Just bought a 2000 five speed this year and love the car but had a few questions:

 

When and why did Subaru get rid of the hill-holder clutchs?

 

This thing tacs very high when running interstate speeds. Will this hurt the longevity of the engine as opposed to an auto?

 

It has the clutch chatter problem as well(didn't find this forum until after I bought it) but doesn't do it when the mechanics have it. How much is a decent after market clutch and which one would be recommended?

 

It also has the steering line issues of the knocking when going over bumps when the steering wheel is turned. Evidently, this is not a safety problem but sure is annoying. Is this a fairly cheap replacement?

 

And last, is it worth all of the trouble to fix this crap or just sell it, get an automatic and deal with the lack of power(can't afford the six yet)?

On the legacy/ob's they did away with them in 2000 when the went to hydraulic clutches, I think they came back starting on 2003 forester's. (Do forester's have hydraulic clutches too?)

 

Mine pushes 3500 at 75mph, wish it had a 6th gear, but good power for passing. From what I've heard these motor's just love to rev and there won't be any problems. (I think the L's and auto's have different gearing and different diff's so the rev's are lower).

 

There is a replacement clutch kit that seems to help a bit, but I still get chatter now and again, I read that ACT kits are really good replacements.

 

 

Funny that you mention the steering thing, I just noticed that on mine, seems to only do it once in a while, I just assumed the steering had a lot of road feedback, is there a fix available?

This thing tacs very high when running interstate speeds. Will this hurt the longevity of the engine as opposed to an auto?

 

I have an MY03 XS Forester 5MT and it does 3,000rpm for 74.56mph or 120kph and that is 250rpm less the the MY01 Liberty RX 5MT I had before it.

 

The OB will cruise at that speed and RPM all day long and survive for years and miles. Just look after the mtce side of things as per the schedule. That rule of thumb applies to any vehicle anyway, whether it be a Porsche - BMW or a Miata.

my 97 has a hydraulic clutch. the hill holder was an option, but i am kinda glad it doesn't have it - one less thing to break...

Originally posted by tcforec

This thing tacs very high when running interstate speeds. Will this hurt the longevity of the engine as opposed to an auto?

thats a good thing, be glad you have nice short gearing. They took it away from the wrx and I miss it. I like the economy of the wrx 5th gear but I wish I had gears 1-4 that my RS had.

It has the clutch chatter problem as well(didn't find this forum until after I bought it) but doesn't do it when the mechanics have it. How much is a decent after market clutch and which one would be recommended?

imprezas have clutch shudder. all of em. at some time or another, it happens. it should go away when the clutch has warmed up but if it doesnt then you are reaching the end of your clutch's service life. that is to say, you could keep using the clutch for a while but it will shudder. exedy makes the best clutch. its expensive. you can get an sti clutch for less, I think, if you have an enterprising local dealer. its made by exedy, actually, but it's cheaper than the exedy brand aftermarket clutch, or so I've heard.