Clutch Release Bearing Melted

[sirsol66]

You might be the highest mileage FR-S I've heard of; may I ask what your ownership experience has been? If you could give us an overview, I'm sure many people would be interested. Thanks! (and good luck with the TOB)

[hattrickey]

I just got back from the dealership after having my clutch diagnosed. My release bearing, throw-out bearing, and pressure plate are all on their way out. I only have 25,000 miles on the car. They are putting in a new clutch assembly next week when they get the parts in. I really hope this isn't an indication of things to come.

[chaoskaze]

WOW 155K?!

I think you should post a picture XD

[Ramster]

Originally Posted by hattrickey

I just got back from the dealership after having my clutch diagnosed. My release bearing, throw-out bearing, and pressure plate are all on their way out. I only have 25,000 miles on the car. They are putting in a new clutch assembly next week when they get the parts in. I really hope this isn't an indication of things to come.

Me too man. Throw out bearing is melted and may have damaged the clutch as well. I'll be finding out about that later. I'm probably gonna just replace the clutch and flywheel to aftermarket.

[kiichiro]

This is why I am. It sure I would ever buy another subaru after all, it's not a kia, it's the friggin brz but they use pot metal, I mean the type of thow our bearing I see in other cars I own granted they are euro cars, it's not something you need to replace on most cars, but a known issue, for years on subaru.

My act clutch was fine at first as it ages, it gets loud and slips. Like I said, I'm fine being subaru free. It was just a phase

[wheelhaus]

Originally Posted by akahenry

Excuse my ignorance but, can someone explain to me what it means for the clutch to start squealing? Also, can someone take a video the clutch "squealing?"

The clutch itself (friction surfaces) don't squeal, the throwout bearing does. There's plenty of youtube videos highlighting the noise in many different cars. If the bearing has lost its lube, or doesn't have enough, or is made poorly, or somehow becomes damaged, it creates too much friction and will be noisy, like a dry bearing. This could be a grinding feeling/noise, accompanied by squealing/screeching/scraping sound that usually only happens when the TOB is loaded (when the clutch pedal is depressed). If it goes on long enough, the bearing siezes and the next lowest friction point will slip (metal on metal = permanent damage), probably where the bearing meets the fork, or where the bearing meets the leaf spring fingers. This squealing is really painful (like the beginning of the youtube video above). If the leaf springs get damaged, the clutch needs to be replaced.

If you catch it early enough, only the bearing will need replacement. A lot of people however just drive along hoping the noise will go away. When it gets replaced, many opt to replace the clutch at the same time out of convenience. The TOB is just a simple ball bearing, but it's not designed to be under constant load like a wheel bearing. It's designed to be used momentarily between shifts. If you need to stop at a light or something, don't sit with your foot on the clutch pedal, or drive with your foot resting on the pedal, or slip the clutch excessively. Any of these things cause the bearing to be overused and can overheat it.

[wheelhaus]

Subaru bumper-bumper warranty is 36k miles, but I thought drivetrain warranty is 60k mi, correct? A clutch might be considered a wear item, so maybe the bearing is lumped in with it... Not sure.

[akahenry]

Originally Posted by wheelhaus

The clutch itself (friction surfaces) don't squeal, the throwout bearing does. There's plenty of youtube videos highlighting the noise in many different cars. If the bearing has lost its lube, or doesn't have enough, or is made poorly, or somehow becomes damaged, it creates too much friction and will be noisy, like a dry bearing. This could be a grinding feeling/noise, accompanied by squealing/screeching/scraping sound that usually only happens when the TOB is loaded (when the clutch pedal is depressed). If it goes on long enough, the bearing siezes and the next lowest friction point will slip (metal on metal = permanent damage), probably where the bearing meets the fork, or where the bearing meets the leaf spring fingers. This squealing is really painful (like the beginning of the youtube video above). If the leaf springs get damaged, the clutch needs to be replaced.

If you catch it early enough, only the bearing will need replacement. A lot of people however just drive along hoping the noise will go away. When it gets replaced, many opt to replace the clutch at the same time out of convenience. The TOB is just a simple ball bearing, but it's not designed to be under constant load like a wheel bearing. It's designed to be used momentarily between shifts. If you need to stop at a light or something, don't sit with your foot on the clutch pedal, or drive with your foot resting on the pedal, or slip the clutch excessively. Any of these things cause the bearing to be overused and can overheat it.

