Clutch squeeling on cold start up?

When I start my car up first thing in the morning (it is outside all night in the snow and freezing cold) there is some type of humming/squeeling and i think it comes from the cluthc becuase when i press the clutch in it stops. when i let it back out it comes back. it only does this for about 10 minutes or less. then i never hear it untill the car sits for a long time (about 6 hours or so) and i start it back up. is this a sign that the clutch is dying? i am still under the 5/60k warranty and will have it checked out at my next oil change. thanks.

Clutch is not covered under 5/60.

Sounds more like a throwout bearing to me.

 

Get it in during warranty right away -- as they can fail quickly and without much warning and when they fail they fail in a spectacular way -- see attached pics.

 

The dealer will probably tell you the bearing is a wear item -- but I do not think it is (my opinion). You may have to put in a new clutch -- but shouldn't have to pay for the labor. Even if you do have to pay for the labor and clutch parts -- the cost is still about 1/4 what a case replacement costs at a dealer.

 

-Dan C.

should there be any other symptoms? lighter clutch feel? anything? this just started and only does it when its really cold out (less than 20 degrees F) Its been almost 40 degrees here and i havent heard the noise.

Well, for me it made the noise only when cold and only when the clutch pedal was out -- when the clutch was in the sound would go away. It was a slight squeal and would disappear completely when the car was warmed up. It occured for a short time before the noise went from a squeal to a more whirring sound and about 20 miles before it failed it would make the noise all of the time -- clutch in or out.

 

I would not waste any time on this one.

sounds scary. im going to make a service appointment tomorrow. with my luck it will not make the noise when i take it in and they will tell me nothing is wrong. then when i drive home from the stealer i mean dealer my tranny will explode. is there anything i should tell them other than describing the noise? i hate the dealers near me by the way. they are horrible and i cringe whenever i have to take my car in. thanks.

sounds scary. im going to make a service appointment tomorrow. with my luck it will not make the noise when i take it in and they will tell me nothing is wrong. then when i drive home from the stealer i mean dealer my tranny will explode. is there anything i should tell them other than describing the noise? i hate the dealers near me by the way. they are horrible and i cringe whenever i have to take my car in. thanks.

 

I took my in for popping noise when cold but the dealer couldn't duplicate it. I even left the car overnight so they can test it the first thing in the morning. Either way it's good to take it in so the dealer will have it on record. This way if the bearing does go you would at least have a record of telling them about it before it failed. Hopefully this will convince them to cover it under warranty regardless of your mileage.

I have the EXACT same symptoms as you croll326, the dealer can never find it even when I leave it there

bgLGT...how many miles on your LGT? What has the dealer said?

14000 miles on my car, the dealer can never hear it when I leave it there overnight. That's been three separate occasions as I had them check it out every time my car would go through a wheel bearing.

14000 miles and you have had multiple wheel bearings??

It's because of lack of lube on the clutch slave cylinder and the throw out bearing fork. Check on the drivers side of the tranny under the top mount intercooler or where it would be and look for the slave cylinder. There is a piston sticking out of it that fits into a little cup on the throw out bearing fork lever (lube this). When the little cup gets corroded or doesn't have lube it squeaks on cold starts due to the increase in engine vibration when cold starting. I used some synthetic cv joint lube. Hope this helps.

It's because of lack of lube on the clutch slave cylinder and the throw out bearing fork. Check on the drivers side of the tranny under the top mount intercooler or where it would be and look for the slave cylinder. There is a piston sticking out of it that fits into a little cup on the throw out bearing fork lever (lube this). When the little cup gets corroded or doesn't have lube it squeaks on cold starts due to the increase in engine vibration when cold starting. I used some synthetic cv joint lube. Hope this helps.

 

WOW, sweet I'm going to try this ASAP, Thanks!

 

Yeah my car is on its third left front wheel bearing. The bearings kept developing a squeal. It's a mess check out the wheel squeal post in this forum. It affects ALOT of legacies. In fact, my dealer loner made the sound too when I dropped my car off to get it fixed.

