I think my clutch bit the dust - opinions needed

[Joe1]

I was stopped in traffic and when I put the car in gear, it did not move forward as expected. I had to play with the clutch pedal to get it to go. I thought it was a weird experience as I never experienced anything like it in 170k miles with the '05 Subaru. A few minutes later it did the same thing which got me concerned. The next thing I noticed was a burnt brakes type of smell and smoke escaping out above the front driver side wheel well. Luckily I was only 2 blocks away from home and made it there by keeping it in 1st gear and not shifting gears. Smoke continued to escape for a few minutes after I turned the ignition off.

Is what I described indicative of a burnt clutch? If so, is it an expensive repair? I need to consider the age/mileage and cost of repairs to determine if it is worthwhile to repair.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mcrn]

Did you open the hood to see if fluid is leaking or where the smoke was coming from?

 

[OneEyeJack]

Originally Posted By: mcrn
Did you open the hood to see if fluid is leaking or where the smoke was coming from?


It may be a failure of the clutch linkage, the hydraulic part.

 

[901Memphis]

Don't forget to factor in the cost of repair in the sense that it's worth something to not have a car payment. I can't imagine any repair that simple putting an 05 Subie in the scrap yard.

I'd find a good indy mechanic in your area by searching google review for starters.

 

[RoadRaceJosh]

Yikes. It does sound like you've hurt the clutch. Which is kind of a shame as it might have just been the slave cylinder hanging up, but it might not require a full clutch replacement. Have someone operate the clutch pedal while observing the clutch slave cylinder and see if it retracts properly.

As a rule, if the tachometer goes up and the road speed doesn't increase proportionally, you have a problem.

 

[Joe1]

Originally Posted By: Joshua_Skinner

As a rule, if the tachometer goes up and the road speed doesn't increase proportionally, you have a problem.


Tach speed went up w/o increase in road speed intermittently.

Originally Posted By: mcrn
Did you open the hood to see if fluid is leaking or where the smoke was coming from?


I will open the hood now and report back. I was afraid of a fire earlier.

 

[Kuato]

Yep, clutch or linkage. Worth it to repair IMO, SWAG estimate under $1000.

 

[Joe1]

I popped the hood open and didn't notice any fluids leaking. A got a mild whiff of burnt brakes almost an hour after turning the engine off. Also, the hood holder rod was very hot. I've never felt it to be that hot.

 

[JTK]

If you didn't have slippage and signs of a well worn out clutch ahead of time, I'd lean towards some other manual trans related component. Slave cylinder, clutch master cylinder or leaking line/fitting. Assuming all this given the burnt brake fluid smell.

I don't know if your 2005 is like my 2014 Subaru 5spd, but on mine, the clutch and brakes share the same fluid reservoir.

 

[Joe1]

Originally Posted By: JTK

I don't know if your 2005 is like my 2014 Subaru 5spd, but on mine, the clutch and brakes share the same fluid reservoir.


I just checked the brake fluid reservoir. The yellow cap and reservoir are "caked" with oil. I had to wipe the yellow cap off to see that it was labeled brake fluid.

I am not mechanically inclined, but is there a way I can check the brake fluid level?

Finally, I had new front brakes installed by my indy mechanic 2 weeks ago? Is there a possibility he did something wrong with the brake fluid that is impacting the clutch?

I'd like to attribute it to age/mileage, but can't rule out anything.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Brake job few weeks ago. What about a seized calliper? Maybe something was not lubed right when brake job was done. What do your rotors look like?

 

[Vikas]

Very rarely hydraulic clutch problem show up as "slipping clutch". The problems associated with hydraulic are being unable to dis-engage the clutch aka floppy pedal and inability to change gears or gears complaining during gear shift.

Does clutch pedal feels "funny"? What happens if you pump the pedal a lot?

 

[mcrn]

Ever find out what was wrong?

 

[Joe1]

Update: the problem was a seized brake caliper. Both were replaced. Life was good until today. While stopped in interstate holiday traffic, the car did the same thing twice. The engine revved and the car would not get moving. The second time, the car just stalled. I pulled off the road and noticed a faint burnt brakes smell. I drove the car home and all was OK, but I dropped it off at the shop. I'll get the mechanic's opinion, but I am close to throwing the towel in with this car. It was bulletproof until 10 years and 160k miles.
Anybody have any idea what is wrong?

 

[schuylkill]

How long after the calipers were replaced until the problem repeated? It seems that the cause of the seizing is the problem which is apparently not the caliper itself. Have you had good luck with your mechanic?

 

[Joe1]

It was 3 weeks between repeats. Me and other family members have used this mechanic and have been generally happy with his service. He is diagnosing the problem now and will call me this morning.

 

[MarkM66]

So what did the mechanic say?

 

[sxg6]

I have a 2009 Legacy with a manual transmission, and here are a few things I've learned that may or may not apply to your subaru.

Replacing the clutch on a subaru is expensive. Independent mechanic you might be looking at $800-$1000, but I've had the dealer replace mine twice. First time around it was around $1450, second time from a different dealer around $1200 with some coupons.

With 2005-2009 Legacies, the clutch release bearing generally wears out before the clutch disc, that's what has happened to me twice now. The reason the release bearing wears first is, I believe that there is always slight pressure on the bearing. Some people install a clutch fork return spring to try and take pressure off the release bearing and make the TOB last longer, I have not tried this.

You do not want to drive on a release bearing that is on its way out, if the TOB explodes it can badly damage the transmission snout, and you could need a new transmission case. There are TSK kits available if you have a worn, or damaged transmission snout, as shown in the link below.
http://www.pdmusa.com/
Usually when the release bearing is on its way out, it will sound like a squealing belt, or have a whirring/wooshing sound. So I'm not sure if the TOB is the problem for you.

I'm no transmission expert by any means, but sounds like your pressure plate could be damaged, and maybe even a pressure plate finger (or fingers) broken off causing problems.