I am hoping for some positive news here.....

 

I have a 08 2.5i Impreza 5spd manual with 135K miles.  I bought the car used in 2010 and had to replace the clutch about a year ago (110K miles).  The replacement was done by a Suby dealer.  This was the first clutch I have ever replaced in any of my cars including previous VW (15+ years driving a manual).  In recent weeks, my fiance has been taking my car to work.  About a week ago, the yard at his job was a mud bog.  He said the car was stuck about up to the frame.  But he managed to get the car out (AHHHH  SERIOUSLY).  Earlier today he spent hours trying to get the car out of the snow/yard in PA.  When I went outside, the car smelled like a pile of tires smoldering.  A few hours later, I was going to go to the store and found out I couldn't.  The car shifts into all the gears easily.  But when in 1st or R and trying to drive, the wheels WON'T move.  The rpms don't act like a slipping clutch though. There are no odd sounds either. I am floored that the clutch may be bad.  I drove the car about 2 weeks ago for the day and the clutch seemed fine.  It wasn't spongy, no odd noise when shifting and it seemed to catch fine.  

 

I am hoping there is something else that could be wrong.  (PLEASE TELL ME THERE IS) But I don't expect this to be a cheap fix.  Would 2x of trying to drive a car out of being stuck cause the clutch to go in a week?  I would expect a diff to may be the problem.  But would that keep the wheels from engaging?

 

Any help or guidance is appreciated.  

Edited March 15, 20179 yr by jdulin

Can you shift it through the gears without putting the clutch in or with very light pedal pressure?

 

The smell sure sounds like it's clutch related.

 

GD

Edited March 15, 20179 yr by GeneralDisorder

Hello neighbor! Quite the storm yesterday.

 

Yes. Thrashing and abusing the clutch can kill it very quickly. Abuse such as "riding" the clutch, releasing the clutch at higher RPM and slamming it into the flywheel can kill a perfectly good or brand new clutch disc. I've seen them sheared apart from aggressive driving.

 

Clutch forks can bend, crack or snap.

 

There are several ways to destroy a clutch in a matter of minutes or all in one instant. Quite possible this happened if he was thrashing it.

 

If the clutch pedal and slave cylinder are moving properly and you're getting rpms but no movement and no wheels turning (If you're still in the snow/ice look and make sure none are moving) then it is clutch related.

 

If you're still in the snow, get all 4 wheels on something solid and start over.