Clutch dying prematurely? Slipping issues.

2005 5MT GT Wagon with 55k miles on the clock and no power mods. Pedal engagement and everything on the pedal seem fine- engagement is at about 25% off the floor and fully engaged by 60%. No chatter, nothing feels different except for the slipping.

 

Slipping characteristics-

 

4th and 5th gear- Anytime I go deep on the throttle (not necessarily flooring it) and the turbo has spooled up- as soon as I hit about 3200 revs the engine shoots up to 4-5k.

 

3rd gear- has to be WOT with turbo to slip, and only shoots up to 4-4.5k revs max. Still slipping, but not as much as 4th and 5th

 

2nd gear- not noticeably slipping

 

1st- no slipping, even on hardish launches.

 

I'm only posting here because 55k seems a little soon for a clutch to go bad- although there are a couple of factors that may contribute to early demise. We live in downtown Seattle, so lots of uphill stop and go at lights, my wife drives the car quite a bit (not the best heel-toe driver in the world ).

 

We just bought a house, so I really would prefer not to get nailed with $530 in parts and a 12hr job right now...I've got enough on my plate as it is.

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

My clutch went at 53K so there you go. All signs point to yours being toast. Replace it.

Yup. Thought so.

Drive very, very tenderly because it's going to go downhill very quickly. You'll need to do the job ASAP.

55k miles for an OEM clutch is certainly not unheard of. You may want to upgrade instead of going OEM when you replace it?

 

Ugh... I really don't want to teach my wife how to drive stick (at least on my car)

Mine went around the same time. I do alot of city driving, so that had a lot to do with it. Plus, I'm on my 3rd TOB at 112k miles.

OP do you know what you need to replace the clutch on a 2005 ?

Not sure about aftermarket. I'm assuming it will last longer? Is it worth the extra couple hundred bucks?

 

Definitely switching to a single mass flywheel.

 

Will get a TSK3 kit as preventative maintenance, new exhaust gaskets for the DP, T50+ bit and new flywheel bolts in case the T50+'s get mangled, and maybe some new bushings or mounts for the tranny while I'm down there.

 

At the same time I need to pull my uppipe to knock the cat out of it and get rid of the banjo bolt filter. if I'm going to be doing this much stuff, would it be worth it to pull the turbo and avoid any clearance issues?

Mine went around the same time. I do alot of city driving, so that had a lot to do with it. Plus, I'm on my 3rd TOB at 112k miles.

 

was it easier to get in the 2nd and 3rd time? any recommendations on replacing everything in such a way to make it easier next time (anti seize and such)

I've only replaced the clutch twice. When I put in the 3rd TOB, the clutch still looked good, so I kept it in knowing I'll have to replace it on the 4th TOB replacement. Damn these TOBs.

 

If you're just replacing the clutch & TOB, it's pretty straight forward. If you're going to replace the flywheel, that's going to be sightly harder from what I've read. I haven't replaced my flywheel yet, but I'm sure I'll have to do it next time.

 

I've been using the TSK3 kits each time and they're fairly easy to replace.

was it easier to get in the 2nd and 3rd time? any recommendations on replacing everything in such a way to make it easier next time (anti seize and such)

 

Once they have been apart it's easy from then on.

 

I used about 1" of boards in front of the engine braced up against the fan bracket to hold the engine tilted back while I slipped the tranny on last summer after the rebuild.

 

When I replaced the short block I had to jack up the rear of the car to get the right angle to get the two to mate up.

 

A impact gun is nice to remove the cross member bolts. I used the 6 ton jack stands from Harbor fright and blocks to get the car high enough so the tranny and tranny jack would fit under the engine and LCA.

 

Use anti-seize on everything. Remember to clean the mating surface of the tranny and block, it is a ground path.

 

I used new lock washers on the rear U joint nuts.

 

I left the big heat shield out.

 

Make sure the clutch fork is on the pivot ball before you start to bolt everything up...trust me on that one. It likes to fall off/down while your installing the tranny. Had to pull the tranny back out, because I wasn't sure what was wrong. That was the last thing I touched before the second removal. Then I realized that may have been my issue.

Thanks a ton for all the info. In the really excellent video thread for clutch replacement, someone wrote:

 

Tip:

When replacing the clutch make sure to adjust the clutch pedal free play (master cylinder rod above the gas pedal). If you don't there's a chance you'll have some preload on the TOB and the clutch will never see full clamping force. This will lead to premature failure due to incorrect breakin. Bin there done that...

 

Any more info on adjusting the clutch pedal?

If you're never going to mod the car, an OEM 07+ LGT clutch and flywheel might be a good replacement.

 

I didn't have any issues removing the DMFW. use a screwdriver to lock the flywheel teeth and it'll be [relatively] easy.

Thanks a ton for all the info. In the really excellent video thread for clutch replacement, someone wrote:

 

 

 

Any more info on adjusting the clutch pedal?

 

I have not done that. I can feel about 3/4-1" of travel in the pedal before I feel the TOB.

Yes pulling the tranny is straight forward, or in this case, straight back & down. The video is spot on with the procedures of removal. Good luck.

When you're ready to start pulling the tranny, spray some PB Blaster around the metal sleeves connecting the motor & tranny. Some members had problems, since their sleeves rusted inside the housing making it very hard to pull off. I had no rust, so mine pull straight off without any PB Blaster.

 

Take a large flathead screwdriver or crowbar and start working it in between the motor & Tranny. Once you get a good gap, you should be able to wiggle it off at this point.

Same symptoms as OP at 82K started this morning, went Stage 2 at 80K. Digging through clutch reviews now. I've taken good care of it and no launches, but who knows about the first 60K of it's life...

I doubt that going Stage 2 cause your clutch to go out, it was bound to go out by this time. The OEM clutch is good up to stage 2, but if you want the piece of mind then look into aftermarket clutches.

Agreed. Going aftermarket is the plan - if I'm doing it anyways, might as well go with what will support any possible future upgrades.

Absolutely if you plan on going above stage 2. It would be a wise investment then.

Same symptoms as OP at 82K started this morning, went Stage 2 at 80K. Digging through clutch reviews now. I've taken good care of it and no launches, but who knows about the first 60K of it's life...

 

almost exactly the same situation, went stg2 around 80k, im at about 83k and im getting slip in 4th/5th gear, occasionally in 3rd gear at WOT.

 

i think im leaning towards a comp stage 2.

I did my clutch for the second time since I owned my legacy, completed in 5.5 hours including drain tranny and replace with all new fluid. I used a regular torx t50 and impact gun with zero problems and had the flywheel off as quick as an impact wrench can undo the bolts. I had to loosen the turbo to up pipe bolts to manuveor the bell housing around and off the motor. I did have a lift wich probably helps, make sure you are slow and easy when pulling the axle shafts not to tear the fragile oil seals in the side differential. Got questions let me know