CNY_Dave Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 '03 H6, 4eat (same 4eat as in an H4, so they tell me) Last winter, the cold did not affect the way the car shifted. Last night and this morning, on down- and up-shifts the engine raced up a bit between shifts, sometimes engaging with a bang on a downshift (similar to my ever-present high-speed 4-3 downshift bang, but that is only at high-speeds, high-throttle). No delayed forward movement, just during shifts. I presume some of the internal seals are either more 'swelled' than they used to be, and dragging (resisting movement) when it's cold, or the exact opposite, the seals are that much more 'dried out' (harder) than last year, and the cold is bringing out the worst of it. I bought the with 55kmiles 2 years ago, got a full trans flush then, 117k now, still safe to do a full flush or should I do it bit by bit, is what I have to figure out. Also, should I switch to synthetic? After a flush or series of changes, I can worry about what magic pixie-dust additive may or may not work. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 If it were me, i would drain and fill a couple of times, with some driving between changes, and add a can of Lucas product for trannies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 does it do it all the time or only certain times? same cold/warm? my H6 OBW doesn't shift great, has some harshness to it, but i've never worried about it. it's most noticeable when passing up a mountain grade at interstate speeds, dont' really notice it for around town and normal driving. I avoid all additives for transmissions, drain and refill for now sounds good to me over the quick fix route. The LSD additive for the torque bind is one exception. good luck dave and report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 does it do it all the time or only certain times? same cold/warm?my H6 OBW doesn't shift great, has some harshness to it, but i've never worried about it. it's most noticeable when passing up a mountain grade at interstate speeds, dont' really notice it for around town and normal driving. I avoid all additives for transmissions, drain and refill for now sounds good to me over the quick fix route. The LSD additive for the torque bind is one exception. good luck dave and report back. Since I got the car the only harsh shift was a 4-3 downshift above 65 or so, and that has not gotten worse. Gary and Rooster, I shy away from additives as well, but a number of folks here use the trans-x trick for delayed forward engagement with good results, so I know it can help a seal seal. I'm also wondering if the harsh shift is a TPS issue, since it seems only the H6 has the harsh 4-3 shift, and the H6 TPS goes bad a lot more often than the H4 TPS (they are different). Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Dave, Ah ha, I think that describes mine as well - the 4-3 downshift at highway speeds. If you ever hear anything about that, post it! I don't really mind it, I've always disconnected the "shift resistor" on older 4EAT's to firm up the shifting, but this is particularly hard and the wife drives it a lot! Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 Dave, Ah ha, I think that describes mine as well - the 4-3 downshift at highway speeds. If you ever hear anything about that, post it! I don't really mind it, I've always disconnected the "shift resistor" on older 4EAT's to firm up the shifting, but this is particularly hard and the wife drives it a lot! Good luck. I accidently drained down my battery (I had turned on the parking lights on purpose, but forgot) and resetting all the codes/learned behavior seemed to ease the 4-3 shift for awhile. Try that and let me know- I just haven't had a chance to repeat the experiment. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 When in doubt, flush the tranny. This should be done every 3/36K miles. It can make the world of differnce. You can also clear the learning memory to see if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I think you have a pressure control Sol starting to go out. You can wait til it goes bad and fail safes the tranny (only has 2nd and 3rd gear) I dont recommend flushes because sometimes it'll knock stuff loose that will kill the tranny. Just change both filters and put new fluid in it. Use ATF +4 dex/merc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Flush with a machine is fine, drain and fills are fine, chemical flushes are bad. Have yet to see a modern subaru tranny fail from a flush that wasnt going to fail to begin with. You may want to find a (God help me for saying this) a good tranny shop or better yet a dealer. Dealers dont like selling transmissions. Leave the car overnight and have them throw a set of pressure gauges on the car. They should be able to see this happenening on the gauges. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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