[I Found My Future Subaru]

I was about to ask if everyone was crazy, paying $9k for an 11 year old Impreza. This has been an epic thread bump.

 

Congratulations, I think.

[But, but, but ... what about the all AWD?]

I would point you to this comment on the linked thread:

 

I for one always trust these MotorTrend type sketches. I'm off to go pour my life savings into Subaru based on this drawing. There is no way this can go wrong. Now I've got to go buy some lottery tickets, I got a great tip by some gypsy fortuneteller in the subway.

 

Finally: some sober analysis of a chalk drawing.

[what do you get for gas mileage?]

My wife's 97 Legacy wagon, 2.2 auto, 210k miles seems to get 26-29 mpg no matter what. Impressive. My '02 is a total pig next to the '97.

[what do you get for gas mileage?]

2002 legacy wagon 5 MT. Best I've ever seen is 28 on the highway. Worst is 15 in town.

[02 Legacy 5MT with a jumpy shift lever]

I didn't have another theory, I just don't understand, likely a failing on my part...I'll keep poking around.

 

Thanks for the advice.

[02 Legacy 5MT with a jumpy shift lever]

Yup my old Legacy had totally shot engine mounts. As the motor shifts slighty on acceleration it pushes on the shift lever.

 

If it were actually slipping out of gear or shifting into 2 and 5 sloppy, id suggest looking at the shifter bushes. But if all gears are engaging fine and your just getting a bit of movement - my theory is engine or trans mounts. Is this a 2WD soob by any chance?

 

Hmmm....if it were engine or trans mounts, why would it not affect 1 & 2?

[02 Legacy 5MT with a jumpy shift lever]

....its the exact same symptoms i had......do you notice anything wrong with the trans.....does it go smooth into every gear?..is it popping out?...etc...... if you dont have a haynes manual for your car may i recommend getting one......it is extremely helpful.....read through it and you will find diagrams of the shift linkage.....those little springs are exposed to the elements so they do corrode and rust and they do break....and when they do you will feel your shifter have some excessive play.......if you are able to take a look under the vehicle (as keltik said check the mounts and check to see if that little spring is there (it connects the shift rod and the stay rod).....

 

Thanks EVO. It shifts about as good as I would expect (as in, it's no Honda, but it's fine). It's not popping out. Really no drivability issues yet.

[02 Legacy 5MT with a jumpy shift lever]

I disagree, sounds more like sloppy mounts to me. A broken return spring is pretty obvious.

 

Sounds to me like the shifter is moving about with the change in torque of the motor between acceleration and decel.

 

Biggest problem this causes is if it gets really bad your car may jump out of gear. Ive also heard somewhere it puts extra wear on the synchros.

 

If you hold your hand on the shifter and floor the thottle - do you feel the shifter move significantly?

 

Right, exactly as you describe. The shifter moves toward the rear of the car on acceleration, forward on deleceration.

 

First and second gears do not have this problem. I know that this is a clue but I don't know what it means.

 

I guess...is this an internal or external transmission problem? I'm hoping external, but I doubt that's it.

 

Also, will this fail totally catastrophically or will it eventually just start popping out of gear?

[02 Legacy 5MT with a jumpy shift lever]

My 2002 legacy 5-speed has that thing where the shift lever jumps back and forth on acceleration and deceleration, respectively. This is only in 3, 4, and 5. Mostly in 3 and 4. One and two are solid. It doesn't jump out of gear, and seems to roll down the road just fine.

 

I know something is loose somewhere in there...is this a fix-it emergency? As in, will this leave me walking all of a sudden?

 

Or maybe I should just wait until the HG goes bad and get it all done at once?

[Ok am I losing my mind? day-4 XT6 water pump]

Better question, did you replace the idler and tensioner?

 

They seem to magically go bad after a timing belt is replaced. I think the release of tension from the old belt allows the (worn) bearings to move and show its age.

 

 

nipper

 

This makes sense. Timing belts get tighter the faster the engine is running, so the timing might self-correct if you're able to get up above idle far enough. Sometimes you can hear tensioners clacking at low engine speeds if it gets really worn.

