I think my TOB just ate **it

[asdf]

Originally Posted by hyper4mance

There's lots of threads on this, which I used to research. TOB is a very common issue where the problem lies with an improper lubricant in the bearing. The revised part now has a higher temp lubricant and should be fine. Frankly, I'm shocked you got that many miles out of yours.

I just had this done 4 days ago and I had a similar issue where pressing the clutch pedal would have a grinding noise, even with light pressure on the pedal. Letting off, the noise went away and sounds exactly like Dandox's issue. If there was slipping, it was very minimal since I caught it early, car had 71k miles on a 2013. It's seen a half dozen track days or so, and maybe 30-40 autox's in addition to be daily driven. After replacing the parts below, the clutch pedal feels great again. I guess I never noticed the vague feel of a worn clutch. With your mileage, I would recommend replacing the following while the trans is apart:

1. TOB if it is not included with the clutch kit, some say the revised OEM part is still preferred. Forgot the name of the other bearing, but replace that too while you are at it.
2. Clutch/pressure plate - I went with an exedy OEM since this is not my track car.
3. resurface OEM flywheel or go lightweight if you like, depends on your purpose of the car. Note going too light will make it more difficult to drive if you aren't used to it.
4. Trans fluid will need to be replaced
5. OEM clutch fork tends to be weak. Verus forged clutch fork and Clutch Fork Pivot is a good idea.
6. Rear Main Seal
7. whiteline positive shift kit while you are down there and diff mount. I have noticed there is more whining/whirring after installing this, not a surprise.

Unfortunately I have another issue, P301 code I'm pretty sure its the DI seals. 1st gen problems...

Looking to buy some parts in preparation to replace the TOB w/ the updated OE piece and thinking of what else I need to purchase... Thank you guys for the good information and for putting together the list above!

Is there any downside to the Exedy Stage 1 clutch over the OE replacement aside from cost? And should I go ahead and purchase a replacement flywheel or see first if I can just have it resurfaced?

My planned list is currently:

1. Exedy Stage 1 or Exedy OE replacement clutch
2. Updated Subaru/Toyota TOB from dealer
3. Verus forged clutch fork and fork pivot

Any other suggested parts to add to this list or any upgraded bushings I should look into while getting this work done?

[hyper4mance]

Depends on your purpose of the vehicle and how many miles you have. I'll lump it into one of two categories: 1) daily driving/ occasional spirited driving or 2) autox/trackday car.
If you are tracking/autoxing, I'd say replace the flywheel with a lighter one. Keep in mind there are various weights of flywheels. Too light, you will need to rev the engine higher and you will need to change your driving style to get moving so do your homework on what suits your needs. The clutch type depends on how crazy your car is. Look up how much torque each can handle. If you are staying NA, anywhere from OEM to stage 2 is fine. The clutch feel will be affected the higher stage you go since it requires more bite (stiffer pedal).

If its just daily driving/occasional spirited driving resurface flywheel should be fine. I've heard there isnt too much of a difference between OEM and stage 1. Stage 2 is still very manageable but slightly more noticeable with the clutch pressure, but overkill IMO (assuming you are still NA). It all depends on what you are looking for... soft cushy pedal for DD or something to hold up to the added power.

[gravitylover]

Originally Posted by asdf

Any other suggested parts to add to this list or any upgraded bushings I should look into while getting this work done?

Maybe the MTec spring

[asdf]

Originally Posted by hyper4mance

Depends on your purpose of the vehicle and how many miles you have. I'll lump it into one of two categories: 1) daily driving/ occasional spirited driving or 2) autox/trackday car.
If you are tracking/autoxing, I'd say replace the flywheel with a lighter one. Keep in mind there are various weights of flywheels. Too light, you will need to rev the engine higher and you will need to change your driving style to get moving so do your homework on what suits your needs. The clutch type depends on how crazy your car is. Look up how much torque each can handle. If you are staying NA, anywhere from OEM to stage 2 is fine. The clutch feel will be affected the higher stage you go since it requires more bite (stiffer pedal).

If its just daily driving/occasional spirited driving resurface flywheel should be fine. I've heard there isnt too much of a difference between OEM and stage 1. Stage 2 is still very manageable but slightly more noticeable with the clutch pressure, but overkill IMO (assuming you are still NA). It all depends on what you are looking for... soft cushy pedal for DD or something to hold up to the added power.

Car is a daily with the occasional non-competitive autocross. I wouldn't mind a stiffer pedal but don't have any plans that would warrant a stage 2 clutch. I'm not planning to go forced induction any time soon, and if I do it would likely stay on a CARB tune.

Exedy has a "lightweight flywheel" at 13.8 lbs which is lighter than the stock 20.x, but not as light as the ~10lbs ones out there. Just not sure if it's worth the $400 price tag!

Originally Posted by gravitylover

Maybe the MTec spring

Good call, I have them sitting in original packaging in the garage and never got around to installing them... this would be a good time to throw them in!

[WNDSRFR]

I finished changing my TOB and clutch and it was super easy. The TOB change took about a minute and the clutch change took maybe 15 minutes.

Now removing the transmission was a BITCH. Took two days. But a lot of the problems were because I didn't really know what I was doing. And I did take my time. The hardest part was breaking loose the bolts. They were torqued down like you wouldn't believe. Especially the drive shaft. It felt like those bolts were welded on. But you get a long enough breaker bar and something is going to give. There's no way anything was torqued to spec. But my transmission was replaced BY THE DEALER GORILLAS when the car was new.
(Came with a bad 5th gear syncro.) They probably set the impact wrench to 100 Lbs/In and went at it.
I haven't replaced the transmission yet because I really need the proper jack to get it back in place. I went to Harbor Freight this morning to get a crawler and a jack, but the jack I wanted was out of stock. They said they're getting 5 in tomorrow. The thing goes from 2 inches to like 26 inches. For $99. That's 80 bucks with the coupon. Should be perfect for the job. And many other things.
So I think I can probably get the car back together and running in maybe 2 or 3 hours. Taking my time, not forgeting anything. (Like putting the oil back into the transmission).
I have some pictures to share. I'll try to post them now. We'll see how that goes.

