Just installed a new clutch, pedal near the floor: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Aug. 26, 2011 11:22 p.m. Taiden Dork

Well, I just installed a new clutch kit (inc t/o bearing and pilot bearing) in the subaru. It's an exedy stage 1 kit. For some reason, my pedal is near the floor. It's as if the cable needs to be adjusted to take up slack, but there isn't enough adjustment left to take it all up.

I was pretty meticulous about installing the clutch. Exedy has a diagram that shows you what position the release spline thingies should be in when the pressure plate is torqued down... parallel to the face of the plate. Mine were exactly so. I made pretty sure to install the t/o bearing correctly as well. I'm kind of at a loss.

Should I just shim the clutch fork (to add adjustment to the cable) and hope for the best?
Aug. 27, 2011 7:32 a.m. mad_machine SuperDork

cable stretched?
Aug. 27, 2011 8:02 a.m. Streetwiseguy Dork

Does the pedal have a bunch of free play at the top of its travel? If so, you have some sort of adjustment/cable type issue. If there is no excess freeplay, and the clutch engages much closer to the floor than the old, worn out clutch did, that is perfectly normal.
Aug. 27, 2011 8:08 a.m. Taiden Dork

The pedal has a lot of free play at the top (resting position).

I can push it almost to the floor before the t/o bearing interfaces with the release splines. (What are those things called anyway?)

The cable definitely could be stretched. The car has 300k miles and I have no idea how many of those the cable has seen.
Aug. 27, 2011 8:19 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

Check the cable routing, sounds like it slipped off a roller. That much play can't be just play.

Or move the floor farther away.
Aug. 27, 2011 8:30 a.m. Chas_H New Reader

Possibly the clutch disc has been installed backwards. If the clutch worked before, the cable didn't stretch overnight.
Aug. 27, 2011 10:46 a.m. Taiden Dork

Chas_H wrote:

Possibly the clutch disc has been installed backwards. If the clutch worked before, the cable didn't stretch overnight.

I was afraid of this, I checked the orientation multiple times, and followed the exedy diagram for where the (WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE SPLINES CALLED) release splines should be in relation to the pressure plate face.

I suppose exedys diagram could be wrong though..
Aug. 27, 2011 3:28 p.m. The_Jed Reader

I put an Exedy in my Brighton, the only thing I noticed is the fact that it is much stiffer than it was...5 years ago. It feels like a stock Fox-Body 5.0 clutch. I haven't noticed any cable stretching yet but it's definitely a concern.

Sounds like another engine pull is in your future...at least it's a Subaru!
Aug. 27, 2011 5:50 p.m. motomoron HalfDork

I don't know sh1t about s00bs, but with other cable clutch cars I've dealt with it's easy to verify if you've screwed the pooch on clutch install by visual inspection of the resting position of the cable actuation lever. Typically there's a spec for position at rest and at release to disclose clutch wear. I seem to recall this for both my 90 and earlier Civics and a Rabbit GTI.
Aug. 29, 2011 3:17 p.m. Taiden Dork

Could it be a t/o bearing issue?
Aug. 29, 2011 5:08 p.m. Chas_H New Reader

Taiden wrote:

Could it be a t/o bearing issue?

It could be if the wrong TOB was fitted. If the correct TOB was incorrectly fitted you would have a situation opposite from what you currently have.
Aug. 29, 2011 5:41 p.m. SupraWes Dork

Fork still on the pivot? Throw out bearing still on the end of the fork? Disc backwards?

Do you really have to pull the engine to do the clutch on a Subie? Seems like you would just pop out the front axles and it would be the same as a RWD clutch job.