Sticky clutch pedal

[3jarrells]

My '02 Forester has developed an intermittent clutch pedal sticking problem. Happens more often when you first start out in the morning. Bear in mind morning in the Sonoran desert is not that cold. It will stick almost to the floor but will still work. By the time I get through a few lights it will pop back up to normal. No funny noises or anything. Well, not relating to the clutch but thats another thread.

A little history. The first couple weeks after buying the car new (165k miles now). The pedal dropped to the floor like a dead fish and wouldn't come back. The dealer had to tow it in and they replaced the clutch master cylinder.

The pedal always seems to come back, but I don't want to get stuck out in the middle of nowhere with the family in the desert!

 

[Cluster Fock]

This is a VERY common issue with Subarus. It is even more common it hot areas such as Western Australia where I live.
The most sure way to fix it is to replace the clutch slave cylinder and clutch hose. VERY easy jobs to do. I've actually got my parts on their way from America (cheaper) to do this on my Forester next week.


What tends to happen is either the clutch hose collapses or the return spring in the slave cylinder fails/weakens, causing the clutch to feel very odd and sometimes not return. Hence you should replace both as both parts are pretty cheap. Best to use a stainless steel clutch hose while you're at it. Not for the extra bling factor, but because they tend to flex/expand less (especially in heat) which gives you a more rigid clutch pedal.

Bleeding may resolve the issue, but you may as well to it right and replace parts. There was actually a technical service release memo a few years ago sent to all the major Subaru service centers to outline this issue.

The pedal always seems to come back, but I don't want to get stuck out in the middle of nowhere with the family in the desert!

By the way, if this were to happen, you could pop the hood, find the slave cylinder and push the level on it back into the right position if it were to get stuck. I had this issue last year at a busy set of traffic lights

 

[3jarrells]

CF thanks for the reply. I ordered a slave cylinder today but didn't know about the hose. Probably do that later. I was under tha car replacing an O2 sensor and was looking all over for the thing. I just assumed it would be on the side of the tranny. Once I found it I thought to myself thats a much more convenient location!

 

[Cluster Fock]

hahah yeah its very easy to work on. Right on top of the bellhousing. I would definetely replace th hose while you're doing it. No point bleeding the system twice.