Subaru - Outback :: 2001 - Clutch Went Out
Jul 22, 2013
I have a 2001 Subaru Outback with the 5 speed manual transmission. About 6 months ago the clutch went out and we had it replaced. We did not go to a professional shop and instead used a friend of my father-in-law who used to be a mechanic. Last weekend I drove the car on the beach to go fishing and got the car stuck in the sand.
After 2 attempts to get unstuck the clutch started smoking and blew out. I only attempted to get unstuck 2 times and was not "rallying" the engine hard. I realized I was good and stuck and stopped because I didn't want to spin the tires and dig myself so deep I couldn't get towed out.
My question is this; what are the chances that a brand new clutch would blow after 6 months? The car is used mainly to drive on paved roads to and from work and the grocery store. Both my wife and I have driven manual transmission cars for years and we don't ride the clutch. It goes through the usual wear and tear of everyday driving and yet, one incident that requires a little beef from the clutch and it blows?
View 5 Replies
Advertisement
My Outback makes a thunking noise when I let the gas or clutch out quickly. I took it to my mechanic, who replaced a broken transmission mount, but it is still making the noise. He works out of his garage and doesn't have diagnostic tools or a lift, so has some difficulty with diagnosing problems. Otherwise he's a very competent mechanic--retired airplane mechanic actually--so I trust his judgment. For the moment, however, he is stumped as to why the thunk remains.
View 4 Replies
I've got a 2000 Subaru outback with 170k miles on it. I recently pulled a code for a bad line pressure solenoid and replaced it. About 500 miles later the oil temp sensor light started flashing so I turned the car off and when I turned the car back on it wasn't flashing and hasn't come on since. No CEL. I'm now about 2k miles after changing the line pressure solenoid and now whenever I drive over 10 or so miles my car smells like the clutch is burning. He idle is a little rough, i.e. it vibrates a little more than usual and the car is a little slow to respond when I gas it.
View 19 Replies
I've got a 2008 Subaru Outback with a 5-speed standard, 50K on it. Lately, when I depress the clutch pedal, it makes a whining noise, in any gear or even in neutral. It goes away when I release the pedal. But it also stops making the noise when the engine warms up. That's the part that confuses me.
View 4 Replies
So... I have a 99 Subaru Outback 5 speed that I love the hell out of. Anyway, recently my clutch pedal has started momentarily sticking mid return. The clutch appears to be fully engaged, but the pedal sticks, or hangs for a moment before popping the rest of the way up. Once, and only once so far, it stuck completely just for a moment before returning after being depressed again. I'm not sure how concerned I should be, and given that the car is new to me I'm still trying to familiarize myself with it.
View 4 Replies
My 2001 Subaru Outback H6-3.0 is at 215k miles (I bought it for $4k at 201k miles). It overheats only when I drive for a while on a hot day. I was trying to get to Yosemite with my whole family in the car, and rather than do the intelligent thing and go back home and get it repaired, I kept going, stopping when the gauge started going past the middle to let it cool down and replace any water it was missing (after the engine cooled, of course). Amazingly, we managed to use the car almost normally during the trip, as long as we did short-ish trips and kept some water in the car. Having to pull over randomly isn't so bad when you are in Yosemite anyway.
There was a mechanic shop in the little town we stayed in, but they weren't equipped to to do a head gasket job in the little time we were going to be up there, and we needed the car to get around anyway. So I tried putting some of that coolant leak repair gunk in there and it seemed to work. We made it the hundreds of miles home, no problem (but it was downhill, where the trip up there was uphill). Problem solved, right?
Well, about a year later of only driving the thing about 50 miles in any given run, and not terribly hot weather, we decide to go a few hundred miles south. Sure enough, it was a hot day and after about 60 miles I saw the temp gauge go past mid and immediately pulled over. After it cooled a bit, I drove it (in two hops, because it started heating up again quickly) to a shop. They tested it and sure enough it's a head gasket leak. They said it'd be $2500 to fix it.
So far this car has been pretty good to me otherwise. Numerous times, I've taken it up 300+ miles into the snow and ice covered roads to go skiing and LOVE not having to put chains on. I am guessing that all the cold air up there kept it from overheating while I was pushing it pretty hard up some steep inclines without issue. It seems like there is a temperature threshold beyond which it starts to quickly overheat, and below witch, the gasket is holding fine, or something along those lines.
So, given that I like this car, is it worth another $2500 to get her back on the road? Should I just try the leak stopping junk again? Should I have been using "SUBARU cooling system conditioner" this whole time, even though it's not one of the supposed head-gasket-problem engines? Should I just drive it until it finally overheats to death? It's probably still fine to drive in moderate to cool temperatures (winter is coming), but I haven't driven it since the leaking head gasket diagnosis. I don't know if I did permanent damage to it that day, or if it's just its usual self still. It didn't get into the red, heat-wise.
