subaru forrester clutch

Big Bear. I have an 02 GT and had the clutch replaced at about 30,000km. I had it replaced because it was shuddering when cold. Turns out they do this "by design" because of the material that they use and some other tollerances that were specific with the older models. Since the new clutch has bed down, guess what: it still shudders when cold. So now I have found that I have to ride the clutch much more so that the shuddering doesn't shake the car apart - it can get that violent. I get the stinky smell on the odd occasion, and that is when I know I have gone a little too far with the right foot (turbo'd and straight thru exhaust = lots-o-fun!). Car currently has just under 50-thou on the clock and the clutch still seems to be fine.

Manual AWD cars are probably the hardest things on clutches because it becomes the fuse in the driveline . . . 2WD cars will generally just spin the tyres if someone is a little over zealous with their launch technique.

Mine is '98 model with 140 000 kms - I had problems with the gearbox slipping out of 1st gear (known fault to Subaru) at 80 000kms (a week after I bought the car 3rd hand) The dealer gave me the run around so I contacted Subaru Aust through their Web site. They got back to me the next day and said to tell the dealer to fix the problem - which they did! I also new about the clutch judders and they checked the clutch when the G/B was out - it was OK and the service manager said that replacing the clutch wouldn't solve the judder as it is caused by the material used (no asbestos ?). When this job was done the car was well out of the 3 year warranty - Subaru didn't query anything - I just had to wait a couple of weeks for the parts.

So - contact Subaru - not the dealer. I am suprised if the clutch is 'stuffed', they are normally very strong on Subarus