Dealer or shop for TOB and clutch replacement?
 

2013 FR-S 50k miles. What has been everyone’s experience here? My daughters throw out bearing went out last night, and it’s not something I feel comfortable tackling myself. While I’m changing the TOB, I mine as well change the clutch and fly wheel. Several questions for y’all.

1. I’ve noticed on here a lot of talk about the OLD TOB replacement part, and to make sure I get a NEW version of the bearing. How will I know if it’s the new version vs the old?

2. Will a regular shop even know what I’m talking about, or do y’all recommend just taking it to a Subaru dealer repair shop where they are familiar with these engines?

3. I think I can get it to the repair shop, but will it hurt the car even more if I drive it to the shop? When I press the clutch I hear wining and grinding and so on. Doesn’t sound good, but I can get it in gear and once I left off the clutch it drives fine, should I tow it, or will it be ok to limp to the shop?

4. Any recommendations for a shop the works on these cars and are familiar around the Fort Worth area? There is a Subaru dealer in Grapevine I might take it too.

Thanks for the responses, this group is alway really good and alway helps me out a ton!

My lazy ass would probably just drive it. Roll up to stops slow and shift without clutching.

LOL if it was me I probably would do that, but it’s my daughters car so I gotta make sure it’s good.

When I had my throw out bearing replaced, the technician thought the clutch was OK but felt the pressure plate was not up to his standards. Mind you, these two parts got replaced under warranty at approximately 59k miles. I do tend to be easy on clutches in my cars. Take it to somebody you trust to have those components verified, if your vehicle has low mileage to avoid replacing parts that are still in good shape.

Oh, most importantly, make sure you get the new updated throw out bearing P/N. And, dont forget to ensure pivot ball is refreshed with good lube as it can be a source of problems.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

How long is the BRZ warranty?
First owner only?

You can have the job done in an independent shop and ask that they source oem parts.

Subaru of Grapevine does good work from my experience, very clean shop. They have done TOB warranty repair on my WRX before.

Toyota of Grapevine was good to me a few years ago but I don't know how they are now. I'd see if the TOB can replaced under warranty and then just pay for new clutch at the same time.

Otherwise there are plenty of shops around the west side of the metroplex that are twin/Subaru experienced: ATS Racing (Denton), AWD Tuning (Flower Mound), Auto Science (Lewisville) and PRT Performance (Lewisville) at the top of my head.

If you have all the tools to change a clutch on a 90's car you can do it on this car. It's straight forward if you look at some YouTube videos. I done it in my garage, while drunk, a sore back and just being mad all the time. Took me about 8 hours. Well 4 hours one day another 4 hours the next day . So I'll sure you can do it.

As for the other questions
1. You could google it, call the dealer parts department, or look up the online parts catolog.

2. Yes any shop would know what you are talking about. There is nothing new about the drive train layout on a rwd car since the 50's. Any good mechanic shop will do the job.

3. You could move it if need be but I wouldn't drive it more then 25 miles. The worst that would happen is you'll need the shaft cover the tob rides on. That's another $120 you have to replace.
4. I'm sure some local guys would chime in on that one.

That gets old really fast. Believe me.



Make sure you get the part number on the TSB below. Double check them since some still have the old part number in the system.

You may be able to drive it but if you push it too hard it will take out the whole clutch. Turns a $200 repair into a $1200 one in a hurry. Believe me!

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2017...ff73d11654.jpg

I would just replace everything while you're in there.
Parts are cheap. Labor is not.

Dealer or shop for TOB and clutch replacement?
 

If you take it to Toyota then go there with the TSB printed and hand it to them to be sure they use the new part. If they have the old part in stock I wouldn’t put it past them to use that one regardless of your request and there is no way to know which one you get without dropping the tranny. At 55k your clutch and flywheel are probably fine. If you take it to another shop I would buy the TOB yourself and bring it to them to install. You are fine to drive the car to the shop.

The new TOB is $20 and you can get an OEM clutch/flywheel/TOB/pilot bearing kit for about $375 on amazon. I wouldn’t use the TOB from the kit, use the one you order from Toyota. Anyways, just to give you an idea of what all the parts cost.

Just happened to my car, 2013 with 109k miles. Drove it to the shop, OK. Flywheel was OK, had clutch and TOB bearing replaced by dealer. Dealer was knowledgeable about the upgraded TOB, and cost was eleven hundred - reasonable in my opinion. Car drives like new again.

Yeah I ended up asking it to a transmission shop near me. 1100, if the flywheel needs replacement it’ll be an extra 400. The Subaru dealer wanted 1600+. I showed the shop that new part number and they wrote it down to order it.

Thanks for all the reply’s, I’ll update as soon as I get it back.

If the flywheel is not bad they can have it resurfaces for way under $400. Mine had to be resurfaced.

If you hadn't already done so, you might remind them to lub up the clutch fork real good.


humfrz

And as I said before, the OEM clutch kit for 375 includes a flywheel. There is another version of the kit with a lightweight (11.9lbs) flywheel also for 375. FYI, Exedy makes the original clutch.

