MrEvanchi Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 2007 Legacy GT- 99,000 miles. (Clutch replaced 35,000 ago) Nearly a week ago, driving home from work like normal, I came to a stop at a light on a moderate hill. Using my typical clutch/throttle proportions to get going up the hill, I noticed that my clutch only BARELY engaged enough to propell me up the hill. (Accidentally let the throttle shoot up to 3,000+RPM) It hasn't been slipping at all while driving/shifting at speed. I have yet to see if it will still hold my torque on hard pulls, but I'm reluctant to try, and make something worse. My clutch seems to be all of the sudden only engaging at maybe 10%-20% friction withing the first 7/8 of clutch travel. Feels fine once I'm off the line. Shifts fine. (Maybe softer than normal) But still holds moderate torque during all operations except coming from a stop at anything more than delicate acceleration. If I'm not mistaken, these cars automatically compensate for clutch wear. So is there any chance there's a problem thats allowing just too much space for my clutch to engage firmly and normally? Or do these symptoms sound like that of usual clutch wear? I can't help but think if it is typical clutch wear, that it wouldn't have come on so subtly. Thank you for any input! Will answer questions as soon as possible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 The true test for a worn clutch is to give it lots of throttle in 5th gear, is it slips, its time to replace it. Some clutches will glaze which may go away after a few heat cycles. My 09 has done that. But I'm still sure at 65,000 miles that clutch is on it way out. The car has been fine over the last few thousand miles but... Tell us which clutch is in the car. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEvanchi Posted July 9, 2015 Author Share Posted July 9, 2015 The true test for a worn clutch is to give it lots of throttle in 5th gear, is it slips, its time to replace it. Some clutches will glaze which may go away after a few heat cycles. My 09 has done that. But I'm still sure at 65,000 miles that clutch is on it way out. The car has been fine over the last few thousand miles but... Tell us which clutch is in the car. The clutch in it right now is just an OEM set. I believe you hit the nail on the head with the "glazed" assumption. That fits my symptoms perfectly! What else can you tell me about a glazed clutch? (Since you've had one, especially) I'm certain I'll be replacing the clutch while I get down in there, along with annihilating my flywheel with sandpaper. Anything I should look out for? I still intend to drive it, carefully. But is it worth trying to drive it for awhile, and see if I begin getting any grab back between my clutch & flywheel? Or worse, should I not drive it all, if there's a chance driving it like this would only worsen the contact between the two? Thank you very much for mentioning that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I'll have to give credit to "Underdog" for that glazed thought. Just drive it normally for a while. Don't give it to much boost in the higher gears. I believe it would work well in the lower gears. That all happened last Nov-early Dec time. After trying to go on I-95 in New Haven CT during rush hour and then getting onto I-91 north on a rainy day the clutch slipped in 5th gear on I-91 after a couple of miles. Must have been some slipping during the merging and changing lanes. Car has stock clutch, its a Spec B so its a 6mt. The cars has may be 2000 miles since then, it seems to be ok now. I'm still not really sure its perfect but I don't drive it that much where I'm giving it full throttle in 6th. Every now and then I think I can feel a slight shutter when going up a long hill on the highway if it give it to much throttle. I never have been a fan if stock clutches. I bought the car with 22,000 miles on it. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEvanchi Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 I'll have to give credit to "Underdog" for that glazed thought. Just drive it normally for a while. Don't give it to much boost in the higher gears. I believe it would work well in the lower gears. That all happened last Nov-early Dec time. After trying to go on I-95 in New Haven CT during rush hour and then getting onto I-91 north on a rainy day the clutch slipped in 5th gear on I-91 after a couple of miles. Must have been some slipping during the merging and changing lanes. Car has stock clutch, its a Spec B so its a 6mt. The cars has may be 2000 miles since then, it seems to be ok now. I'm still not really sure its perfect but I don't drive it that much where I'm giving it full throttle in 6th. Every now and then I think I can feel a slight shutter when going up a long hill on the highway if it give it to much throttle. I never have been a fan if stock clutches. I bought the car with 22,000 miles on it. Yeah, it still hasn't slipped once yet. Which is impressive, because my commute to work is from the city, up through I70 into the mountains. So I'm practically 80%-100% throttle in fifth gear the entire way up the mountain at 70ish MPH. My next possible window to get some time to swap the clutch (and hopefully just rough upnthe flywheel a bit) is two weeks away, so I've still got quite a bit of miles to put on it in this condition. Considering it hasn't slipped yet, and that it still grabs 'enough' to drive relatively normally gives me confidence it'll last until then without issues. Can you 'learn' me about some clutches? My first instinct is just to go OEM again, because I don't really need anything crazy. And I'd prefer not spending more than $400-450 on a clutch kit. (No flywheel) What other options are available to me? Oh, and if it explains anything, I'm just some nooby 18 year old kid who thought a LegacyGT would be fun... Still learning much about this car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 PM Underdog, he can give you a good price on a clutch. You should resurface the FW when installing a new clutch. I like Spec clutches. My Spec 2 lasted 50,000 miles at 21PSI in my wagon. The old Spec 2+ was still going strong at 85,000 miles when I replaced the short block. The car now has a Spec 2+ back in it. The new one is much better then the old 2+ installed back in 2007. If you want to add HP to the car go with the 2+. It will make some noise when staring out in 1st gear sometimes but that's normal for the clutch material. It does have stock like pedal pressure. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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