Waiting too long to repair your firewall will lead to replacing the pedal assembly as well as many other components.
The reality is that if you wait too long, more parts wear out, costing time and money.
The 2008 through 2010 Subaru Imprezas have had a tough run. These pesky firewall welds continue to be an issue, and the problems have returned in a few cars that were thought to be fixed. If the welds break and are not immediately repaired, other parts of the clutch system begin to wear out, quickly.
One of the first WRX firewalls we repaired involved one of the most damaged Subarus we've had seen. All the of the welds failed and tore sheet metal as it got worse with every use. The clutch had failed from the pedal not working properly and the pedal assembly itself was failing.
We drilled out and bolted all the failed firewall welds securing it with polyurethane structural sealant to prevent future flex. Although we advised replacing the pedal assembly, the owner wanted to stay within their budget. So It was also necessary to repair the crack in the pedal assembly.
- A few months later, the customer called back complaining of a heavy clutch pedal.
He brought the WRX back for an inspection and we found the clutch pedal assembly had worn out the linkage, replacement was necessary. It's actually a very small part of the whole assembly, but it cannot be repaired or replaced on it's own.
This means the entire clutch and brake pedal assembly must be replaced. This involves removal of the steering column and the airbag module. The good news is that removing the pedal gives us really good access to inspect and repair the firewall.
Our customer is happy to report that is clutch has never felt better and we're confident he won't have any more issues.
We've added these failure points to our inspection procedure and have a quick and complete repair process for these failed firewall welds. After repairing over 8 Subaru's with these firewall issues in the past several months, our process has yielded very positive outcomes and feedback.
