intermittent clutch slip ?

[John Eyles]

Noticed my clutch slipping, fairly badly, this
weekend. The problem is intermittent ! It seems
to go away after the car sits a couple hours or more,
and then return after 1/2 hour or so of driving.
Overheating ? Oil leak ?

Also, I have had the infamous "clutch shudder" problem
ever since I got a new clutch. And that was less than
10K miles - one year ago. Which, of course, with that
little mileage makes the slippage problem even more
mysterious and troubling.

Somethings bad wrong.

John

 

[K5]

Noticed my clutch slipping, fairly badly, this
weekend. The problem is intermittent ! It seems
to go away after the car sits a couple hours or more,
and then return after 1/2 hour or so of driving.
Overheating ? Oil leak ?

Also, I have had the infamous "clutch shudder" problem
ever since I got a new clutch. And that was less than
10K miles - one year ago. Which, of course, with that
little mileage makes the slippage problem even more
mysterious and troubling.

First, check the clutch cable adjustment. Don't know what car and model you
have but if it has a cable-in-tube style cable, then the tube could be worn
out and be kind of grabby which sometimes makes it seem like the clutch is
shuddering. The cables don't always wear out or break, but the tube can get
shot.

It could be that the crank seal is piddling oil. Next time it happens, at a
full stop at a stop light, ride the clutch in second to get going again. If
there's oil on there, this will burn it off and the problem will disappear
until some more oil piddles back on there. Use some rpms but don't go nuts
and end up glazing the disc.

That said, if you're getting a slip and shudder AND it just happened to
start after you put a new clutch in, the question would be did you use a new
pressure plate along along with a new friction disc and was there any
scoring or galling on the flywheel?

 

[John Eyles]

have but if it has a cable-in-tube style cable, then the tube could be worn

out and be kind of grabby which sometimes makes it seem like the clutch is
shuddering. The cables don't always wear out or break, but the tube can get
shot.

It's a 1997 Legacy Outback. Hydrualic clutch. Pedal freeplay seems right.

It could be that the crank seal is piddling oil. Next time it happens, at a
full stop at a stop light, ride the clutch in second to get going again. If
there's oil on there, this will burn it off and the problem will disappear
until some more oil piddles back on there. Use some rpms but don't go nuts
and end up glazing the disc.

Ok, I'll try this.

That said, if you're getting a slip and shudder AND it just happened to
start after you put a new clutch in, the question would be did you use a new
pressure plate along along with a new friction disc and was there any
scoring or galling on the flywheel?

A Subaru dealer did it, and of course I'll be chatting with him soon !
Also, it was done almost a year ago (less than 10K miles) and the
problem did not appear until fairly recently. They definitely put in
a new pressure plate (or charged for it), but not a flywheel.
It also had the dreaded "shudder" problem right after they put it in,
but the weather was warming and it kinda went awa so I decided to wait
until THIS winter to take it back. Probably a mistake to not follow
up sooner.

Thanks, John

 

[tomcas]

I don't know if it's from the rear main or the tranny seal, but it sounds
like fluid leaking on the clutch. How many miles on the car?

 

[David Buchner]

Noticed my clutch slipping, fairly badly, this
weekend. The problem is intermittent ! It seems
to go away after the car sits a couple hours or more,
and then return after 1/2 hour or so of driving.
Overheating ? Oil leak ?

Also, I have had the infamous "clutch shudder" problem
ever since I got a new clutch. And that was less than
10K miles - one year ago. Which, of course, with that
little mileage makes the slippage problem even more
mysterious and troubling.

Somethings bad wrong.

Sorry to hear that. My Toyota pickup recently had its clutch replaced,
and that was also intermittent -- for more than a year, I got by with
it, and still managed to take it in to get fixed without ever getting
stranded (the only clutch failure I'd ever experienced before was sudden
surprise, now-you're-stopped failure). But that clutch was old and not a
surprise.

Is this an Impreza?

 

[John Eyles]

I don't know if it's from the rear main or the tranny seal, but it sounds

like fluid leaking on the clutch. How many miles on the car?

That's kinda my guess too. The front cam and/or crank seals started
leaking like crazy recently - fortunately they were cheap to replace
along with a nearly-due timing belt replacement.

The car has 93K miles.

John