roadsubiedog

I get tired of guys at work saying "why don't you buy a new Subaru?" I'd rather fix mine and not have to deal with depreciation, high registration and insurance fees, computers, etc. guys seeing me commute over 80 miles a day for 20 years convinced one driver to buy a new one about 5 years ago. then he referred 8 other drivers to buy new ones and he got a $100 referral bonus for each one. I told him I should be able to share that bonus, ha ha.

finished putting in my repaired tranny in yesterday. it seems to shift fine with new Exedy clutch. is there a difference between cable and hydrolic clutches by the feel? my 97 has a cable and it seems much tighter. it works good but there is more resistance in pedal. the 99 has a hydrolic and it to shifts fine but seems softer. it has to be pushed closer to floor to engage clutch. is there an adjustment or do I need to bleed the slave cylinder or system. my fluid container was between the low and full mark and I just added fluid. I only drove it about 5 miles and went thru the gears about 10 times. this morning the fluid was still at the full mark. thanks everyone especially grossgary,fairtax4me, and adventuresubaru for all the help and advice on removing and installing my tranny.

my 84 gl that I have owned for 12 years never ceases to amaze me. 10 years ago I put a net CAT on it and the mechanic told me I had a leaking headgasket. I was adding coolant for several years. and then it stopped losing coolant. blew a heater hose and lost all water and oil pressure for maybe 5 miles. not sure how long but had driven 10 miles and I was distracted by thoughts. replaced heater hoses and oil and then it was fine once again. every time I have it smogged the results astound the smog mechanic cause it burns so clean with 330,000 miles. original motor, clutch , and tranny. they just don't make em like they used too.

I get 28-32 mpg in my 99 OB. I use Michelin highway M/S tires and don't lead foot it. the best thing about my Subaru is that it is GREAT in snow. I live in snow country near I80 and the infamous donner Pass. when 4wd pickup trucks and other 4 wheelers are stuck or in the ditch , I just go thru like a tank.

just back from two shops. both said I installed correctly but it needs a sleeve since the bearing.appears. oversized. about a piece of paper can fit between the bearing and shaft. the old throwout was exactly the same.

if that fork and bearing is pushed back as far as it can go, then mine looks exactly like that. I noticed though that behind the fork I could still see about a half inch of the sleeve showing where there was more room for the fork/bearing to travel. on mine, the top of the fork was hitting the front of the hole where the boot goes. I just wanted to be damn sure before I reinstall the tranny. thanks for the reply. I think i'll load it up and take to a shop downtown to have a mechanic see it in person.

finally got the tranny back from shop after 4 weeks. installed flywheel, clutch and pressure plate. used the alignment tool and it appears very well centered. tightened bolts very carefully to about 12 foot pounds. kept sliding alignment tool out in the process. came out easily when I was done. have question about new throwout. bearing. the clips seemed loose so I tightened then so they were more snug on the bearing. checking out AdventureSubarus pics on the clutch install, it appears to be right. however, the bearing does not fit snugly on the shaft. there is a little side to side play. just a little. the old one and new one is identical it is an Exedy. OEM. I put the old one back on and it had the exact same play. just wondering if this sounds right. when the bearing is pushed in as far as it can go about a half inch of sleeve is showing.is this right? the clutch fork is hitting the front top of hole where dust cover is. but with it pushed in all the way I can still see about a half inch of sleeve on the inside of the clutch fork and tranny. a video I watched says it is supposed to travel all the way in.

please start your own thread. this one is very important to me. without the help of USMB members I would have not been able to attempt the removal and repair of my transmission/clutch, saving me at least 1000 dollars or more and giving me priceless advice.

noise completely went away also if I put it in neutral while gliding down hills or if I threw it in neutral at any speed. I first heard a slight noise about 5 years ago. it has slightly gotten louder but no growl or high pitch over the last 80000 miles. the sound is always the same. always went away with clutch pedal pushed in or gliding. thank you. btw. he didn't seem to think there was anything wrong in the front half of tranny even though he did not pull that case apart. he said he was gonna look up yhe drain plug. that concerns me.

Tranny Shop UPDATE: mechanic said that the snap ring broke on the Viscous coupler ( is that the same as center diff? ) and that its toast along with the bearing and the rear case was damaged. he did not say anything about input shaft. if that bearing was going bad , would that explain the noise I heard for the last 4 years that gradually sounded louder? the noise went away when I pushed in clutch . he said that was because the input shaft stops when you push in clutch. the good news is that he has a good rear case and some parts from a 99 forester. the bad news is that the VC has to be replaced also and he said that is almost 600 bucks from Subaru. someone here said I could just buy a good used VC or center diff if that is the same thing but I also need the rear case and probably the whole works that go with it. is different years rear tranny cases that can go with the 99 or does it specifically have to be a 99? also I was wondering how hard it would be to find a used VC and rear case. or would you just bite the bullet and let him put a new VC in with the used rear case and works from the forrester?

