I'm waiting for Ron Price Subaru to tell me if Subaru will pay for replacement of my 99 RS's clutch due to the cold clutch "judder" in TSB 03-51-02. It's out of the main warranty but under powertrain warranty. (I had them replace it before at 20K miles, before the "corrected" parts in the TSB were available and the judder just came back).

What should it cost if I have to pay for it? Ron Price tells me it's $1,600 (including a new flywheel). I've read that others pay $900 at dealerships, but they say that's because of the higher cost of labor in the Bay Area.

I mentioned that I had heard that the flywheel gets damaged from the clutch shudder and should be replaced, and the flywheel is clearly covered under the powertrain warranty. The service advisor agreed but thought I would still pay for labor and it would be $1,330 - I believe the labor to replace the damaged flywheel should be covered and I would just have to pay for the clutch disk.

If I have another shop do it, should I get the Exedy Sport clutch, or stick with the factory parts? I've been reading that the new "corrected" factory parts still have some shuddering problems.

If Subaru refuses to assist me, and I don't have Ron Price do the work, should I try to get Subaru to pay the $180 fee the dealership charges to verify the clutch shudder?

Thanks