Thanks so much for the information! The bold part was the part that I wanted to hear and now I'm seriously afraid of what's to come. My clutch does make the squishy, not really squealing-per-say noise, but doesn't slip or feel mechanically wrong. My car only has 23k on it and the only "mod" I've done in regards to the clutch was adjusting the clutch engagement point, since the OEM engagement height is ridiculously long. Should I be worried? Should I take my car into a local dealership and have it inspected (If so, I'll be 2x more worried since my car is tuned and has an aftermarket catless header onto it...which will inevitably lead the dealership to decline inspection onto my vehicle)?

[wheelhaus]

Originally Posted by akahenry

Thanks so much for the information! The bold part was the part that I wanted to hear and now I'm seriously afraid of what's to come. My clutch does make the squishy, not really squealing-per-say noise, but doesn't slip or feel mechanically wrong. My car only has 23k on it and the only "mod" I've done in regards to the clutch was adjusting the clutch engagement point, since the OEM engagement height is ridiculously long. Should I be worried? Should I take my car into a local dealership and have it inspected (If so, I'll be 2x more worried since my car is tuned and has an aftermarket catless header onto it...which will inevitably lead the dealership to decline inspection onto my vehicle)?

Your concern is valid, but don't get paranoid. You can always have a shop inspect it to get a better diagnosis. If you hear your noise when the car is off, it's NOT the TOB, its most likely just normal noise from things moving.

The clutch system is mechanical and hydraulic, so it will make some noises, but none of them should be really loud. The pedal can make a squishing squeaking noise when it moves, the clutch itself can make some mechanical noise when it separates or compresses... The key is to narrow down what noises happen when. The dying TOB noise will ONLY happen when the car is running, and typically only when the pedal has pressure (or held in place), not necessarily when its only in transition. If you only hear noise when you are pressing or releasing the pedal, it might not be the TOB at all.

Its also possible you may have adjusted the pedal too aggressively. The long travel is partly to ensure the fork is not putting ANY pressure on the bearing at rest. If you adjusted the engagement point too high, you're essentially putting the fork closer and closer to the pressure point. If its set too high, it might still be putting slight pressure on the bearing when the pedal is all the way out. If this is the case, I might expect to hear noise constantly since the bearing would always be under some pressure.

[Kostamojen]

I expect mine to go out at around 20-30k. Only have 10k on the car now (year and a half owning the car).

I'm not gentle with a clutch, so I expect it.

If you don't want this kind of problem, and don't baby the car, buy an automatic. Manual cars have more maintenance costs, period.

[wheelhaus]

Originally Posted by Kostamojen

I expect mine to go out at around 20-30k. Only have 10k on the car now (year and a half owning the car).

I'm not gentle with a clutch, so I expect it.

If you don't want this kind of problem, and don't baby the car, buy an automatic. Manual cars have more maintenance costs, period.

Being hard on the clutch isn't necessarily a problem for a TOB, unless you ride the pedal or slip it excessively. Shifting easy or extremely hard really makes no difference to the TOB, either way it sees the same load when the pedal is depressed.

[Ramster]

Originally Posted by wheelhaus

Subaru bumper-bumper warranty is 36k miles, but I thought drivetrain warranty is 60k mi, correct? A clutch might be considered a wear item, so maybe the bearing is lumped in with it... Not sure.

The dealership told me it's not something that's generally covered under their warranty but SOA may do a one time warranty on mine. We'll see how it goes this week when I go back. I ordered a new ACT clutch just in case it wasn't covered under warranty.

Who knows, may end up installing the new ACT clutch and lightweight flywheel anyways even if it's under warranty since it was in my plan for future mods.

[Ramster]

Originally Posted by Griever423

Mine makes the same noise you're describing. It kind of comes and goes. I took it in to the dealer and had them listen, they didn't seem concerned. In 16k miles my 36k is up and I'm wondering if it's the throwout bearing or something I should push to have replaced before it fails early.

Here's the video of what mine sounds like. Finally got around to uploading it.

Like I mentioned though, it's gotten worse since then and it makes that noise through the entire motion of engaging and disengaging the clutch. Gets worse as the car warms up (barely noticeable at cold start).

If anyone wants, I can upload a more recent video with the worse sounds, just let me know.

[GotBRZ1691]

Originally Posted by Ramster

Here's the video of what mine sounds like. Finally got around to uploading it.

Like I mentioned though, it's gotten worse since then and it makes that noise through the entire motion of engaging and disengaging the clutch. Gets worse as the car warms up (barely noticeable at cold start).

If anyone wants, I can upload a more recent video with the worse sounds, just let me know.

Wait, so its the noise as your pushing the pedal in....

Balls, mine just started to do this. Dealership already has a new transmission waiting for me, might as well tell them to order a new clutch assembly while they are at it.

I was told that the clutch was covered under warranty when I purchased the car.