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Hi everyone. As some of you may know, I have a '93 WRX (conversion). When I bought the car the seller said it recently got a new heavy duty button clutch, however I am now experiencing symptoms of clutch slippage which indicates an old, worn out clutch.

Just today, when I entered the freeway, as usual I would floor it in 2nd gear. However this time was very different. As I accelerate hard, it felt like the car was half in neutral. My foot was off the clutch pedal. The rpm would shoot up faster than normal but the actual car didn't move very much. This happened in 3rd gear as well. I looked this up and is seems like the clutch is slipping.

There are a couple other things about the clutch that I have noticed. Such as a hissing sound when the clutch starts to engage. Getting into 1st gear when stopped can be challenging sometimes. Also after driving forward, stopping, and trying to get into reverse, a loud crunching sound can be heard. I take multiple efforts to try and get into the reverse gear. This may be a gearbox issue however.

Anyway, what do you guys think the problem is?

Most likely clutch related.

Have a look over your clutch operating system, I would say it's a hydraulic system - there could be something sticking in there (maybe!).

I doubt you'd have a button clutch as these are painful to drive as a daily from what I've heard - they're very jerky where they have very little between "just biting" to "locked and loaded".

The rev increase in gear suggests a worn clutch. If this is the case you shouldn't have the gear selection issues in neutral unless the spigot bearing is rooted as well - which I guess is possible. The crunch in reverse is most likely due to the gears still spinning due to the car still rolling. Reverse gear relies on one of the 1st gears to engage. Bust first and you'll most likely not have reverse either.

I'm thinking you're on the right track with the clutch, but I don't think it's a button clutch, otherwise I'm sure you'd be complaining about it's drivability.

Cheers

Bennie

^ +1

Thanks. I will look up how to check out the clutch system. Maybe I do have a button clutch but it has been worn so bad that it engages nice and smoothly

El_Freddo wrote:The crunch in reverse is most likely due to the gears still spinning due to the car still rolling.

I always have the car at a full stop when I try and enter reverse. The crunching/grinding only ever happens if I have been driving before hand. If I start the car and go straight into reverse, everything is fine. It sounds like the gears are still spinning. As I push the shifter harder into reverse, the grinding sound gets louder. After a few more attempts, I hear the grinding sound get slower and slower then the shifter pops into reverse.

Tomi wrote:The crunching/grinding only ever happens if I have been driving before hand. If I start the car and go straight into reverse, everything is fine. It sounds like the gears are still spinning. As I push the shifter harder into reverse, the grinding sound gets louder. After a few more attempts, I hear the grinding sound get slower and slower then the shifter pops into reverse.

Yeah this is pretty normal in just about every manual gearbox from my experience - part of it has to do with no synchro on reverse and the use of straight cut gears, that also explains why you get the whining sound in reverse when going at speed...

Cheers

Bennie

The crunching wjile trying to select a gear sounds like the clutch isnt fully disengaging, while the clutch slipping may be the clutch not fully engaging...both could be a clutch adjustment issue or something mechanical. My guess is you have both a worn clutch plus an issue preventing the clutch fully disengaging...

A worn out/burnt out clutch which is slipping under load also tends to drag when the clutch should be disengaged to allow smooth selection of any gear from a standstill. Common complaint is difficult reverse and 1st and some non-mechanical people would think it is the transmission. A dragging clutch can result from being overheated, poor installation techniques (hanging the trans weight on the clutch plate is an absolute NO-NO), trans misalignment. A seizing spigot bearing also gives the same symptoms.

That's interesting Gary, the symptoms you describe are exactly what I have in my ute atm... However I know my clutch isn't disengaging properly, because about 75% of the clutch fork travel is free play, loose as a goose. With the nut wound all the way in it still has excessive free play at the pedal Clutch itself isn't worn out, probably 30,000k's old.