matts87glsedan Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) hi everyone i had some trouble with my trans last sunday on the way to work. i noticed that i was turning 3000rpm to do 90kms an hour on the highway, which usually takes about 2300rpm. to i tapped the gas and the car revved up to 4500, but my speed got slower. i immediately pulled over and witnessed all my trans fluid puking out from the bellhousing area of the car. i then scrambled to get it off the edge of the road, flat towing it 5km with the fwd fuse in, car in neutral, and engine running to give me some brake power on the sketch pull to the work yard. then i got on an airplane the next day and went for 5 days of training in edmonton. Now, im flying home tomorrow night, and i have to go straight in to work and try and fix this thing so i can commute on sunday night again. -front diff is un polluted with atf would that mean that its most likely the trans input shaft seal? - any steel lines below the trans and in front? of the crossmember dont have any rust or obvious holes in them after searching for a decent amount of time, i cant find any auto trans removal threads that dont have broken pic links. i am concerned about how to unbolt the torque converter from the engine side. could it be worse than just a seal? any other tips for me before i tear into this thing? my main goal is to get the trans out - if i can fix a seal myself then great i'll try and get it back in, but if its more than that i plan on just hauling it out to ivan with the trans in the back and paying for whatever is beyond me. Edited February 12, 2012 by matts87glsedan changed title for search engine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 There are 4 bolts that go from the flex plate to the TC, you get to them through the access hole on the top right side of the block. A 6 point 12mm deep socket works well. Once it's disconnected, push the TC back, it will go back in about an 1/8". The Trans is heavy as can be! You can get it down with a floor jack but it's not the best. How many miles on the Car? If the mileage is high, the trans may be toast. Many threads on seating the TC, just use the search. You have to get the TC completely seated or you will damage the trans when you put it back in and start the car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 not sure if yours has it or not - but both of the 90 Legacys we have here with auto transmissions have the external tranny filter - looks kind of like an oil filter with 2 rubber hoses going to it - mounted down low on drivers side (look down slightly behind where the battery sits...) it is possible it blew one of those rubber lines.... otherwise, good luck, not gonna be a fun job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 The seal that the torque converter slides through has probably failed. I have seen this failure more than once. I would suspect this first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matts87glsedan Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thx lmdew that helps. Car has 250000kms on it, ( divide by 1.6 for miles). Shifted fine and didn't make any noise before this. I called the dealership and the parts guy gave me 806750050 as the subaru part number , cost of 15 dollars, for what he said was the only seal in there. Does that sound right? The ATf filter has been bypassed. I didn't check that hose but since it was pouring out the bottom I don't think that's it. Milesfox, how much work is involved in replacing that seal once the trans is out of the car? Can anyone point me to a thread with pics? Johnceggleston wrote up a great TC thread but again, the pic links are broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=81925&highlight=torque+converter The last couple pages of that thread have pics. I just did a trans swap in a 2000 outback. It's pretty straightforward, but takes a while. Two trans cooling lines come in from the drivers side. (below the starter.) I avoided a tranny jack by hanging a come along from the roof of my garage and clipping it to a bolt threaded through the top trans mount, and a ratcheting strap wrapped across the inside of the car to cradle the read of the trans. The torque converter really isn't bad if you follow the directions in that link. I waited until the trans was separated from the engine and pulled back a few inches before removing the axles all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matts87glsedan Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 Ahhh thank you ! Lol I looked at pg 1 of that thread and said " well this blows, the pics are gone" and didn't continue further. Being on my phone in the airport doesn't help either. Maybe johnceggleston could edit the title to say " pics on pg3 " for morons like me. Your axles pulled off ok once the trans was back a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 you might find it easier to remove the engine instead. This saves you from compromising the aligment pulling axles and such, and saves you the mess of losing fluid once you pull the driveshaft. Pull the engine, remove the TC, and there you are. Plus, you will have the chance to inspect or replace the baffle plate on the back of the engine which is prone to leak, and is commonly mistaken for a rear main seal. That, and doing the valve covers and timing belts are much easier if you do all of this in the same motion. The consensus will agree that removing the trans is only necessary if you are replacing it. Thx lmdew that helps. Car has 250000kms on it, ( divide by 1.6 for miles). Shifted fine and didn't