Got a '97 Outback wagon with the Stage I EJ25 and a 5-speed. Got it with 33k miles, since about 40k has had a bad chirp from the clutch release bearing when my foot is off the clutch pedal (PO must have been a pedal rider). Hasn't gotten much worse, so I've just figured I'd wait until the clutch burned out and replace everything at once. Well...2 years and 26k miles later, still driving, still waiting, and that clutch is still mostly solid.

 

I have tried to beat it up a little bit, but I am so used to driving clutch-friendly that I usually forget and go real easy on it like usual. It has started to chatter some on cold mornings, and if I bang off hard, super-fast shifts like I'm driving the Formula 1, it doesn't engage as fiercely as it used to (kind of like a smooth automatic upshift, slurs a little bit), but once it is in gear, no slippage at all. No idea how it was treated by the PO. How long do your clutches usually last? My boss has a '93 Turbo sedan that he has used for autoX and rallying, and beat up quite a bit, and it has 125k on the original clutch with no problems at all. What is the norm for clutch life around here?

 

Thanks,

George

120k and above.

I have 143K on mine.

ive got 125k on mine....and its 20 years old

I have 143,000 miles (10 years) on mine and it's still working fine. No noise.

I have had a new clutch kit ready for more than a year now but still no need to replace it. Maybe I'll do it next summer as preventive maintenance. Would'nt want to have to do it during the winter.

i got 160k on an older subaru, on my legacy was 140k the original clutch.

Clutch life really depends on the previous driver, and for goodness sakes, ITS AN OUTBACK! Its not a turbo, not a F1 racing car. CLutch will complain if you do that, especially an older clutch. IM sure there are perfomance clutchces around for the subaru, but i always looked at it like this, if the OE part lasted over 100K, guess what im buying

 

nipper

Bought my 87 GL wagon (Clack) with 130,000 miles on it and unknown age clutch (and brakes).

 

When I sold it at 212,000 neither had been changed (and I had just driven it R/T Whitefish to Baltimore, and gone wheelin' with Moosens and a bunch of Pine Barrens crazies in the bargin).

i got my 95 legacy from the junk yard it was reared ended, i fixed all of that. it had 96,000 when i got it less then 3,000 the clutch went just a couple hundred miles from 100,000 then it went bad, man was i pied off, just bought the car work on for about a month and the clutch goes, i think the idiot that had it should not buy another standard car

 

ps is the clutch life less on a awd subaru then a front wheel drive

 

 

 

 

proud owner of my 1995 super subbie legacy awd

and the 1991 soob wagon four wheel drive yeah its a field car

my 97 obw lasted 70k first time, then 40!

not sure what we're doing wrong...

it's my father-in-law's car, and my wife drives it a lot.

Haven't noticed that they are too rough, but something's up.

 

Next time we turn or replace the flywheel too.

just got my 1999 legacy 30th ann. sedan, with a list of 10 things the dealer did to it before sale (belts, etc..). so driving it for the first time (i wasnt allowed to test drive, being a minor) and about 10 minutes into my drive, the clutch slips in 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear. and its at 120,000, so it was kind of expected, but a kick in the nuts none the less, after much anticipation.

 

other than that, its an incredible car...

I'm second owner of my '91 Legacy wagon and the previous owner was anal about service and record keeping (he even logged each and every fill-up with gas!!). Anyway, my wagon is still on the original clutch. It started slipping about 2k miles ago but is still working acceptably at 157K miles. I'm planning on replacing it this weekend.

about 140k on my 91 legacy wagon.

268K on a 90 Caravan and it was still going strong when I sold it. It depends on the driver!

How far do you guys think one can reasonably go before replacement once it starts slipping? I ask because my brother just got a '99 L 30th ann. with 120,000 miles. The clutch engagement was really high and we asked them to adjust it. They did, we brought the car home, and now it's slipping in 4th and 5th gears. Not a ton, but definitely slipping.

 

We called them last night and they said something about "glazing" when a clutch is adjusted a certain way and then re-adjusted. They said it might slip for a few days until it gets "used" to the new adjustment (which, by the way, is still not tight enough for our satisfaction). I've never heard of such a thing, and wondered what ya'll think.

 

My mom's clutch went last year at 90,000, so we know what a Subaru clutch going bad feels like.

 

Basically, we want the place to replace it, since we don't feel it was right to begin with. But in the meantime, how long can he actually go (driving gently of course) before it must be fixed?

 

Brian M.

i have a 99 leg l sedan 30 anniv 2.2 5-sp. this is really an interesting vehicle considering the "hybrid" type engine and the last year of this body style. anyhow, your clutch will go for at least another 1000 miles after it starts slipping, so long as you take it easy on it. btw, stay out of overdrive. you probably know a slipping clutch creates heat. if you drive it for long with this condition plan on a new or boneyard flywheel as imho it will warp or overheat and be fubar'd even with a new disc and pressure plate. find a good factory shop and pay the franklins to let someone else handle the job. it can be done on a garage floor (did a zr-1 like that) but you have to remove driveline, exhaust, loosen engine mounts to tilt engine rearward etc. if you don't mind challenges give it a shot. i know my limits, i am getting too old to roll on the floor to mess with a job like this. others might disagree, but i'm no longer a "hero". fortunately i'm at 72k miles and won't need a clutch for a while.

First owner of my 2001 Forester got 75k miles on the OEM clutch before it started slipping. It was changed just before I bought it. We got 14 yrs and 135k on the oem 1982 GL wagon clutch. But we drive her gently....don't want to rattle her rust too much. Gotta post a pic of her on here sometime....held together with paint bucket metal riveted on and Great Stuff insulation foam.

135k on the oem 1982 GL wagon clutch. But we drive her gently....don't want to rattle her rust too much. Gotta post a pic of her on here sometime....held together with paint bucket metal riveted on and Great Stuff insulation foam.

 

That's great. I chose roofing screws and galvanized ductwork for my '82 GL. RIP.

 

I've had over 200k on all of the subaru's I've owned and have never changed the clutch. But I don't know how many of them were the original clutch. I suspect they were all on their second one by the time I bought em. My friends '90 Legacy needed a new clutch at 140k miles.

We called them last night and they said something about "glazing" when a clutch is adjusted a certain way and then re-adjusted. They said it might slip for a few days until it gets "used" to the new adjustment (which, by the way, is still not tight enough for our satisfaction). I've never heard of such a thing, and wondered what ya'll think.

 

Total load of crap designed to keep you away from there for a while (after all, they sold you a car with a bad clutch).

i agree, once a clutch is glazed, it doesnt get unglazed.

 

They just dont want to see you again.

 

 

nipper