[WNDSRFR]

This is the melted TOB.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by WNDSRFR

This is the melted TOB.

Good to read you are making progress.

Don't forget to grease up the clutch fork .....

"Melted TOB" !! ...... now, THAT is an understatement ......


humfrz

[WNDSRFR]

This is the new clutch vs. the old. For a clutch with 129,000 miles on it, it looks pretty good. Probably could have gotten another 100,000 miles out of it. Also the flywheel is pristine. So I'm not going to touch it. I'm debating whether to change the little bearing on the flywheel or not. It came with the kit but I don't know if it is pressed in or not.

[WNDSRFR]

This is what I used to drop the transmission. I borrowed this little POS jack from my neighbor and had to fabricate this crazy adapter. Luckily I just bought a welder recently to fix my exhaust problem and learned to use it. My old aftermarket resonator got noisy because all the glass pack was gone allowing the screen the rattle like hell. So I bought a new glass pack resonator and welded it to the pipes cut off from the old one. The adapter is made from the old resonator I used for welding practice.
There's no way I could get the transmission back with this POS, That's why I'm waiting for Harbor Freight to come through.
The problem with this jack is it won't go low enough. I could remove the transmission with it, but it was still too high to roll from under the car. I ended up getting a big thick blanket, laid it on the ground and rolled the transmission
off the jack and on to the ground. It "only" weighs 86 lbs.

[WNDSRFR]

I got this on day 2. I should have gotten it 30 years ago!

Well it's time for several beers. I feel good. I did it!

[Ultramaroon]

You caught it

just

in

time.

Bearing had failed and was heating up. Temp went past the drop temp of the bearing lube and you changed it before it melted the plastic guide bushing.

[WNDSRFR]

Yeah I got really lucky that it failed so close to home. I just pulled off the interstate and depressed the clutch and I could feel it start to melt. And smell it. This is the damage done after maybe 7 clutch engagements after the failure. Yeah, I was lucky. There was no other damage done other than the bearing.

[WNDSRFR]

Oh
By the way, this is the OEM clutch.
It's an Exedy

[NARFALICIOUS]

Originally Posted by hyper4mance

There's lots of threads on this, which I used to research. TOB is a very common issue where the problem lies with an improper lubricant in the bearing. The revised part now has a higher temp lubricant and should be fine. Frankly, I'm shocked you got that many miles out of yours.

I just had this done 4 days ago and I had a similar issue where pressing the clutch pedal would have a grinding noise, even with light pressure on the pedal. Letting off, the noise went away and sounds exactly like Dandox's issue. If there was slipping, it was very minimal since I caught it early, car had 71k miles on a 2013. It's seen a half dozen track days or so, and maybe 30-40 autox's in addition to be daily driven. After replacing the parts below, the clutch pedal feels great again. I guess I never noticed the vague feel of a worn clutch. With your mileage, I would recommend replacing the following while the trans is apart:

1. TOB if it is not included with the clutch kit, some say the revised OEM part is still preferred. Forgot the name of the other bearing, but replace that too while you are at it.
2. Clutch/pressure plate - I went with an exedy OEM since this is not my track car.
3. resurface OEM flywheel or go lightweight if you like, depends on your purpose of the car. Note going too light will make it more difficult to drive if you aren't used to it.
4. Trans fluid will need to be replaced
5. OEM clutch fork tends to be weak. Verus forged clutch fork and Clutch Fork Pivot is a good idea.
6. Rear Main Seal
7. whiteline positive shift kit while you are down there and diff mount. I have noticed there is more whining/whirring after installing this, not a surprise.

Unfortunately I have another issue, P301 code I'm pretty sure its the DI seals. 1st gen problems...

Originally Posted by Beachin86

Correction: A new TOB DOES come with Exedy kits. I bought an OEM clutch kit when my TOB went bad, and there was a new TOB included.

HOWEVER: DO. NOT. USE. EXEDY'S. TOB. You'll want to buy the newer one from Subaru or Toyota. They knowingly upgraded this part when this issue became common. Throw away the one that comes with the kit.

Got the OEM Throwout bearing & OEM Pilot bearing. How do you guys feel about the pilot bearing that comes with the Exedy Stage 1 kit, is it basically an OEM?

Originally Posted by Beachin86

The main reason why these are going bad on earlier models isn't the part, per se, but the grease that was used. It doesn't withstand the heat it endures, so it breaks down over time and results in the TOB going out. I don't know what other changes were made to the new TOB, but I do know the grease was changed to a more heat-resistant one. There's no guarantee that the TOB that comes in the Exedy kits has this. By not spending the $40 on the updated part, you run the risk of this happening all over again later down the road.

Tcoat has referenced the new part. There's a Subaru branded one and a Toyota, but they're really the same thing. I would go with the proper brand just to be on the safe side if a warranty claim should arise in the future.

The Toyota part is less than $25. By the way, since you mentioned grease being the failure originally, are you referring to the grease internally in the bearing? Or the grease that you put on the inside bore? The RM says to put grease there, just want to make sure. And should I use the grease that comes with the clutch kit or get OEM?

BTW I just picked up both OEM bearings, and waiting on a rear main seal, planning to decide on a clutch and order it soon.