having a used transmission installed at this point, and I wondered if anyone would corroborate that, or suggest other courses of action (like selling this piece of junk!). If I were to pick up a used transmission, would I try to find one from a 98 forester, or is there another model that would be sturdier and less prone to shuddering in the future? Thanks!