Clutch pedal squeaking, power loss in 6th
 

So I noticed yesterday that my clutch pedal was squeaking on return stroke and making a bit of a vibration as it squeaked. Sound is more like a creaking noise really. I did some reading and watched some videos and the throw out bearing is likely the culprit. Not a big deal, I'll get it dealt with later this week.

Then I noticed on my way home while cruising along in 6th gear at around 2000rpm that I started to lose speed on a slight incline which hasn't happened before. I gave more and more throttle and the car still refused to accelerate even wide open throttle. Downshift to 5th and it can accelerate again. Back to 6th, still no power so I stay in 5th until I get home. No check engine lights and I ran fault scan anyways, no faults found so not convinced it's an engine problem. Stick car in neutral with clutch out and rev, seems to rev normally. Clutch in and rev, it's similar.

Anyone think this might be related to a bad clutch/TOB issue? I'm a little weak in my knowledge/experience of this particular area and don't know how they can affect things like this. I can imagine a slipping clutch could cause this but I understand the revs would go up if that was happening and they did not when I was flooring it in 6th.

I also can't really tell if the power is similar in 5th than usual because it's kind of weak anyways. Tried 2nd gear pull and it felt mostly normal but once again, hard to say, I haven't driven hard in months since too much ice and snow here.

Looking for opinions. Planning to take it to Subaru tomorrow although I'm now 2 months out of warranty so not sure what they'll do if anything...

Calling on @Tcoat and @Ultramaroon ...... our resident clutch and TOB experts.

I'll stick my neck out and speculate that the TOB is freezing up.

What ya'll think??


humfrz

When my TOB went the car drove fine in every gear. It was getting it to each gear that was the interesting part. Yours could have gone a different route though and it could be related. I would think you would smell it if slipping in 6th.

I'll go WAY out on a limb with the lack of oomph because I've experienced it in heavy rain. Was there any slush/snow/ice on the that incline?

I have felt in the VSC what I can best describe as an integration function. If enough short periods of wheel slippage are detected within some period of time like 10-30 seconds, it will secretly pull throttle.

I'm pretty comfortable with water. When I cross enough little puddles going fast enough to induce teeny bits of hydroplane, VSC gets passive-aggressive. Without any other indication the car slows down no matter how much I mash the gas pedal. It also takes a while for the condition to clear itself. Super annoying.

Does that sound plausible in your situation?

The roads were damp last night but I wasn't slipping at all at any point although your description of the behaviour is spot on so it does sound the same. Almost seemed like the car was in limp mode although no CEL accompanied it. Either way, on way to work this morning, the car was fine, even in 6th.

I will note that the clutch is still squeaking on engagement but it's not nearly as loud as it was yesterday. I could hear it over the fan at the "2" position yesterday (My premium BRZ has same HVAC controls as an FRS) where I had to have the fan completely off today to hear it. I wonder if there was some funny business with the TOB/Clutch that engaged the mode Ultramaroon referenced yesterday. Car was handling funny for sure at the time too.

VSC pulls way before I think it should but I get why. Also depends on the rubber. It doesn't play nicely with squishy winter tires.

Squeaky clutch pedal while pressing or releasing is almost certainly the dry fork pivot. It'll come and go with the weather. Just have to clean & lube.

Resistance while pressing, or hangup while releasing is a symptom of the TOB binding on the quill. That needs to be addressed. It gets pretty ugly from there on.

Thanks Ultramaroon, I drove around at lunch and the noise and vibration from the clutch pedal appear to be completely gone now so you're probably right about the fork pivot needing some grease based on what you say. At the suggestion of some other people, I went ahead and ordered the 2017 TOB from Subaru (part is only $50 CAD so might as well) and ill swap it in the spring for good measure and make it a point to lube the fork pivot well at the same time. If the noise returns before then, I might see if I can find some clean and dry garage space I can borrow and do it right away.

I'll say!
Oh and it gets quiet for a bit before it blows up.

Well maybe I'll see if I can find that dry garage sooner rather than later...

I can't see how this would be a TOB issue. If it won't accelerate in 6th up a hill, if you don't smell burning clutch, it's not the clutch either. I wouldn't worry about it unless you see a pattern of behavior develop. One time could be a fluke thing- any number of a hundred things.

Do you have Torque Pro? If so, start watching your numbers (AFR, Fuel Trims etc) while you drive. No CEL, o probs with fuel trims, everything looks OK, don't panic. Grease the fork (easy fix for the squeak) but the rest I think was just conditions outside.

Yeah not so concerned about the TOB, there are no other symptoms with the clutch other than the noise that comes and goes.

Power loss happened again last night and I actually think I may have a brake dragging because as I mentioned, the car seems to handle funny when it happens and I was hearing an unfamiliar noise. There's been a lot of freezing rain lately so it's possible one of the calipers has frozen or seized. I'm going to take it to the coin op car wash on the way home tonight and blast the wheels out and hope that clears it up.

If you do have a brake dragging, I doubt that will fix it.

You may wish to jack up the wheels and spin them to see if the brake is dragging .....;)



humfrz

Yeah, I've been rethinking mentioning my experience because it only happens if I'm really getting after it in the wet. You know, probably faster than a normal person would.

Make sure there's no ice build up under the wheel wells. Feel the wheels when this happens and see if one is a lot hotter than the others- brakes will create a ton of heat when they drag. I forgot about brakes dragging and that you're in a very cold place.