woodc

The troubles continue with my recently purchased 2003 :-( The other day in a parking lot the clutch pedal went nuts when I pushed it in...it felt almost like ABS does on the brake pedal....an icky vibration/pulsing combined with an ugly noise. I quickly went back to neutral and tried again and it was fine...until I parked and tried to take off again and it did the same thing...the car shuddered and felt horrible until it got rolling in first then it was fine from there back to my office...then for the entire trip home?

Yesterday was the first chance I got to try again and the very first time I pushed the clutch pedal after starting it up the nasty noise/feeling was there...but then it went away and I pushed it in/out a dozen times and nothing...but when I went to back out of the garage it made a nasty sqeaking almost sound as I reversed (once the clutch was engaged) and made the same noise when I pulled back into the garage.

The car has an HKS twin plate and has always (for the few hundred miles I have driven it since purchase) made all kinds of nasty sounds (rattle while the clutch is depressed and rattle like hell on decel) but from searching the board this seemed normal. The previous owner had his local dealer install the clutch...and from all the documentation I can find the TOB was not replaced (although he says they did <shrug>)

This seems kinda like a TOB failure to me but....does anyone else have any ideas. The car has about 32K on it and I know they were probably hard. I am hopeing the tranny isn't about to dump <whimper>

Thanks

nutnbutturbo4

iTrader: (1)

ya know what my ACT HD did the same thing.yea i also think its the TOB but when i went to shift in to 2nd at 8000 is when it all happend. so i drove the car home 20 miles away shuting off the car and getting it rolling with the starter then shifting with out cluth. no sliping of disc i just could not get ingauged with pedel. well thats when i decided to break down motor and start all mechine work. still have not touched trans. i plan to upgrade clutch to RPS twin carbon.

superz

iTrader: (7)

I have plenty of experience with HKS clutches having owned one and replaced 3 of them on other Evos. The problem is inside the clutch basket. Basically the clutch basket holds the clutch discs and is holed together by bolts. These bolts also hold the small springs that are designed to absorb some of the harshness involved with engagement. Problem here is that these bolts break easily and cause all sorts of noises, from squeaks to scrapes to vibrations. This happens because you have small fragments of the springs and bolts flying around in the clutch basket. Basically you will need to replace the entire clutch assembly. Take my advice, get an ACT clutch. I have installed most brand clutches from ACT, HKS, Ogura, OS Giken, RRE, Exedy (all types) and the best alternative and the best driveability comes from an ACT.

woodc

Ugh.... I think you are probably right....if it were the TOB it would be more consistent....like it is now it only does it once in a while.

How long does a clutch job take on these beasts? I have a good array of tools (including air tools) and have done quite a few clutches before (3rd gen RX7, MR2 turbo, MR2 NA, Subie AWD) but never a traverse AWD.

Any particular "gotchas" to be aware of (I will search for this later)? Also...are these pull or push type clutches (once again...I can search later for this as well ;-)

Thanks

instigator

iTrader: (7)

They are pull type and that is one of the gotchas. Release the TOB from the PP properly and you'll have no trouble try to force it and you won't get anywhere. Alse be sure to pull the driver half shaft before unbolting the t-case. If you do, it will pop right out with a slide hammer.

There is a good "how to" on this forum for a clutch swap. Not that hard really. I take my time and do it in about 6 hours. It's really only about 4 hours worth of work though. The