heymulderitsme

Love your line-up Bennie! Looks like a great collection of old school Subie charm.

Hey y’all, Just had a good chat with my old Subaru mechanic about having a hard time shifting into 3rd gear (it grinds and is very particular about how it goes in). He suggested replacing the synchro ring, maybe for 2nd and 3rd since 2nd also gets pretty beat up under normal circumstances. Anyhow, he says it’s ideal to find a new replacement, but my research so far has suggested that may be impossible—Subaru catalogs at official parts spots don’t go back to 1983. So, I’m hoping someone out there either has a connection to some very lovely synchros or otherwise knows of a way to possibly breathe new life into this transmission. Hoping to fully restore the car and keep it forever, so I’ve got time. Thanks in advance!

Just found it! Someone had uploaded the full factory manual to Scribd, thankfully!

Wow! It was so easy. Thanks again for the clarity. I definitely need an alignment after all the work, despite being careful to position the tie rods exactly as I found them. But I have a neighborhood shop that deserves all my money for things like that, so I’m happy to throw them a bone.

About to do something nice for my ‘83 GL 4spd, but can’t seem to find capacity anywhere in my manual or on here. It’s a D/R 4x4 if that makes a difference. Anyone have access time that kind of top secret information?

Thank you so much! Trying to stay busy and teach myself as many of these things as possible during lockdown. Hope y’all are staying sane and occupied and safe out there too.

Alright, I bought new inner tie rods and rented the tool to pull them, but my manual doesn’t show me anything about removing them. Anyone have any wisdom on doing this? Or is there a thread already that I haven’t found?

I did end up taking the dash apart just as an educational journey. I fully disconnected the cable from the instrument panel and then made sure both the reed switch on the transmission and the instrument end we’re fully immersed in their homes. And I had help doing the drill test again to confirm the cable was actually working. Turns out it only activated when spinning counterclockwise. Problem seems to be solved! The only thing is the CEL is still on and I’m wondering if there’s a separate VSS issue. It gave me a code 33 initially, and I haven’t replaced or messed with the sensors on the driver’s side of the transmission at all, and am wondering how those act to influence the operation of the drivetrain. I had done some research that illuminated it a bit, but not sure if I should bother going down that rabbit hole if the main gauge issue is now solved. I find it hard to believe the mechanical cable has anything to do with the ECU because there is no electricity involved in that particular piece of equipment.

Sweet! I’ll see if that solves the problem. Thank you!

Just got the car, so very unsure of history relating to this specific issue. CEL is on most of the time. Speedometer and odometer are not working. I pulled the cable end from the passenger side of the transmission and checked out the slotted end—appears to be intact. Tried the drill test to see if that triggered it—nothing happened. My research suggests it’s an ECU communication issue, just wondering if I need to pull the instrument cluster and investigate that end?

Thanks Bennie! Is there already a thread about the 5spd conversion lurking on here? I’ve been searching but have not found anything yet.

Hey y’all, Our wagon arrived from its previous owner with the transmission reportedly not shifting into 3rd gear. Anyone know of someone in the NW who will work on these transmissions and be successful? I’ve made a couple calls and basically the dudes laughed at me. Also willing to do the work myself if it isn’t too complicated, but hoping to get it done right and don’t want it to take forever. Would be very happy to pay someone to figure it out though. Especially someone with a lot of experience with this generation.

Thank you! John’s was a good tip—I called them today.

Hey everyone, just acquired a new to me ‘83 GL wagon and am hoping to make it shine again. Anyone have a tan dash that is in good shape? Looking for the whole thing minus the actual instrument panel, so all trim pieces, vents, foamy covering things, you know Also eventually looking to replace door handle bezels, tan stereo console unit, front and rear seats. Speaking of which, do any of you have experience with modding better driver/passenger seats onto the existing mounting hardware? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the confirmation! Can’t wait to do the same thing someday. Looking forward to seeing more progress pics, rallybru!

I haven’t been around much, but is it really possible to get an EJ22 engine into this thing? Or am I misunderstanding the swap? Very curious how this turns out. I’ll probably be wanting to do something similar before too long.

Yeah, I echo all the other sentiments here. I had a '92 Loyale for almost four years and you're just going to have to learn how to drive your car. And learn to drive with a clutch. It will be second nature after a while, but you're probably extra paranoid about any weird feelings right now cause it's so new to you. I like to pretend like there's a pulley going all the way through my legs from one foot to the other. So when I press in the clutch, this imaginary pulley pulls my foot off the gas, and when I press on the gas, the pulley pulls my foot off the clutch. It's a balance and it's different with every car. Just do it slowly until you know where your shift points are and where your clutch engages and disengages. If you can learn to do these things smoothly, everything will feel so buttery and you'll start to boast about how damn good you are at shifting.

Anyone have new wisdom on this issue? Just encountering it with my Frankensteined GL—lifted with an EJ22 swap and a 4Hi/4Lo tranny. Had an impossible time getting it to shift all the way down to 2wd until I pulled the boot off and straightened out the linkages a bit. Curious about which part of the lever you would choose to lengthen. The solution makes sense to me, I just want to utilize the least damaging option.

I think I read another thread from a few years ago where someone had the same issue I'm having. 4x4 lever all the way up = 4 Lo 4x4 lever in the middle= neautral/car will not move in gear otherwise but will coast like a car that is actually totally in neutral 4x4 lever all the way down = 4 Hi I've been able to drive it somewhat successfully in 4Hi on pavement, but it seems like the differentials are locked in a weird way or that I just do not at all understand how this 4WD system is supposed to function. At any rate, shouldn't there be a position on the lever that allows the car to be fully in FWD? If so, should that be with the lever all the way down? Or in the middle of the other two settings? If it is the middle setting, why would the car not move when in gear? Is this as simple as adjusting the rod of the 4x4 lever where it enters the transmission?

Hey! I seem to be having a very similar problem, but I guess I was asking for it. Lots of seizing/trouble turning anything resembling sharply/lurching while getting up to speed in 1st gear. Not sure it's getting all the way out of 4WD at any point despite shifting out of it. It's an '88 GL Turbo body with an '85 transmission with 4hi/4lo and a '93 EJ22 Legacy L motor up front. Probably too many variables to pin down, but I'd appreciate some wisdom if anyone else has any ideas!