View 14 Replies
My 2001 subaru outback wagon when put in park doesn't shift out of that position unless I access the little hole for releasing the shift module and put it into gear. What is the problem? The fuse for the transmission is good. outside fuse box.
View 1 Replies
I just bought a used 2001 Subaru Outback L.L.Bean, and the check-engine light is on due to misfiring in cylinders 1, 3, and 5 (right side only). I thought I was getting a pretty good deal even given the CEL risk, but the car is at the mechanic now and he is stumped and telling me I have to take it to a dealer service center.
This is a 6 cylinder with a timing chain. Plugs were replaced and computer reset and the light came right back on. There are no spark plug wires, and I read that the coil packs rarely fail. The engine runs smoothly and seems to have power, but since I just bought the car used so I'm not sure how much power is normal. It has 122k miles.
What could be causing misfires on one side of the engine only?
View 19 Replies
My 2001 Subaru Outback has been having problems dispensing wiper fluid (front windshield) when I push the wiper fluid button on the steering column. Yes, there is wiper fluid in the resivoir. Does it need to be at a certain level? The motor that controls this is working; when I push the button, I can hear it running.
View 7 Replies
I'm getting a gas smell when I start the car in the morning-especially if its cold. I typically blow the defroster which only makes it worse. It seems to be worse when its colder out and does not happen as the day goes on. My mechanic has checked for leaks-none. I thought it might be an oxygen sensor(?), he does not think so.
View 2 Replies
I have a 2001 Subaru outback. Recently I've noticed a rattle when I accelerate, especially when I take off from a dead stop. I sounds like it's coming from the front wheel area. It also occurs sometimes when making a turn and then accelerate. It almost sounds like an object in a box and someone is shaking the box-very noticeable.
View 3 Replies
I can do all the basic car maintenance but this has me perplexed and a little frightened ...
My dependable 2001 Subaru outback has been dying after I start it up for the last couple of days. The build up to this was that the headlights have been flickering ever since I changed the fan belt a few weeks ago.
Whats strange is that the car will turn on and run fine until I turn the radio or air conditioner on. A few minutes after doing so I'll hear the weird ambient droning moaning sound start to build up in the speakers of the car - then the odometer starts to go haywire and the car will die if idling.
When I try to start it up again afterward the battery comes on fine but it wont turn over. I don't notice a clicking sound like a starter would indicate but rather an electric-ish sounding hiss. The next day it will start up again. And for what its worth the headlights no longer flicker.
View 3 Replies
A new issue has cropped up with my 2001 H6 Subaru Outback (which I believe is technically a Legacy). We've put so much work into this thing to keep it running and this might be the last nail in the coffin. However, what's going on...
My wife reported to me yesterday that the vehicle was turning itself off while driving. I was not in the car to verify any of this, so this part is anecdotal. After 45 minutes of driving, she said the engine was "hiccuping" and the gages were dropping to zero and then bringing themselves right back up to the current RPM and speed. She said the ABS light came on. The first time the vehicle did this, she reports that it did it many times in rapid succession. She described it as "the gages were going crazy". After turning around to come back home this happened once more, though not in rapid succession. It was a single occurrence of turning off and back on again. She indicated that the vehicle did not require a restart with the key. I suspect that this was because she was driving at highway speed at the time.
She brought it right to the mechanic and - as is the case with all intermittent issues - they were not able to repeat the failure in any way. So, being an engineer, I decided I wanted to experience it for myself and do a few tests.
Today I drove 45 minutes to work, 10 minutes of small town driving, 25 minutes of highway driving, 10 minutes of small town driving. Lucky for me (!), in the first five minutes of driving, the radio cut out, power steering died, and I heard fuses or relays clicking as I was gently braking and gently taking a right turn. I continued the right turn off into a parking spot on the side of the road and stopped the car. I turned the key to the off position, put it into park and restarted the vehicle right away. No problems. All was fine.
The vehicle did not do this again for the entire trip. However, I did perform some tests to see if I could repeat a similar failure with the ignition alone.
1) Turning the ignition off and quickly back on again by hand while rolling at highway speed (~55 mph) will cause the vehicle to kick back into a normal running mode.
2) Turning the ignition off and quickly back on again by hand while rolling at lower speed (~30 mph) will require a restart by turning the key all the way to the "start" position and not just the "on" position.
3) Turning the ignition off with the key (as in 1 and 2) DOES NOT cut out the radio. Note that when the intermittent defect occurs, the radio will cut out and then come back along with the engine and instrument panel.
4) Wiggling and stressing the keys to put strain on the ignition switch doesn't seem to cause anything to happen.
5) The battery is only a few months old and a general inspection of the battery terminals, cabling, and fuses indicates that everything appears to be in tact and clean.
