dave833

There was no inline external filter of the type that Subaru added during the recall campaign for early '90s 4EATs. The car was a "barn find" and was off the road for 10+ years for unknown reasons, so I'm hoping the buildup was related to fluid going bad after sitting that long or something. If the slipping returns I'll pull the pan & filter and see if the new filter's clogged too. I've never replaced a Subaru trans filter either except for one damaged when the trans pan got dented in, but if the filters *never* get dirty or clogged, what's the point in even having one?

Looks reddish brown to me but not hairy... Shift into 2nd seems kind of late to me compared to my SVX.

The new filter appears to have solved the problem. I just got back from a test drive and the trans is now working correctly & no longer sipping. Thanks everyone for your help.

I cut the old filter open just to see how bad it really was. You can see where I scraped away the gunk to reveal the gold mesh of the filter underneath. I'm surprised any fluid at all was getting through.

I dropped the pan tonight. There were no big chunks of anything, just a few "sparklies" in the fluid when I drained it. Fluid was nice and red and not burned. The pan magnet had about 1/8" of sludge on it. The pan had the thick paper gasket rather than rubber, suggesting that it may have been the original. The gold mesh of the filter had a layer of brown gunk on it that I'm sure was impeding the fluid flow- it may have been original too, with 136k miles on it! I hope that was the problem-- I won't have a replacement to put in until tomorrow.

I bypassed the trans cooler and that didn't seem to make any difference. The pump is making the same kind of whine a power steering pump makes when it's fluid-starved. Is it common for the pumps to just fail suddenly? I haven't had a chance to pull the pan & filter yet.

There is some power transfer. When moving the shift lever it's hard to tell whether the car's even going into gear but if I rev the engine the car does move.. Definitely worse today- not even drivable and the little trick of turning the car off and then back on to restore normal operation briefly seems to have stopped working. There is a whine coming from the transmission housing too. I didn't notice that the fluid was aerated.

The auto transmission in the '92 Legacy SS I got recently suddenly started slipping badly today. Slips when hot or cold in all gears, no flashing POWER light or codes. I replaced the fluid, which was probably 10 years old, and it made no difference. This was a "barn find" car that had been parked for maybe 10 years before I got it, but it shifted OK for a few weeks before today. The weird thing is if I turn off the car for a few seconds and restart it, the transmission will work normally for about 30 seconds before it starts slipping again. (I know- it's the perfect opportunity to swap in a 5-speed.) has anyone else seen this kind of problem with an automatic?

I recently got a '92 Legacy SS 4wd Automatic 4wd that needs tires. Having owned later model Legacys '96, '97, '98 04, I'm aware of the recommendation to replace all tires at once and ensure that the diameter is within 1/4", or whatever the manual says, for the longevity of the 4EAT auto transmission. Does this apply to my '92 SS as well, or is the auto transmission in that a little less picky about tire diameter?

Today I picked up a "non-running" '91 EJ22T Automatic Legacy Turbo Sedan at an auction for cheap. It's only got 136XXX miles and is all original, never been modded. Very little rust and pretty clean inside. It looked like it had been sitting a long time and the auction place couldn't get it to start. I had it towed home and got the engine to fire a little with some starting fluid but it's not getting any fuel. I'm optimistic I can get it running with a new fuel pump as long as the tranny's not shot- I might just swap in a 5-speed anyway. So what's with the turbo coolant tank on top of the engine? I've had Loyale and GL EA82T's but they didn't have that. Does it just take regular antifreeze? Does it tie into the engine cooling system, or is it a separate loop? The coolant tank's empty- I wouldn't be surprised if it's cracked-- I understand that's a common problem.

Today I picked up a "non-running" '91 EJ22T Automatic Legacy Turbo Sedan at an auction for cheap. It's only got 136XXX miles and is all original, never been modded. Very little rust and pretty clean inside. It looked like it had been sitting a long time and the auction place couldn't get it to start. I had it towed home and got the engine to fire a little with some starting fluid but it's not getting any fuel. I'm optimistic I can get it running with a new fuel pump as long as the tranny's not shot- I might just swap in a 5-speed anyway. So what's with the turbo coolant tank on top of the engine? I've had Loyale and GL EA82T's but they didn't have that. Does it just take regular antifreeze? Does it tie into the engine cooling system, or is it a separate loop? The coolant tank's empty- I wouldn't be surprised if it's cracked-- I understand that's a common problem.

So I'm looking on ebay for a clutch for my '97 Legacy GT 2.5 wagon and there are a dizzying array of choices. Most of the ad pictures look the same and even the wording of ads is identical in many cases. The prices for a complete clutch kit run from $89(!) up to $3-400. I believe you get what you pay for in many cases, but can anyone help me understand what the differences between the cheap and the pricy ones might be? I'm just looking for an OE-type replacement clutch, not anything high performance or heavy duty or anything.

Wondering about installing an earlier model EJ25 into a '99 Legacy. Hollander (car-part.com) says only '99 interchanges with '99, I'm just wondering what the physical differences are. A cursory search indicates the earlier ones have a 4-bolt bellhousing vs. 8-bolt, requiring mounting up the starter a little differently-- is that all?

