Can someone tell me if it is normal for a new clutch to require a new differential? Here's the situation: My son had his 1998 Subaru Legacy receive a new clutch. Within 10 miles, the front driver's side tire/wheel locked up. Now the shop is saying the car needs a new differential. After spending $1300 on a new clutch, they want more money for another repair. Is it possible that they somehow messed up the differential when the clutch was installed? Should they have been able to see that the differential was going out (supposedly....) when the new clutch was installed?

 

Thanks,

 

gabi_kansas

Was this a Subaru shop that did the work?

Did they remove the transmission, or the engine to replace the clutch?

Did they drain the transmission oil?

 

Differential problems can be difficult to identify, especially to a shop that might not be familiar with Subarus.

The shop doesn't specialize in Subarus, it is just a neighborhood shop but it had a good reputation. I don't believe they took the engine out to repalce the clutch. It is a stick-shift if that tells you more. There will be more questions asked tomorrow when we go talk to the shop to figure out what really happened. I will ask your questions. Anything else I should ask?

 

Many thanks,

gabi_kansas

$1300 is quite a bit high for just a clutch job. Did they do any other work while they had your Subaru?

Nothing other than a new clutch. And $1300 was after I used a $25 coupon I was able to find on the internet!

If they did not remove the engine, then they removed the transmission for access to the clutch and probably pulled the axle stubs out of the differential, which you're not supposed to do. I'd have to guess they damaged the differential in the process and are trying to hose you out of another $1500 - $2000

The clutch job should have only been around $900, maybe $1000 at a Subaru dealer, with dealer parts.

I'd have a serious talk with the owner/manager of that shop. Go get estimates from a few other shops showing their charge for a clutch replacement, and be sure to show them to the shop that did the work. Make some stern demands, and bring a nice "thank you" letter from your Lawyer into it if you have to.

Well, turns out it was the HILL HOLDER that was out of whack. Took nearly two weeks to finally diagnose the problem and it turns out my brother-in-law and boyfriend were the ones who did the legwork of researching to find this as a possibility.

 

We're done with this shop. Lesson learned...next time we will hit up a Subaru shop vs. a general neighborhood shop!

 

gabi_kansas

$1300 is not reasonable price for just the clutch. I think you should ask an assistance before having a decision.

Now, now Ken...people don't know and that's why they gravitate to places like here. Kansas is a newbie also. We all have learned by mistakes made.

 

We don't know how experienced with Subarus you are, Kansas, so please forgive me if any of this is common knowledge to you already. Many makes of cars have nuances that make servicing by experienced shops crucial. Subarus are one of those makes. There are idiosyncracies in the power train that are fairly unique to the make and even though many run of the mill mechanics can do work on them, certain procedures if not done absolutely correctly by the book, will result in problems developing after the repair is completed. It's entirely possible that your drive train issue is one of those unintended consequences. For all of the experience I have servicing vehicles myself, there are a few things I'm hesitant to do on my Subaru because of my lack of experience. This is one place where discretion is really the better part of valor.

umm... im trying to resist... but dang!

 

1300 for a clutch job?! the high end of that repair cost around here is like 500 dollars less than that and that is for genuine subaru parts too.

you should be getting at least half your money back. ive NEVER paid more than 500 bucks before i learned how to do it myself( and that was with a new caliper/ set of rotors.

 

hate to bash other peoples work but if I can find enough info to do something right online by myself there is no excuse for that shop borking your diff.

 

 

oh, to answer the OP's Q: no you should never need a diff as a result of a clutch in a stockish car.

 

 

RV

Well, turns out it was the HILL HOLDER that was out of whack. Took nearly two weeks to finally diagnose the problem and it turns out my brother-in-law and boyfriend were the ones who did the legwork of researching to find this as a possibility.

 

We're done with this shop. Lesson learned...next time we will hit up a Subaru shop vs. a general neighborhood shop!

 

gabi_kansas

 

So, they got it fixed? I always thought the hill holder worked the back brakes, but I suppose it can work at either end just the same. They must have just had the adjustment way out of whack to lock the brakes up.