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getting frustrated with clutch pedal adjustment


xt2005bonbon

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About 5 months ago, I changed my oem clutch/flywheel with a stage 1 Exedy package. Also changed center diff and a few trans bearings. Put everything back together and it ran fine.

 

3k miles later, it is still running fine but two weeks ago, it was getting more and more difficult to get any gear engaged. If car was off, no problem. I then realized that the engagement point was happening like 1/2" BEFORE the clutch pedal hit the floor. If the pedal is hitting the floor, you can no longer put a gear in.

 

According to the video below and my observations, it looked like I was having the clutch in an 'over-stroke condition' (when clutch pedal touching the floor).

 

So I did 5 full turns of that master cylinder actuator 'rod' to reduce the amount of the slave cylinder travel. I kinna get the engagement to feel OK. Problem is now, the clutch pedal stay super close to the floor with very short amount of travel. Not sure what to do cause if I try to increase the travel of the clutch pedal, then I may get the clutch in an over-stroke condition once again.

 

I guess questions are:

 

-those of you who've changed their clutch with aftermarket, did you have to do similar clutch pedal adjustments down the road?

-if yes, how many 'full turns' do you recall you had to do?

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcsFy2I7MPI]Clutch pedal adjustment explained - YouTube[/ame]

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I've had two different aftermarket clutches in my car and I know for the first one, there was no adjustment done, because I did the install and didn't know about it until now. The second clutch, I paid to have it done and I'm fairly certain he didn't adjust anything either.

 

I would start simple with possibly bleeding the slave cylinder or something like that. Do you remember the condition of the ball/socket joint on the fork? I've seen some forks where the metal wears and eventually tears, but I imagine that's a worst case thing for you. You might be able to see it through the top if you remove the rubber boot around the fork hole.

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I would start simple with possibly bleeding the slave cylinder or something like that. Do you remember the condition of the ball/socket joint on the fork? I've seen some forks where the metal wears and eventually tears, but I imagine that's a worst case thing for you. You might be able to see it through the top if you remove the rubber boot around the fork hole.

 

I actually bled the system a couple of times already cause I did the master cylinder dampener delete two weeks ago. So I am pretty sure there's no air in the system.

 

And yeah, I recall seeing the pivot ball being a bit worn out when I worked on the trans and changed the clutch. So that's not helping either.

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Update...

 

did some more adjustments last night: 2 additional turns on the master cylinder actuator rod to shorten the fork travel. Engagement definitely felt better, but then clutch pedal travel is super short now. Pedal is almost to the floor but it works :confused:.

 

However this morning, I started the car and it was almost impossible to go into any gear. I had to try like 5 times and then it was OK. Almost feels like the adjustment I did last night only works great when the whole system is warmed up. What the heck.

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Have you called Exedy yet ? I've found them to be very good to work with in the past. There may be a issue with the PP.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

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3k miles later, it is still running fine but two weeks ago, it was getting more and more difficult to get any gear engaged.

 

I actually bled the system a couple of times already cause I did the master cylinder dampener delete two weeks ago.

 

Did it start after the dampener delete??

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Have you called Exedy yet ? I've found them to be very good to work with in the past. There may be a issue with the PP.

 

No I have not.

 

Dare I ask if the throw out bearing is on backwards or on the fork properly?

 

I am pretty sure it is positioned correctly. I mean I've already driven 3k with it just fine, albeit with some noise at low rpm/high load. Compared to my 06 though, I noticed the fork can move around in any direction once the slave cylinder is removed (the clip is not holding it in place against the pivot ball). On the 06, I recall the fork still staying in place.

 

 

Did it start after the dampener delete??

 

Kind of but not really. It was fine for at least a week I think. Very nice engagement point and stuff.

 

I need to add that my wife has been learning how to drive stick with this car for the past few weeks. And obviously she has stalled the engine several times. So, now we're wondering if all these abrupt stalling events may have damaged or moved something.

 

 

I will continue to play with the adjustment. But let's suppose that I finally get the best engagement feel by shortening the amount of fork travel. This obviously results in very short clutch pedal travel too. Is it possible to increase the clutch pedal travel while keep the fork travel short? I may post a video to illustrate the issue.

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After having a careful look at the system, I believe it is not possible to achieve that. The only way one can do that is by adding a clutch pedal stop. So that's what I did: I increased the clutch pedal travel almost back to how it was. Then I superglued a few washers onto the oem tiny rubber clutch pedal stop. It is almost dialed in. I'll provide a video or picture when I can.
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  • 2 weeks later...

did you see what MSprank posted the other day? Since he owns a shop (we all already know that, right?), he's in the know on "common problems" and there's a new one where the pedal box has failing welds.

 

just one more thing to look for to see if it might be causing your issues.

 

(leaves to go find thread and make link...)