I live in the semi communist state of CA. only 20 miles from NV. wish I lived in NV so I wouldn't have to stress the smog test. ya, I big dent in the Cat probably did it. well glad you are all set. these gls can last a long time. mine has 331,000 miles on it and in the past 11 years have not had a major problem. just mostly maintenance. I plan on keeping it forever. my smog is due in jan. I plan to do exactly what you did. i'll clean the plugs, change cap and rotor, change oil, check egr, run the guaranteed to pass amd run high octane. also get it nice and hot before having it tested. need to replace the temp sensor which is making my ECS light come on which auto fails the smog test in CA.

wow. im surprised they assumed it was the cat and were not sure and you got a new one. well im glad it was finally figured out. I have to smog my 84 in January so I was real interested in your gl smog. im wondering why the cat would fail so fast? usually when they fail the motor will run poorly or not at all.

can you rest by disconnecting the battery?

ty754cacb is the transmission type

id say phase one. there are 4 studs from the motor. 10 oclock ,2 then 4 then 8 oclock. makes a square. I was told the 1999 tranny was a unique year. they told me I have the specific one for a swap and other years wouldn't work.

im not sure how to tell the difference between phase 1 or 2. there is one set of numbers on trans and then another with letters like TY something. the trans is at the shop and they are on vacation all week.

she only had liability and was probably texting when she rear ended you. that's why I carry uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance here in California. when I wrecked my 96 OB I wish I had bought it back. kicking myself over that.

airbag 4k? drove 35 years without an airbag. I know they come in handy. hope you had full insurance. I had a 96 outback about 11 years ago. bought for 3500 on ebay. totaled it and Liberty mutual gave me $8100.

sounds like you a good guy. I have very little mechanical experience and have been burned a couple times by shops so I bought a copy of "How To Keep Your Subaru Alive". ( for beginners like me ) it's worth it's weight in gold. you can send your brat to the shop for the heavy stuff. if you can read you can do the light stuff with this manual. I have 5-6 copies that I wont sell for another 20 years.

Fairtax: that's real good info for me to have when I go back to the shop. thanks. will report back.

the bearings and labor alone is gonna be close to $800. that's not counting the VC so thanks Grossgary and Fairtax4me for the input. I kinda agree with USMB members and the tranny shop owner that it may be best to fix the tranny I know rather than gamble with a unknown one. I'm trying to be as informed as possible and ask the right questions when I go back next Monday after he has split the cases apart. I'm still wondering about the occasional big buck going straight down the road. the mechanic told me that assuming the tires are not the culprit that then something could have worn out and the spider gears in the front may be a problem. could this also be true going down the road straight? like I said before.... it will go down the road smoothly for 5-10 seconds and then buck. the only noise is the bearing noise and that has been like that for 5 years . another dumb question. can you take VC out and run car FWD?

ive driven this car 180,000 miles since 2005. it never bucked before. it deteriated very quickly after bucking/binding in a couple tight turns. it bucked very hard going straight down the road. once every 5-10 seconds. I checked the tires. new from Costco only a year or so old. one of my main concerns is that the tranny shop wants to replace the VC. but he said there is no way of knowing if it is bad or not. that puzzles me. especially on a 600 dollar part.

just back from from tranny shop. Fairtax4me is right about that noise that goes away when I push in clutch. he said that suggested a bearing on input shaft. he is wondering if it is really bad that it would eat into the case. I explained how it bucked in turns and even straight down the road. going straight for 5-10 seconds real smooth and then a big buck/bang like. I only drove it 5 miles home and then slowed to about 25. he thought it sounded like a bad viscous coupler ( $600 from Subaru ) I also told him that from Grossgary suggestion to take rear drive shaft off and make it a FWD and I told him the car would not move front or back. he was a little puzzled by this. he said the VC only works in turns, when you have mismatched tires or when a wheel is spinning. ( don't quote me on this. it was a 30 minute conversation and I did not tape it so this might not be accurate ) what worries me is that he was puzzeled about the bucking going down the road straight. he said that doesn't sound like the VC. he'll open it up this week and inspect and said that is only an hour labor and we can go from there if I want the repair done. oh, almost forgot. he said he didn't have the necessary equipment to check the vc because it is a closed unit. for a $600 part that is disturbing. someone on USMB said that can be changed without the tranny being taking out but a shop wouldn't put a used one. this shop is considered the best in Reno. all 5 stars on yelp and google and everyone I know in the business told me to bring it there . he told me the best case is some bearing changes, acouple other minor things and about 6 hours of labor. he is concerned about the fine flakes in oil ( I brought the oil). that might mean the case being worn down by bad bearing. plus the concern on bucking going straight and no movement with the rear drive shaft off. the conversation was long so I might of forgotten some of what he said. going back next Monday after he pulls the cases apart and checks everything. want to be more informed from you guys before I go so I can ask the right questions, etc. thank you very much in advance. couldn't of done it without you all and especially AdventureSubaru's pictorial.

ok. i'll make a note of that .thanks.

thank you very much Adventure. that link was the thread that gave me the confidence to attempt this since im not a mechanic. I also used you tube for tranny removal/clutch with briansmobile1. video helps me a lot too.