When I start my car up first thing in the morning (it is outside all night in the snow and freezing cold) there is some type of humming/squeeling and i think it comes from the cluthc becuase when i press the clutch in it stops. when i let it back out it comes back. it only does this for about 10 minutes or less. then i never hear it untill the car sits for a long time (about 6 hours or so) and i start it back up. is this a sign that the clutch is dying? i am still under the 5/60k warranty and will have it checked out at my next oil change. thanks.

 

Thanks for this thread man. I had my car (2006 Blitzen, 6MT) serviced (50 000 KM service) three weeks ago and after a week the clutch pedal was making noises (squeals and clunks) after 4 hours of driving when I pressed it down and when I was releasing it. The next morning it only happened from neutral in to gear when the car was stationary. It still happens when driving.

 

Could it be that the fluids were not topped up properly in the gearbox? (I topped up the coolant and oil since the service, about a litre each).

 

I am taking it back to the the dealer next week to have it checked and the power steering pump replaced (noisy).

 

I found the link below when I was trying to find out what could be happening to my car. It is about our lovely brand's gearbox weaknesses.

http://www.autospeed.com.au/cms/A_0943/article.html

just as suspected the dealer didnt hear the sound. it has been 65 degrees plus in pittsburgh the last 2 days so that didnt help matters. i called SOA and faxed them print outs of everyone on here who has had the same problem. this way when my tranny explodes everyone is aware. i will post the fax number for anyone who wants to fax a complaint of this problem to SOA.

 

Again, the dealer didn't hear any sound nor do they think they is anything wrong with the clutch. What do we have to do, maybe ask them to drive our cars for 2 hours and have them listen. It's very frustrating.

 

May be a 6 speed manual ZF transmission or VW DSG would help because it is clear Subaru has no idea of what they have to do with their trasmissions to make them better.

10 degrees this morning and my tranny sounded like a dog who had someone standing on their tail but the dealers says nothing is wrong. ya right

Eh, i've had the same problem for about 35,000miles now. Usually happens when its 1) cold and 2) damp. It'll go away once the car warms up and drives for a while. I have to try that lube thing.

 

Also, I have a lovely creaking noise from the tranny whenever I push in the clutch pedal. Suspect its in the fork/bearing/pressure plate area. Also an old problem.

I was driving through Melbourne on Wednesday and I stopped at a subaru dealer so that they could hear the noise I have been complaining about. The guy said that it was a dry gearbox fork which needed lubrication.

I have booked my car in next week to have it lubricated and a defective fog light replaced (Cost me three bulb changes in two months).

I'll let you know the outcome later.

The dealer officially heard the noise yesterday. They are going to decide what to do with it today. I ge the feeling that they are going to do everything they can to avoid any major work like dropping the trans and tearing in to it. I guess we will have to see. Ill keep posting when i hear more. AS far as im comcerned, my car shoudlt squeal whirl screech. I live in PA not the Arctic.

is it wierd that i dropped my car off at the dealer on Monday and it is not Friday and except for the one time i called them asking about my car they have never called me? it would be nice to be updated as to what the heck they are doing with my car.

I have the same issue. I don't worry about it. It sounds to be like the clutch is not completely disengaging from the flywheel - like it's ever so slightly dragging on it. Perhaps the clutch can't retract as far due to ice buildup, or maybe grease that has become too thick and viscous?

Mine does this too...squeals on cold start up, push the clutch in (or even lightly put my foot on it) and it goes away. There was a thread on NASIOC a while back where a bunch of 07 STI owners (same basic tranny as mine) reported the same issue.

The dealer FINALLY called me at 4:30pm yesterday and said that a Subaru

Rep came to listen to my car. I guess they needed them to say they would cover the repair. Anyways the tranny is coming out on Monday. As long as its not the clutch , which i doubt, they will cover it under warranty.

Talked to Subaru today....they said that one of the 5 bearings on the shaft is bad? They are going to replace all 5 bearings. Throw out bearing is ok they claim. They want to know if i want to replace the clutch. Basically only paying for the parts. What do you think? What should I replace it with?