hmhaga

Yesterday, I finished my 'DIY' timing belt and clutch replacement. I'm soooo proud of myself

Replacing the timing belt looked like a nightmare when I took the covers off, but with the complete 04 STI servicemanual at hand it was a lot easier than expected. The biggest problem was to keep the righthand cam wheels from turning (scared me to death when they snapped out of position), but I solved that by putting a spanner at each cam wheel nut and locking them together. Needless to say, I verified the timing marks over and over and over again before I put the timing belt cover back on.

I bought a secondhand STI clutch and flywheel from Grade A Subaru (thanks!), to replace the Exedy Hyper Single Clutch that really hasn't caused anything but grief. Aligning the clutch centering tool, clutch plate and clutch cover all at the sime time was a bit difficult without help, but solved itself using some patience.

chris_c201

Good job mate....

How long all in?

dazdavies

iTrader: (22)

Nice job mate. I always go the engine out route too.
What were the problems with the exedy clutch?

Daz

Nezz10

Nice one, as asked above how long did this take you. Is the engine out job fairly easy? any hints and tips!!!?

dazdavies

iTrader: (22)

I prefer to do the engine out route as I dont have a lift and transmission jack.

I hire an engine hoist from HSS and it takes a good days work.

As for hints and tips, buy yourself a workshop manual on CD from ebay for around £5. Then just do as it says.

You can't go wrong

Daz

hmhaga

This was my first engine out, so I decided to take my time and avoid silly mistakes.
Next time, I guess I can complete the same job within a weekend.

Getting the engine out was surprisingly easy, the _real_ challenge was getting it back in again. After 5-6 retries, I realized that I couldn't depend only on the stock jacking points of the engine - as they didn't tilt the engine at the correct angle to the gearbox. As soon as I got the angles right, it snapped on to the input shaft like magic

As for the timing belt, that was also easy. It looks like a "can of worms" when you first get the cover off, but the Subaru servicemanual is so detailed that you can't go wrong. It must be written for dumb mechanics, as it describes even the obvious steps

I bought a 6MT gearbox from API David this spring. I swore I would never EVER again remove it, lying on the garage floor. I'm too weak and the gearbox is too heavy - dangerous combination

I had to replace the Exedy Hyper Single kit, as the lightened flywheel caused serious gear rattle on deceleration from 3000-2000 rpm. A test drive the other day confirmed this, all noises are gone with the Subaru STI flywheel/clutch.

dazdavies

iTrader: (22)

What are you going to do with the exedy clutch?

Nezz10

I have the same problem with rattle on deceleration, maybe I need to change my 4.2KG flywheel!

hmhaga

I've already sold the Exedy clutch, it works flawlessly with the 5MT gearbox.
If you read the NASIOC forums, you will find several reports of 6MT gear rattle on deceleration with a lightened flywheel. The sound is so bad that it is audible outside the car.

Nezz10

So what is it exactly that rattles? A subaru specialist had never heard of it before and wanted to take out my gearbox and send it away for repair!!

hmhaga

Search for "gear rattle phenomena" on google

http://www.bksv.com/1601.asp

"Gear rattle noise. In an automobile, the inherent fluctuations in the revolutions (torsional vibration) of the combustion engine are transmitted to the input shaft of the gearbox through the flywheel and the clutch disk. In the gearbox, these fluctuations produce circumferential vibration in each gear set, and due to the backlash of these gear sets, the surfaces of the gears hit each other, thereby generating rattle noise. In cars fitted with manual gearboxes, rattle noise is a significant contributor to the overall noise level."

A lot of engineering is put into the design of the Subaru driveline. Then we stupid owners upset all their engineering with aftermarket parts