So I recently went through the whole debacle to get the spot welds on the firewall fixed/replaced to fix the squeak (which was a whole experience in itself that still isn't really finalized :| ). Now that I have my car back for the second time, I am experiencing issues with the pedal itself. I still had some squeaking that I researched was coming from the rod that enters the firewall above the accelerator. I wd-40'd that to see if it would help with that and this other issue. Fixed the squeak which is great, but I am still experiencing issues at the top of clutch pedal movement. There is "play" for about an inch or so before the pedal actually engages. Upon releasing the pedal it will sometimes stick at the bottom end of that "play", if that make sense. It will remain there, or eventually pop back out, or i pop it out with my foot. I was told by the service guy that it is my clutch and I will need a new one. I have no issues with getting into any gear, and this play seems to be before the clutch even engages. Does anyone know what else this could be, or had similar issues? Know how to fix, etc? Any advise/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I might try to put a video together, but it's pretty tight down there, so it's kind of hard to see.
it's the fingers on the pressure plate for the clutch. I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago on my RS. It took months to figure out what the issue was.
Even if the rod above the accelerator doesn't move, or barely moves? For this noob...that mean a new clutch?
I don't think the rod matters at all. I replaced the clutch with a new pressure plate and it started working perfectly. this was after replacing the slave cylinder, doing all kinds of lubing of the pedal, replacing seals. yes, new clutch.
Bleed it and adjust the pedal rod and see what happens. I was young and stupid... had a car I just bought and he said it had a new clutch but it would slip, I replaced it again, and it kept happening... turned out the adjustment was so tight when the fluid would heat up it would push on the pressure plate enough to slip. A couple minutes under the dash could have spared me from dropping the tranny.
Yeah, I was going to try and bleed it this weekend possibly. I am not sure how to adjust the rod though...
So I finally got around to getting some video. This first one shows the position in which the pedal sticks. You can kind of hear it pop back out. So currently, I have to manually pull it out with my foot every time. This video shows the rod going into the firewall above the gas pedal. I am moving the clutch pedal a bit faster than the first video, but you can still hear the popping and see that the rod barely moves if at all. Can someone please let me know if this is due to what Matt said earlier, or some other issue? Thanks! Also, if any other visuals are needed, please let me know, and i can try to get different angles, etc.
looks like exactly what i said, have you bled it? That rod and pedal bracket might be missing a bushing or something, look on opposedforces for the diagram and see if yours has all the parts. But it shouldn't have slack like that. I see the pedal moving but not the rod. either a buching need to take up that slack or the rod needs to be adjusted out to close that gap.
Could be pressure plate related.Have seen a car or two with a bad plate cause this kind of misbehavior.But I would start with bleeding..
yeah, haven't gotten around to bleeding. I may need to take it back this week anyway for the spot weld fix...it's still making noise. :|
So, I finally got around to bleeding the clutch, which was fun, but didn't fix the issue. I still have play in the pedal. After further investigation, we think we may have pin pointed the issues though. The nut in this picture (arrow) was so loose that I could move it with a finger tip. We are thinking that the play is due to that nut not being snug. The bracket that the nut would snug against is attached to the rod that runs all the way over the clutch pedal (this picture is shot above the gas pedal). The play seem to be where that bracket attaches to the rod. If you watch the second video I posted, you can see this. The area in there is too tight for me to get any kind of wrench on the nut though. Thoughts? JustinV, i think it is what you were saying. I just don't know how to get in there to adjust it.
nut needs to be loose to adjust, and you can turn the rod by hand. It make take some wiggling of the pedal to take pressure/resistance off the rod to allow it to free spin by hand. There are specs... but I got by personal preference, should be about a 1/4" of dead space when the pedal is up before meeting resistance and disengaging the clutch. That should also put enough pressure up top to fully return the pedal.
No, not really. It's hand tight right now... I may need to adjust the rod slightly though as the engagement point is now a bit further up. But I am pleased that's it's working and it doesn't look like I need a new clutch!
Thanks Chip! I may try that once she is back in my possession. She is currently back at the shop (3rd time) STILL trying to get the spot welds correct. :|
Sorry to bring up an old issue but I am having the same issue after my son smoked the clutch this morning. On the adjustment to the rod under the dash board, moving the rod which direction equates to a longer through out for the clutch? I hope that make since. If not let me try it this way. If I move the rod so that there is less of it showing behind where it goes through the bracket will that mean the trough out bearing is disengaging the clutch and moving it further from the pressure plate?
Well I did not feel like doing the clutch work myself so I dropped it off at Subaru. Yeah I know I'll pay big bucks but I have someone to scream at if it is not right and my wife won't be screaming at me.
Well just thought I would drop a last note in this thread. The clutch got done and all is good in the world. The also took care of the pedal assembly issue so there is no more creaking, popping or funny sounds coming from under the dash. The Crostrek loaner car was not bad for what it was. Fully loaded with every feature in the book. All it really needs is more power (turbo). Now I will finish getting my son's car up and running and he can stop driving mine. Lol not going to happen my other son now has his permit and the rule in my house it you must learn to drive a manual shift efficiently.