You have a link? Everything I can find with a flywheel start at about $900.

Kit with original weight flywheel:
https://www.amazon.com/EXEDY-CLUTCH-...rds=frs+clutch

Kit with 11.9lbs flywheel:
https://www.amazon.com/CLUTCH-CHROMO...70_&dpSrc=srch

Both of these kits include, clutch disk, pressure plate, flywheel, pilot bearing, alignment tool and TOB (although I wouldn't use the one form the kit).

You can also get the Exedy flywheel alone for $128:
https://www.amazon.com/Exedy-TYF001-...9804YJTXHYYVK2

Perfect. Thanks. I have no idea why they won't come up in a search for me. It is a great piece of info to be able to pass on.

Are you on the Canadian Amazon site? Maybe that is the difference. When I type "frs clutch" it is flooded with kits for cheap. Amazon has the ability to tell it what cars you own, I have added mine which may also have some influence on my search results.

I tried both the US and Canadian ones and although I came up with a few cheap kits none had the flywheel included. Not sure I would be interested in the $60 no name kit that showed up in one search (but then never again). I have my doubts about that one. It could be something to do with having the car listed since I have never done that.

It says it's Exedy but I've never purchased these kits so I can't say for sure it isn't a scam. It's strange because there used to be a bunch of questions and reviews on these kits sold buy this same seller and they have all gone away. For example their were people quoting the weight of the flywheel in reviews because the description doesn't specify the weight.

Not those ones they look legit. There was one that was like "Bubbas custom clutches". Probably a Chinese knockoff of some kind. It only appeared in one search and I could never get it back again.

***UPDATE***

So the shop called and I got the car back. No flywheel was needed. They got the new version of the Throw out bearing installed too. Total was $1104.40. They are giving me a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty for the work done. One thing is when I put it in first gear, I really have to force it to the left and then up. I’m hoping this will get better once we drive it a little and broken in. Clutch feels good and sounds good. Just first and second gear take a little extra force to get in gear. Anyone know if that’s alright?

I suspect they didn't properly adjust the reverse lockout. It's an easy fix which only requires a 10mm ratchet.

https://demos.starbase7.net/t3Portal...39395215073103

Thank you so much! I just printed this out and took it back to them to fix. They are back to work, ad I think that’s exactly what it was! Thanks again my daughter was freakin out about it.

***UPDATE 2***

Well I picked it up again after taking it back because of the reverse lock adjustment. Now I could easily get it into first gear, but second gear was blocked and I couldn’t get the car into second gear. I took it back again. Now just waiting for them to try again.

This might answer my question to the original post. I paid 1100 for a shop that may or may not have worked on one of these cars before, as it saved me 500 compared to the Subaru quote. But now I’m having to deal with this stuff. I’m kind of wishing I would have paid the dealer extra just to get it right the first time. Live and learn I guess.

The funny thing is once you've had this tranny off you realize there is actually no reason to even tamper with the shifter. Taking the shifter apart just adds another 20mins to the job. When dropping this tranny you disconnect the shift linkage from below the car and leave the shifter and interior of the car alone. This also saves you from having to readjust the lockout because you never moved it in the first place.

Well I guess that’s what I get for not vetting a shop like I should. I should have asked if they’ve done one of these. I specifically chose a transmission shop because out of all the shops out there, you’d think they’ve seen enough transmission to fix it. Now they’re still Messing with it, I’m afraid they’re gonna screw it up now. I’m wondering if I should take it to a dealer now to fix their mistakes. So frustrating.

There are several DIY guides and hints here on the forum. You may wish to print some of them out and share them with the tech doing the work. Be careful how you present that information.


humfrz

Thanks humfrz. We got it back today and I drove it and I think they finally got it all squared away. The gears all go into place like they should now. My daughter thinks the clutch pedal is not coming all the way out, but I think she’s just overthinking it now because of all the other stuff. I drove the car and I thought the clutch felt fine. No noises and it shifts like it should. I don’t feel like the clutch is sticking or sticking in, is there anyway to tell what the proper pedal travel should be? Or is there anyway I could check that? This is her car and she’s the one who drives it all the time, so maybe it doesn’t feel exactly like she’s used too. Is it possible they didn’t bleed the clutch all the way like they should have?

There is a spring down there that will return the pedal all the way even if there is a little air in the line. You could also grab the pedal with your hand and pull on it to make sure it’s returning all the way. There is a stopper and switch that gets tripped when it’s fully returned. Actually, put it in neutral with the clutch out and try to start the car. If the pedal isn’t returning all the way the car will start. If it is returning all the way it will trip the switch causing the car to cut the ignition and the car will not start.

I suspect it’s just “different” felling and she is over analyzing. New clutches typically make the pedal very soft due to the change in the angle of the pressure plate fingers and all the fresh lube on the slave, fork and TOB. You probably don’t notice it as much because you weren’t driving it everyday like she was.

Thanks ermax I passed your message to her. That’ll make her feel better.