make any noise before this. I called the dealership and the parts guy gave me 806750050 as the subaru part number , cost of 15 dollars, for what he said was the only seal in there. Does that sound right? The ATf filter has been bypassed. I didn't check that hose but since it was pouring out the bottom I don't think that's it. Milesfox, how much work is involved in replacing that seal once the trans is out of the car? Can anyone point me to a thread with pics? Johnceggleston wrote up a great TC thread but again, the pic links are broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 x2 on what Fox said. If all you're doing is replacing that seal, pull the engine. Way simpler than wrestling with a 250lb trans under a sky high jacked up car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matts87glsedan Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 hmm i guess it will be easy enough to work on the TC in the car once the engine is out of the way... well i just got it manouvered into the shop and under the crane. quick disconnect list: drain coolant drain A/C disconnect power steering fuel lines air intake wire harness brake booster hose throttle cables battery still easier than going in underneath huh? i will believe the wisdom of the board, since i have done neither on this car before. venting the A/C to atmosphere is a bit sad, i dont think ill be filling it back up again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Wait does your car not have the hoses for the trans cooler in the radiator? I'd double check any hoses or fittings on the side of the transmission before trying to pull the trans or engine out. If it comes to pulling the engine, the ac compressor can be unbolted and swung out of the way without emptying the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 ^^^ this, and the intake boot can stay with the engine, irbox and all. OR you can remove the intake boot with all pcv lines conncted, airbox/maf. You will have to do the pcv line form the pcv valve itself AC can be swung out the way. the P/S can be swung out the way as well, easy to unbolt. Drop the exhaust and go to town. Actually, the exhaust pipe would be in the way of dropping the trans, and then you would be into rusty flanges and replacing donut gaskets. you can watch the 'art of subaru maintenance' on youtube to get an idea of what's involved, althouh the example is an ea82. The video shows removing and swapping thee trans; similar procedure. But myself, even if i was removing the trans to swap it out, i still remove the engine to make acess easier. Typically i will pull the trans from under the hood with a crane, and install it this way as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 quick disconnect list: drain coolant - yes drain A/C - no - unbolt the compressor and swing out of the way disconnect power steering - can also be unbolted and swung out of the way (dont forget the two small bolts that hold the metal lines in place on the passenger side) fuel lines - yes air intake - what Miles said wire harness - yes brake booster hose - yes throttle cables - yes - rotate the plate and slip the cables out - no need to mess with adjustments that way battery - yes - in fact, this one should be first! other items: unbolt exhaust headers and motor mounts. still easier than going in underneath huh? i will believe the wisdom of the board, since i have done neither on this car before. Yes, it is MUCH eaisier to pull the motor than to try to get the tranny out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matts87glsedan Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 all right thanks everyone, its going well so far. ive got the accessories off, now im just getting to unbolting the TC and hooking up the crane and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matts87glsedan Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) ok, 8hrs later, the engine is out. for me, thats a decent time haha. the TC came with the engine a bit forward, but i didnt pll the small shaft out of the large shaft on the trans side of things, so hopefully everythings still in proper place there. the large shaft seal was not in its place when i got the engine clear, so i assume that was my problem. it doesnt look beat up though - actually it looks pretty damn good, and fits decently tight in its proper place. could my transmission have pressured up and blown a decent seal out of its seat? or should i just not stress about it since the car has 160 000 miles on it, and throw in the new seal and hope for the best... Edited February 12, 2012 by matts87glsedan changed title for search engine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matts87glsedan Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 well, i drove it home 80km at highway speed, and it seems to be all good. still wondering about why the decent looking seal went in the first place, and hoping that it doesnt happen again in two days because of some other problem. unfortunately, i ended up overfilling the transmission during the drive/ check level routine. its on the hot/full line when its cold. potential problem there? thanks milesfox for the videos , those helped for sure. i happened to have a digital angle finder in the shop where i was working. before the engine went in, i measured the angle that the face of the bellhousing was sitting at , then matched the angle of the hanging engine to it. this made mating the two surfaces super easy for a solo operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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