What is a Subaru Transmission Sleeve Kit or Snout Repair kit?

On certain Subaru transmissions, mostly on cars with "Push" style clutches, there is a common problem that can occur where the snout of the transmission that the clutch throw-out bearing rides on becomes worn or damaged, and this can cause a clutch or throw-out bearing failure.

The cars where we see this most commonly are the 2006+ WRX, 2005 to 2009 Legacy GT, and the 2005 to 2009 Outback XT. All of these cars use basically the same clutch which is called a "push" style pressure plate. On these clutches, the throw-out bearing is not connected directly to the pressure-plate spring, so it is floating on the clutch fork, and the transmission snout. When the bearing starts to wear on snout, the most common symptom is a rough, or crunchy feeling clutch pedal. This is caused by the throw-out bearing making excessive contact with the transmission snout, and it usually leads to a quick clutch or throw-out bearing failure.

Because the snout of the transmission is a part of the transmission case itself, the original repair was to replace the entire transmission case which can be a very expensive repair. Fortunately, PDM has developed its Tranquil Sleeve Kit which is a much simpler repair, and it will prevent this failure from happening again as well.

The solution is simple. PDM has designed a stainless steel sleeve that slides over the aluminum snout. This is attached to the snout with 4 set-screws. In the extreme case that the transmission snout is significantly damaged, there only needs to be about 3/4 of an inch of material left to be able to successfully install the PDM sleeve kit.

Once the sleeve is installed, you just need to use the new throw-out bearing that comes in the kit. This bearing is oversized so that it can fit over the new larger stainless steel sleeve, and that is it.

Because the replacement sleeve has a tighter tolerance to the new bearing, and because it is a more durable material, in most cases the PDM sleeve kit will prevent this same type of failure from happening again. For that reason, we have seen shops and customers install this kit as a preventative measure when installing a clutch even if they haven't had a failure yet.

For the most part, Subaru uses four different throw-out bearings on their vehicles, and PDM does make a sleeve kit for all of them. The correct kit fitment is as follows:

TSK3 Kit for Subaru part number 30502AA120

2004-2012 Subaru Legacy GT 2.5l Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA120)
2004-2006 Subaru Baja Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA120)
2004-2008 Subaru Forester 2.5l Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA120)
2006-2018 Subaru WRX 2.5l Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA120)
2005-2009 Subaru Outback 2.5l Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA120)

TSK2 kit for Subaru part number 30502AA080

2004-2006 Subaru Baja 2.5l Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA080)
2003-2005 Subaru Forester XT 2.5l Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA080)
1991-1994 Subaru Legacy 2.2l Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA080)
2002-2005 Subaru WRX 2.0l/2.5l Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA080)

TSK1 kit for Subaru part number 30502AA051

2003-2006 Subaru Baja 2.5l Non-Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA051)
1998-2011 Subaru Forester 2.5l Non-Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA051)
1993+ Subaru Impreza 1.8l, 2.2l, 2.5l Non-Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA051)
1996+ Subaru Outback 2.2l, 2.5l Non-Turbo (Replaces Subaru Part: 30502AA051)

TSK4 kit for Subaru part number 30502AA130