NHMTNS Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 I bought an '05 OBXT with about 37K miles on it. I didn't notice any issues with the clutch, but now at Stage 2 the clutch is slipping under hard acceleration. It happens right after the turbo spools and the car starts pulling hard, especially uphill in 3rd gear. The previous owner was an older gentleman, so maybe he wore out the clutch. What should I do next in terms of diagnosing the problem? Is this a common issue? I've had 3 WRX's and none had clutch problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Yes, these cars like to eat clutches. Many many 2005 forum members here are coming along with clutch replacement issues especially in the last 6 months. Me included. 2 years of stage 2 and only 40k miles on the car, and I blew mine up. Replaced with an ACT clutch and WRX single mass flywheel. You could search ACT clutch in the tranny forum and get tons of threads on the subject. Good luck. It will just get worse and worse until you won't be able to make it up a hill. If it's slipping now and you drive a lot, you might have 4 weeks left on the clutch. Maybe less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHMTNS Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 Hey thanks for the info. So it's generally not recommended to get a replacement OEM clutch from Subaru? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeleodee Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Hey thanks for the info. So it's generally not recommended to get a replacement OEM clutch from Subaru? I'm still running my stocker with stage 2 mods but it is the most tempermental clutch ever. Sometimes, it will go days and weeks without slipping. Other times, it will slip on semi hard 3rd and 4th gear pulls consistently. It's been doing that for several months and not really getting worse or better. Big weird. As far as clutch replacement, folks here generally don't replace with stock equipment if they are modded. However, there are some that do, and depending on how it's driven, a new stocker will hold up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Warrior Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Well, I think it has to deal more with your "stage 2" mods. I don't know how to call my mods, but I can tell you that my car was doing 288 whp with 381 wtq when I installed an ACT heavy duty clutch disk & pressure plate. BTW, I also changed my flywheel and installed one from an RS (smaller & lighter.) Anyway, the clutch started to slip under hard acceleration too! Now, two months ago I installed a '09 WRX VF52 turbo with 850cc Power Entreprise fuel injectors & HKS blowoff, and when we went to tune it at the dyno, it started to slip so bad at third gear (4000 rpm's) that we had to stop the tuning. It was already throwing 320 whp with only 17 psi. So now I installed the 15 lbs. flywheel, 6-pill bronze clutch disk and new pressure plate, all from ACT. Diagnostic? Not all ACT clutch kits hold the same amount of torque. So it will depend on that Stage 2 thing. Like a Serta Mattress: The Perfect Sleeper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Hey thanks for the info. So it's generally not recommended to get a replacement OEM clutch from Subaru? You could, but it might let go on you in another 40K miles. They are too expensive to be blowing up that frequently. Stage 2 will wear the OEM replacement out quicker. The ACT clutch is over-built and after a couple days with it, you will think of it like OEM, just a lot grabbier and more responsive. Many mate it up to the WRX single mass flywheel because the 2005 dual mass LGT flywheel Subaru used was a total POS. The WRX single mass FW is more performance oriented and a good pairing to the ACT clutch, actually now that I think about it, the ACT from Fred Beans must mate up to the single mass FW, it wont work with a dual mass FW. Search Fred Beans parts (vendor here) for a clutch and FW package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHMTNS Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 My OBXT is just a DD grocery getter. Besides the UP/DP with AP reflash, the only other mod I might do is suspension. I don't really drive aggressively any more - just an occasional 2nd or 3rd gear pull to make me happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHMTNS Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 Search Fred Beans parts (vendor here) for a clutch and FW package. I PM'd them. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 My OBXT is just a DD grocery getter. Besides the UP/DP with AP reflash, the only other mod I might do is suspension. I don't really drive aggressively any more - just an occasional 2nd or 3rd gear pull to make me happy. You sound just like me. Basic stage 2, but I enjoy jumping on it occasionally. I don't drive like a goon all day long. The ACT has made me very happy and has increased my driving satisfaction 2 fold since the install. Wait til you start with the suspension! You'll notice a huge difference in responsiveness! (Or you could outfit your OBXT with some awesome rubber and fall in love with the car all over again..... it just goes on and on....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05lgt5spd Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Act streed disk, 06 wrx fly, Tranquil tsk3 kit FTW. My stock clutch lasted 3 days after my hta68 upgrade! ACT clutches feel much better than stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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