clavier

My 97-98 turbo 5-door seems to have both faults common to that year - clutch judder and startup rattle. Local dealer says both could have been fixed under warranty by the previous owners. I bought the car from a dealership about 10 months ago, with a year's warranty, not knowing about these faults. AIUI, the fixes are new flywheel and 4th piston - is there any chance that Subaru might still provide free fixes? Who should I contact?

Beastie

iTrader: (2)

Providing the warranty you have is the extended 5 year Subaru warranty, then the person to contact is your local Subaru dealer. He will need to put in a claim then tell you when Subaru has agreed to repair.Was the dealer you used aware that the car had warranty? He was a Subaru dealer right? I suggest you act quickly before the year is up.

If the warranty is not from Subaru then you should contact the dealer you bought the car from and take their advice. You may need to contact the warranty company direct.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Clutch judder is common thoughout the classic impreza range, the "rattle" on start up would be piston slap, which was common on MY97/98's.
If both have been resolved then you shouldnt have any problems, the piston slap at the time was a new short engine (basically they replaced all the pistons etc) and the clutch judder is due to the hard composite material its made from (it can be resolved with a lightened flywheel supposedly, even with an STi clutch but people still had problems with them after that).
If the clutch is still annoying you, then there are plenty of decent after market ones which cost around the same price as the standard subaru one which will resolve the problem (AP or Helix are the best) but if your still getting piston slap (sounds like a diesel on start up then goes away when warm) you will need to consult with your warranty co.

Tony

clavier

Just to say that the warranty people decided that they'd pay for the piston. It's being replaced right now by Sparshatts.

Since the motor's out, they asked me if I wanted the clutch changed - no labour but about 320 quid anyway. There's no clutch slip ATM (60K) - what's the clutch life on these? I'm skint but I guess it'd be worth it if the clutch is likely to go in the near future