Stalling when clutch depressed with car in neutral
Asked by Guru8KTQD Jan 04, 2020 at 11:21 AM about the 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Outback Sport
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Approx 130,000 miles on the car. It was running
fine. Car was parked all day, started the car and
kept stalling out with clutch depressed in neutral.
Checked oil and found it was out of oil - have been
replacing oil frequently but shows no sign of
leaking. Replaced the the oil but made no
difference.
Car sat overnight. Still stalled out in neutral when
clutch released. Towed to mechanic. He said
clutch was ok, hasn't found the problem yet.
Was able to get the car running again and drove it
around the block. Said he will install a camera to
check transmission.
Clutch had been replaced at approx 95,000 mi.
5 Answers
TheSubaruGuruBoston answered 4 years ago
Insufficient info available for diagnosis. Your first things first: "out of oil" might mean only 2 qts down, as that's when the 2.5i'd dipstick reads "empty". So that's probably a red herring. Stalling when clutch depressed could mean a bad throw out bearing, but they usually just get noisy, not having enough drag to actually stall the motor. Manual trans Subarus use a viscous link that wears out by NOT slipping when warm, thus locking the diff into a crude "4WD-like" jerky running; but I doubt a viscous link could cause stalling. Maybe look for a gummed up throttle body (have your wrench remove the inlet and spray-clean thoroughly, including top and bottoms of the venturi with throttle plate pressed horizontally). Also check the cheap cold start sensor under the TB, as an errant one will screw up idle stability considerably. It's a cheap part. Camera on transmission? Huh? Can't figure that one out as helpful. Good luck. Ern TSG/B
Thanks for your reply. This is my daughter's car I was incorrect about one thing. It idles fine but when clutch is released , it stalls out. Also put it in reverse and it stalled out and couldn't get back into neutral. Mechanic was able to get the car started and drove short distance it but wanted it to sit over the weekend and check into it further.
TheSubaruGuruBoston answered 4 years ago
Could be as simple as damaged seal in master or slave cylinders.
If the car stalls when the clutch is released it could simply be operator error.
TheSubaruGuruBoston answered 4 years ago
Yup; but if pp springs are worn soft with age or there's a leak the clutch may never fully disengage, making function difficult. I remember that my buddies Click and Clack (Magliozzi bros) once mentioned that a good stick driver stalls 1-2x/day. Far less damage to the ego than slipping it to a $600 early replacement, eh?
