bendecker Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 (edited) Hi Sube Gurus! Hoping for some constructive opinions here. I have a 1993 Impreza from the days when they offered 2wd or AWD. We bought it brand new with 2wd and a manual transmission. It's got 190k miles on it and the transmission is starting to make a grinding noise that's pretty darned loud and sounds like a blender making a smoothie. The noise only happens under load and in all gears, but is most noticeable in the lower gears (probably due to lack of other road noise). As soon as I let off the gas, the noise goes away. Not related to the clutch in any way. Any suggestions? I'm a bit reluctant to put a lot of money into it because it is just a 2wd, but it's been an amazingly reliable car and it's gonna hurt if we get rid of it. The engine is in great shape. A used transmission? Would it be psychotic to try to fix it myself if I know for sure what the problem is? Perhaps another year's transmission that I could swap into it? Thanks in advance, -Ben Edited August 27, 2010 by bendecker It's a manaul transmission. Sorry 'bout that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Hi Ben, I'm assuming it's an MT. Have you drained and check the fluid to see if there's any chunks of metal on the drain pain? My 97 Impreza is pretty loud. It's been that way for a couple years now. I plan to drive it until the tranny croaks....which it's not really showing any other signs besides the noise. You may want to try some new fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendecker Posted August 27, 2010 Author Share Posted August 27, 2010 Yes, it's an MT (I edited the post to make that clearer... oops!). I'll try the fluid check. Thanks. On a side note, it was worked on a couple of years ago by a local garage who, in turn, subbed the transmission work to a shop in Los Angeles. I'm looking for the receipts to see exactly what they did to the tranny (assuming they spelled it out -- not too happy with that shop, but that's another story...). -Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 Trans was worked on? What was the reason for having it repaired before? Kinda sounds like the infamous main shaft bearing. But noises are kinda hard to diagnose over the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendecker Posted October 29, 2010 Author Share Posted October 29, 2010 Apparently, my "subscribe" emails were being labeled as spam, hence the late reply... I'm sorry to say I don't remember the exact symptoms when it was cracked open. I wasn't the one (pardon the pun) driving that repair, but I believe it was making odd noises at the time, which cleared up after the repair. Can you tell me more about the infamous main bearing? And, is it a fix situation, or a swap the whole tranny thing? -Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 There are a handful of threads around here dealing with replacement of the main shaft roller bearing. To fix means basically tearing the transmission down and removing the input shaft (main shaft) removing the 5th gear assemblies and pulling the bearing off. The new bearing is pressed on 5th gear installed and the lock nut on the end tightened. Not really difficult, but time consuming, and a bit of a daunting task for a novice. You need some special tools, large sockets, gear puller, bearing puller, shop press. A transmission shop probably wouldn't do the work without doing a full rebuild which is $$$$. The more common remedy is to drive it 'til it quits, which can often be tens of thousands of miles, then replace it with a used trans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendecker Posted October 29, 2010 Author Share Posted October 29, 2010 I played around with the keywords a bit and found some of those other threads. It really irritates me that the shop that worked on this stinking thing didn't see it coming, but oh well... Thanks for the great info. It's just what I needed to move forward. Right now, I'm looking for a used tranny and will most likely drive it until it dies in the meantime. -Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted October 30, 2010 Share Posted October 30, 2010 It really irritates me that the shop that worked on this stinking thing didn't see it coming, but oh well... You never know they might have caused it. I like to give people the benefit of a doubt though. Chances are it was something that was just fine at the time they had it apart so they felt no need to replace it. Bearings tend to do that, fine one day, shot the next. Obviously, regular fluid changes will extend what's left of the life of the trans. Those 2wd manual transmissions don't seem to be easy to find, not around here at least. But the good news is you don't have to worry about matching differential ratios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 30, 2010 Share Posted October 30, 2010 you sound certain it's a transmission issue. it's not possibly a wheel bearing or something else, though on 2WD i can't think of anything else to be confused with it? you checked the fluid level? that car is capable of some really high miles, i'm surprised you're having this issue. definitely worth swapping another trans in. i'd recommend an ebay timing belt kit next time you're into the timing belt. all new pulleys and belt for only $60-$80. can't beat it and you get rid of all those old pulleys and bearings. i doubt lakeside is anywhere near me but i have a 2WD legacy MT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 I assume this applies to the AWD variations as well? If this is the case, I guess I'll just save up for a spare tranny with front LSD. I have a 5sp AWD out of a 94 lego that growls, and it has 10k or less on new 75-90w gear oil. No shards or shavings to speak of. Just a failing bearing huh? I guess I'll get to document what it looks like when that implodes And possibly at a high RPM Twitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendecker Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Update: I was just driving home today in it and realized how used to the noise I've gotten. In short, it's still growling along, but isn't showing any signs of dying yet. We even took it on a road trip to LA last week. -Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru_dude Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 My nephew's '93 2wd 5spd Impreza was making some terrible noise as well and has been for 30,000 miles. Then it started kicking out of 4th and 5th gear. Split the thing open and that infamous roller bearing was broken and there were metal shavings EVERYWHERE. (don't know if the kicking out of 4th and 5th was because of that bearing though. I checked the price on the bearing and it's $128 from Subaru. I found a used tranny for $200.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 (don't know if the kicking out of 4th and 5th was because of that bearing though. It was. The main bearing prevents the shaft from moving during accel/decel. Because of the cut of the gears, when the bearing wears out the shaft will walk fore and aft, which causes the shift forks to push on the synchro hubs, and it knocks it out of gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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