[How's your russian ... svc manuals 2001-04]

this thread is made of win. so, if a fella owned a 2002 legacy, would he rather have the 01 or the 03 manual to muddle through with?

[Gear Oil Questions]

So I have a question too about gear oil. I have a 02 legacy, 5speed. The transaxle was just replaced by with a unit that has (so they say) 27k miles on it. It was replaced due to a bad center diff, had hell of torque bind. Now, the new transmission shifts much harder than the old one. It's not like bad syncros, it's just notchy as all f-out, it's even chunky pushing it into 1st or reverse from a dead stop.

 

This was a ford dealership who did the work, and they put in Motorcraft 80-90 oil -- from the part # I can tell that Ford sells this as "premium rear axle oil".

 

Should I change the oil? (and to what, of course?) This thing is no fun to drive.

[Preemptively replace the clutch, 02 Legacy?]

I had posted on an earlier thread that I had the torque bind on a new-to-me used Legacy, 5-speed. Turns out the mechanics agree, and the dealer is putting in a newish transmission.

 

While they've got the transmission out, I asked them to take a look at the clutch & rear main seal (~90k miles on this specimen). I've also noticed while poking around here that there is a little problem with clutch judder, which I had noticed intermittently on my car as well, but thought that it was just me having not driven a manual in a while.

 

Think I ought to ask them to put in the clutch kit from Subaru while the car's apart anyway? I'm guessing that I should ask for this kit, genuine subie part

Use Clutch Kit: 32098AA020

as referenced here:

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1836

 

Does this typically cure the problem for good?

[Danger in driving w/no driveshaft on AWD car?]

It can always be the tranny, but hard to tell via the web. The whine is unusual. Whine is usually a hint of something more hidous wrong.

If somone drives with Torque bind (without caring), it is very possible to damage the transmission. Dealers arent big fans of selling transmissions, so i would pay head to what they have to say.

On the bright side, a used one is much cheaper. The whine can be the front diff, or an internal bearing or three. Driving with TB can beat up the bearings, which in turn can destroy the case. Its possible, rare but possible.

 

What condition is the tranny lube and front diff lube in?

nipper

No idea. Right now, this is the problem of the dealer (Chev) I bought it from. They had me take it to a Subaru dealer, who AFAIK checked neither. I moved from Washington state recently where every third person has a Subaru, and I've never heard of this.

 

That whine at speed, again, it sounds exactly like a part-time 4wd vehicle when you run it in 4x4 on a dry road -- you get a little scrubbing because the front and back are locked. It only starts after some incubation period of driving, that's why I'm hoping it's just the differential I hear. Is the front diff contained in the transmission housing too?

 

The Chev dealer is going to bring in another transmission guy tomorrow morning to look at it. The Sub service manager warned me that Subaru transmissions aren't like other transmissions. Huh, I don't know about that.

 

If they decide it's too expensive to repair, they'll may try to buy me out of that car (or really, give me DealerBux for another car on their lot ) I'd really rather have the Legacy since I went looking for it. Although, it sounds like the head gasket is a time bomb waiting to happen...87k and counting.

[Danger in driving w/no driveshaft on AWD car?]

I hate to start a new thread on my first day so I thought I'd jump in here. I read through this and I'm in a similar situation as Dave. i bought a 2002 Legacy wagon, 5-speed last weekend, and right after I drove it off the lot for about ten miles, the problem starts.

 

You can hear a low (not too loud) howl, like gear whine, that goes as vehicle speed, and then this binding phenomenon at low speed and turning, right or left, forwards or backwards. Sounds exactly like the problem that is described as viscous coupling failure. This car has been to a subaru dealer, and they drove the vehicle and put it on the lift. They describe it like this:

 

"found noise coming from rear of the transmission, noise is coming from transfer case and extention, will have to remove rear part of the transmission to determine what we have to replace. explained that the transmission may need replaced if it cannot be rebuilt"

 

Basically, the service advisor told me that it's the transmission, not just the diff. And, it's a $5500 transmission (!). Is this crazy? Could that whole transmission be bad?