 

Sprank references 08-11 WRX and STI, so maybe not your issue. easy enough to grab a flashlight and crawl into the footwell to look, though:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5781839&postcount=1239

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did you see what MSprank posted the other day? Since he owns a shop (we all already know that, right?), he's in the know on "common problems" and there's a new one where the pedal box has failing welds.

 

just one more thing to look for to see if it might be causing your issues.

 

(leaves to go find thread and make link...)

 

Sprank references 08-11 WRX and STI, so maybe not your issue. easy enough to grab a flashlight and crawl into the footwell to look, though:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5781839&postcount=1239

 

Thanks for that man. I will definitely check just to be sure.

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Feel for you. Sucks when a problem is a mysterious pain in the ars.

 

I had clutch in my LGT changed by someone but then I myself changed clutches in my boys 2005 and 2010 Outbacks (see my sig). Didn't have adjustment done on either one and they both run fine. SO does my LGT.

 

Your issue sounds somewhat similar to TOB failure on 2010 Outback that caused clutch to be replaced (and HG job while I had the engine out).

 

I started noticing that the clutch wouldn't disengage completely, making it hard to change gears, or especially get going. The issue was on and off, sometimes car would drive fine, sometimes not. Kid would complain it periodically but kept driving it. There was also some burnt smell coming from the car periodically but I thought kid was not good with clutch.

 

Then when I took it to run errand the clutch just went to floor, and I had to pull it back by hand. I was able to drive home, but was getting really bad smell of hot metal, and I had to jam the car into gear.

 

Here is what it looked like when I pulled the engine:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=264024&stc=1&d=1523582733

 

 

Another view:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=264025&stc=1&d=1523582733

 

 

Another view:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=264026&stc=1&d=1523582733

 

 

Another view:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=264027&stc=1&d=1523582733

0108171919b_small.thumb.jpg.f98985ff94a0a8b5fa3e77687e6ca5bb.jpg

0108171919c_small.thumb.jpg.f49c685c86c774a4041e35b379094120.jpg

0108171919d_small.thumb.jpg.75cb3b122d3b3fbcfbd12d8ffc542dec.jpg

0108171919_small.thumb.jpg.a1f376944f269b5cc75397b3936c99ef.jpg

2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 248K

2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 258K

SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K

SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K

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What happened with our 2010 was one side of fork got disengaged from TOB and eventually over time that destroyed TOB by pulling it on one side. That's why the car was driveable for some time while TOB was holding up,

 

Fork should not be able to move much side to side if both sides of TOB are properly engaged. Did you replace the TOB when clutch was replaced? OEM TOB is somewhat weak.

 

I have TSK TOBs on all 3 MT Subarus we have.

 

You might be able to look into the clutch somewhat via fork window if you pull the rubber plug. There are these USB cameras you can get on Amazon on flex cables with LEDs mounted upfront for checking hard to get areas; also both HB and HomeDepot carry inexpensive cameras for looking into tight spots with flex cable, for example:

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/Digital-Inspection-Camera-61839.html

 

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=264028&stc=1&d=1523583490

image_25756.thumb.jpg.42ba4627feab4cd43c89bc05621d9aab.jpg

2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 248K

2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 258K

SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K

SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K

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Having a similar issue with my 05 Legacy...especially after a while in traffic.

 

Have you had a chance to post the video/pic you mentioned?

 

After having a careful look at the system, I believe it is not possible to achieve that. The only way one can do that is by adding a clutch pedal stop. So that's what I did: I increased the clutch pedal travel almost back to how it was. Then I superglued a few washers onto the oem tiny rubber clutch pedal stop. It is almost dialed in. I'll provide a video or picture when I can.
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What happened with our 2010 was one side of fork got disengaged from TOB and eventually over time that destroyed TOB by pulling it on one side. That's why the car was driveable for some time while TOB was holding up,

 

Fork should not be able to move much side to side if both sides of TOB are properly engaged. Did you replace the TOB when clutch was replaced? OEM TOB is somewhat weak.

 

I have TSK TOBs on all 3 MT Subarus we have.

 

You might be able to look into the clutch somewhat via fork window if you pull the rubber plug. There are these USB cameras you can get on Amazon on flex cables with LEDs mounted upfront for checking hard to get areas; also both HB and HomeDepot carry inexpensive cameras for looking into tight spots with flex cable, for example:

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/Digital-Inspection-Camera-61839.html

 

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=264028&stc=1&d=1523583490

 

I do have a TSK3 kit on that car as well. Did not want to take any chances.. Last time I took off the fork boot and checked things out, the fork appeared to be engaged just fine with the TOB. I also have a USB borescope type camera and forgot to use it :mad:.

In any case, since I've increased the thickness of the clutch stop pedal, it's been fine now. Have not had any issue. But thanks for your detailed post.

 

Having a similar issue with my 05 Legacy...especially after a while in traffic.

 

Have you had a chance to post the video/pic you mentioned?

 

No. Please keep bugging me so I do it.

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