Fairtax4me Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Craigslist car I'm looking at for my girlfriend later this week. The owner says it won't go into "high gear" but he won't explain the issue any further. I'm left to assume that either it shifts through the first two gears fine then stays in 3rd. But I'm also thinking its possible that its just stuck in 3rd gear. I'm trying to remember a thread I saw not long ago that mentioned unplugging the TCU which would lock the trans in 3rd and lock it in AWD? Is that correct? I'm just trying to figure how I can do a quick and dirty diagnostic on it and determine if its the trans or a bad TCU or wiring issue. Obviously I'm gonna check to see if the trans temp light works and try to pull any codes. She's driving a Honda Del Slo right now and I'm trying my level best to get her out of the go-kart and into a SAFE vehicle as a DD. If this can be fixed cheap enough I think it will be a good buy. Even if it needs a trans I can get one for $150, but the nickel and dime things add up too. She wants a manual trans and the idea of a swap isn't out of the question but the quicker I can get her into a real car the sooner ill be able to sleep easy. 0.o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt167 Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 (edited) I have a 1999 SUS with blown head gaskets. It actually lugs out so bad that it lags big time before it goes into passing gear. CEL flashing and an obvious miss on at least 1 cylinder, likely due to coolant intrusion. Just something to look for. I do remember seeing that it will lock into 3rd with a transmission fault, but a 1999 can have 2 transmissions as it was a crossover year. If it has the spin on filter on the side, it's the more expensive one. JEDBA IIRC.. I want a 5spd for my car, but I have to get the new motor in the car, so I can pull my truck down to do it's needed repairs, and then I can do a swap if I can get all the parts togther.. Ditto on the nickle and dimeing. I thought I could get a $500 EJ22E motor, drop it into my $750 car and be on the road for under $2k.. I'm at $2,250 and counting Edited April 29, 2013 by matt167 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 (edited) exactly, unplug the TCU and it'll be in 3rd gear with transfer clutches fully locked. splice into the Duty C circuit and you can control that one circuit - give it power so it's not locked. i unplug the transmission connector in the engine bay by the engine electrical connector, don't know if that matters or not but probably not is my guess. i drove an XT6 like that for like a year. slow on take off in 3rd, about like an EA82, perfectly usable. LOL. be a breeze in flatland. people mis-diagnose and mis-describe things so often that i wouldn't put much stock in his description, particularly if he's not willing to "explain it any further". 9 times out of 10 those people are wrong, way off, or don't want to repeat to a potential buyer how they describe it to their friends. LMAO Edited April 29, 2013 by grossgary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 (edited) Head gaskets on the DOHC are expected to be bad or go bad soon. Definitely will be on the lookout for signs of overheating and coolant overflow from the reservoir. Timing belt, head gaskets, and oil leaks aside; I'm more worried it will be playing to the tune of "hard knock life", and needful of a 2.2 swap AND a transmission. Assuming the rest of the car checks out, that is. Gary I know exactly what you mean. Don't know how many times I've heard people complain about transmission problems, I just say "misfire" then have to explain why the trans shifts strange when the engine is only making half as much power as it should be. I can imagine a hundred scenarios that could be perceived as a transmission problem to someone who just isn't car savvy. Edited April 29, 2013 by Fairtax4me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 those SUS's are really nice when in good condition, very nice looking, one of my favorite subaru's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 On the 99 and up i start it cold strait into drive right away and time how long it takes to go into gear if take time forward clutch pack is on way out. Also drive it and see if it has drawn out shifts or rpm spikes when shifting thiss indacates how good the clutches are. On those trans the first shifts are the most important as trans can compansate after its been shifted a few times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 Seems like a decent car, no real rust to speak of. Engine is quiet and appears to have new head gaskets, probably in the last 30-40k miles. Looked like it has some minor leaks that had been lazily power washed. No tags so I didnt drive it anywhere but the guy did explain the problem better when I asked a few questions. He owns a repair shop and bought it as a flip then decided it wasn't worth it. The way he described it, it won't go any higher than second gear. No lights and no CEL, trans light works and was not blinking so I'm thinking it must be a stuck shift solenoid or valve body issue. Either way he seemed firm at $1700. A little high IMO, the body was in rough shape and the exhaust had been cut and welded together. Tires had decent tread, but it looked like it would need brakes soon. Not sure on it for now. Gonna see if anything else pops up in the next couple weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 good call, i'd walk too, doesn't sound like it's worth hardly half that. something else will come up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 $1,700, i'm surprised it's so high. how long has it been listed, maybe he'll come down? a 99 listed last year for $2,500 with a blown engine (it was pristine with only 80,000 miles) but it eventually dropped to $900. for that much i'd sell you a 1995 Legacy sedan that doesn't need any major engine/trans work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Agree with others, $1700 is too high. Should be more like around $1,000 at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 That's exactly what I was thinking actually. A grand at best. Transmissions are easy to replace, but finding one for a 99 is a beach because it was one of the crossover years. Closest place on car-part.com has one for $2000 . They're smoking some serious stuff there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 well doesn't seem to matter at this point, but i'd think surely something like 98 and earlier or 00+ trans would interchange as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 well doesn't seem to matter at this point, but i'd think surely something like 98 and earlier or 00+ trans would interchange as well... I have both a 98 and 99 OBWagons. Yes, I know they have slightly different transmissions, though the motors are the same. 99 and 00 trannys are known for their problem with "delayed forward engagement," so you may want to avoid a tranny from those years. Like grossgary said, there must be a number of years, that you can find a tranny to replace on a 99 model. Others here on this forum should be able to verify qualifying years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 the 99- up trans i a'm replacing forward clutch packs and high clutch pack and have seen two blown planetarys and some blown front diffs. If just clutches is not to hard to change as long as drums are ok if planetarys is done puts to mutch meatal thru trans and cant be cleaned out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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