I'm not the most experienced car person, so my terminology is probably a little off and that's all I have for now. I feel like this is a common ground issue and if I could only identify which ground services the instrument panel and radio and spark plugs I could inspect it and clean or replace a connection. My limited research reveals that there are many grounds throughout the engine compartment, though.
View 10 Replies
My 2001 Outback has a jumpy thumping problem when making a 45 degree turn and when going in reverse. My mechanic has been unable to figure out what the problem is. It only happens once the car has been driven for a while
View 1 Replies
I recently (1.5 months ago) had my clutch replaced because my clutch pivot ball was making noise and with 70000 miles on the clutch, the mechanic suggested replacing the entire thing. The clutch works beautifully, except that just recently my clutch pedal has started to make a squeak/ creak noise. It's not very loud, although it seems louder when it's particularly hot and muggy. It sounds like it is coming from the pedal and it makes the noise regardless of whether the car is on or off. What might be causing this?
View 3 Replies
I had the car worked on a while back. They replaced the clutch and the viscous coupling in the transmission. ('03 Subaru Legacy manual transmission) Things seemed fine, then I realized my reverse light was acting like it was going out. Fuses are fine. A while later the car decided the clutch didn't need to respond as smoothly. Then: "Nope, you're funny to think you can drive me. I'm not budging." The car started grinding gears. I have to slam it into gear for it to work so I can drive it home and let it sit. The car will go into gear when off, no problem. New fluid has been put in. Bled. Then some sort of SUPER LUBE was put in and it still grinds. What might be happening? I really don't have the fundage in order to buy a new car at this time. But at the same time I hate feeling like I'm chasing a rabbit down a hole..
View 4 Replies
My 2000 outback wagon has only 67k miles. About a month ago, the check engine light came on. I took it to an Auto Zone and although unfortunately I didn't write down the code, the person who checked the car seemed to think it was probably just a bad tank of gas. I ran through that tank of gas and filled up with premium gas. Light didn't go off until THAT tank was near empty. Filled up a third time and light remained off until tank was near empty and it came on again. It has not yet gone off. I'm not sure how many more tanks of gas I should run through! The car isn't running poorly so I thought the bad gas was a good explanation.
A side note: about 6 months ago I had to have the head gasket replaced. I argued with Subaru and got some extra work done in exchange for the head gasket payment since my car missed the recall by a few digits but I was obviously stuck with an inferior product. I'm hoping they didn't do an inferior job. Even though it was 6 months ago, it wasn't that many miles ago - you can see my the year/mileage on my car that I don't drive a lot. Does that gas explanation sound reasonable? Anything about a head gasket related?
View 13 Replies
Having problem with corrosion of the tie down on a battery? The terminals are fine. It's just the metal plate that holds the battery in place with bolts. The paint has corroded off. I clean it up and cover it with dielectric grease. I have to do this every 4 to 6 months or so, because the corrosion keeps coming back. I had the same problem with my 2004 Subaru Legacy, and had to replace the battery holder as a result.
View 1 Replies
my car has tge 3.6 motor and has 2500 miles and seems to be loosing coolant...
View 2 Replies
Our 2011 Subaru Outback 3.6R, which we bought brand new back in Feb ’11 and only has 4k miles, seems to be having issues with the cooling fan. The cooling fan will come on when the engine is cold and it will stay on the entire time the engine is running. I’ve read that the cooling fan will run the whole time when either the A/C is on or the vent control is set to defrost, regardless of whether the engine is cold or hot. In my case, the cooling fan comes on when the engine is cold, even with the HVAC off and it will remain running at full speed when the engine is running, again with the HVAC off.
Every time I go to start the car after it has been sitting for an entire day and the engine is cold, when I turn the key to the “On” position, before the engine is even started, the cooling fan comes on. How is this possible when the engine isn’t even running and the engine is cold. Again, the HVAC is off. Once the car is started, the cooling fan will remain on until the car is shut off. The fan is running as such a high speed you can hear it over the noise of the idling engine. Once I turn the car off the fan shuts off.
Since we’ve owned the car there were two other issues First, the transmission pan gasket wasn’t properly installed and it was leaking transmission fluid. That issue was fixed and is good now. The second issue was that oil was leaking from the timing chain cover. It turns out that the timing chain cover gasket was also improperly installed. This too was fixed, and doesn’t seem to be a problem anymore.
View 5 Replies
I purchases a 2012 Subaru Outback i2.5 Premium in January. The car has been stalling out after getting gas; I've put gas in it about 10 times, and it's stalled out or nearly stalled out after 4 or 5 of those times. The first time it happened I had to have the car towed back to the dealer. At the time, they thought it was bad gas, but the repetition of the problem has them stumped. There are no warning lights or error codes. I have had the car back to the dealer on four occasions, and unfortunately they can't replicate, find, or correct the problem. Now Subaru is involved. The car also runs rough and shifts rough, compared to the identical 2012 Outback I was given as a loaner the last time I had it in.
View 6 Replies
