NHTSA Complaint #10007850 — 1999 SUBARU OUTBACK

WE HAVE AN AUTO REPAIR GARAGE, AND WE HAVE SEEN A RECURRING PROBLEM ON 1999 SUBARU LEGACY OUTBACK CARS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS. THESE CARS DEVELOP A "TWEETY" CLUTCH RELEASE BEARING. WHEN WE GO IN TO REPLACE THE BEARING, WE HAVE FOUND THAT ONE OF THE TWO CLIPS FOR THE BEARING IS ALWAYS MISSING. THIS IS WHAT CAUSES THE BEARING TO GO BAD PREMATURELY. EACH TIME WE FIND THE SAME THING. ONE OF THE CLIPS ON THE CLUTCH RELEASE BEARING HAD BROKEN, CAUSING THE BEARING TO SIT CROOKED. THIS THEN ALLOWED THE CLUTCH RELEASE BEARING TO WEAR A GROOVE ON THE SNOUT THAT THE BEARING RIDES ON. THE BEARING WAS THEN GETTING CAUGHT IN THE GROOVE, PREVENTING IT FROM RELEASING FULLY. WE THEN NOT ONLY HAVE TO REPLACE THE BEARING AND THE CLIPS BUT ALSO THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION HOUSING BECAUSE THE SNOUT IS CAST INTO THE HOUSING. THIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR FOR SUCH AN INEXPENSIVE CLIP. WE FEEL THAT THESE CLIPS NEED TO BE LOOKED INTO FURTHER TO FIND A STRONGER ONE TO PREVENT THIS PROBLEM.