This sounds too easy to be true-- but studying pics and diagrams it looks like it's entirely possible. The variables I can't account for without actually digging into it are: 1. How hard the diff side bearing to get off. 2. How much space is there to reach up and access the driven wheel. Could I get my fat hand in there and reach it with my fingers? If it was the DRIVE wheel, it looks like it's quite easy to get to. 3. Getting the circlip off (and then back on) the shaft to change the driven wheel without having a bunch of little parts fall down into the differential. i hate circlips when I CAN get to them easily. 4. Getting the bearing back on and the side plate positioned correctly-- the service manual says something about # of turns to pre-load it.

It's rumored that there's a way to replace the speedo gear in a Legacy (in my case it would be a '98 OBW Automatic) without dropping the trans. I've searched the forums but can't find any details. Can someone direct me to a thread or fill me in?

My '98 OB Limited doesn't have a sunroof. Funny thing is, I've owned it for a year next month and didn't even notice the lack of sunroof til last week! I'm wondering too where he had the engine 'professionally installed' and whether it's a new engine or a 20k mile Japanese job. Aside from representing this OB as a 'Limited' when it's not, he's using the KBB Excellent RETAIL price to try and justify a $4900 asking price rather than the KBB Private Party value which is $4250. The ad was originally posted a week ago. After the seller called me 'stupid' for telling him it wasn't a Limited, I emailed him back and told him it was poor way to treat a potential buyer. He answered me by telling me it was 'sold' and he knew I wasn't interested anyway. (Clearly it's not since the ad reappeared yesterday) Just fair warning to anyone in Utah that might be interested in this car!

So I came across this online ad for a '97 Legacy Outback Limited, but it looks suspiciously like just a standard Outback to me. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=2276565 There's not a single option here that I can see that puts it in the 'Limited' category-- no special wheels, no leather, no heated seats or windshield, no 'limited' badges, no sunroof(s). In fact, it's identical in every way to the '96 NON-limited Outback I had, except for the hood scoop, which no '96's had anyway but were standard on all '97 Outbacks. So I contacted the owner and politely pointed out that his ad may be in error, and after making a few disparaging remarks about my (lack of) intelligence, he stated that the title AND the registration both stated that it was a 'Limited'. So am I missing something here? Is there some kind of 'stealth' Outback Limited out there that looks just like a regular Outback but is called a 'limited' (thus justifying an increase in asking price?) I'm not interested in the car. The price is too high, and I have a REAL '98 Outback Limited that I'm perfectly happy with- I'm just curious.

Anybody know if a '95-'99 (non Outback) rear passenger door from a sedan will fit a wagon of similar year, also non-OB? They LOOK the same to me, but I don't want to pull it unless I'm sure.

Thanks grossgary-- it dropped in perfectly and I'll be darned if I could tell what the difference between the '97 and '98 tranny was. It must be VERY minor!

Just want someone to back me up here before I pull it. I'm planning to pull a 5mt with hydraulic clutch from a '97 Outback wagon to put into a '98 Outback wagon, also with 5mt and hydraulic clutch. According to the handy dandy tranny interchange chart I found here, the gearing is identical. The number on the trannys is identical except for one letter. The wrecking yards, however, say that only a '98 5mt tranny will fit in a '98. I can't think of any reason the '97 wouldn't work-- can anyone verify yes or no?

Will a 5spd from a '99 OBW fit in my '98 OBW? Both are 5 spd. Is the gearing/final drive the same? Anyone know? Thanks.

Well the puzzling thing is there's noise but no vibration-- I figured a bad U-joint would vibrate to some degree at least. I didn't disagree with the diagnosis, I just wasn't sure what it meant.

Trying to diagnose a driveline noise in the '98 OBW 5-speed I just bought and wondered if I could drop the driveshaft entirely and drive it that way briefly to see if the noise goes away, or would the tranny fluid just run out? Can I drop just the back half? I found a previous diagnosis about the noise from the dealer that said 'driveline is separating and needs replacement' but that doesn't make much sense to me. (If it was an auto I'd start by putting the 'FWD' fuse in!)

Let's see... I paid $640 last year for a '96 EJ22 5 spd. OBW with 113k miles. Needed the exhaust welded and a hole in the oil pan (!) plugged. I've put 10k miles on it since then. A few years back I paid $150 for a '90 Loyale 4wd Turbo wagon at a charity auction. They couldn't get it to start. I took a chance on it, tinkered a few minutes after I bought it, and drove it home. It ran great- I drove it several years, and it even survived a collision with a brand-new $95k Porsche! About the same time, I bought a clean, running & driving '83 GL 2-door coupe for $120 plus buyer's fee at another auction. I wish I'd kept that one- it was a cool little coupe but severely underpowered with the auto tranny. Cheapest Suby I ever bought was an '81 GL I got for $50, but I didn't get a title with that one. It got parted out.

So I picked up a '98 OBW Limited that the owner was selling cheap because of an "internal transmission noise" (5-speed). Upon further analysis, it's making a rotating/scraping noise that is SOMETIMES affected by putting the clutch in or letting it out, is NOT present when the car is out of gear, and seems to go away when the engine is under load and accelerating, even slightly. It also seems to be coming more from the left side behind the driver than the middle of the car. It does NOT appear to be torque bind-related either. Any suggestions? (The GOOD things about the car are that it got a new Subaru short block about 70k ago and all the associated goodies, 4 new struts from the dealer last December, and new tires last year. It runs and drives great except for the aforementioned noise.)