Bajaracer Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Hello, I am looking at buying a 2001 Subaru outback limited addition 4 cyl Auto transmission. This car is in great condition and only has 110k miles. The car is being sold by the family because the owner passed away. History of the car is unknown but they are asking $2000 for it. It is in good condition, except when i test drove it had a strange problem When I put the car in reverse it will slip but go backwards. When I shift to drive it does nothing until I rev the car up to around 2.5-3k RPM and it will all of a sudden start to lunge forward as if I was letting the clutch out. From then on the transmission runs perfectly, It drives just like a normal A/t with no slipping. Until i either put the car in park and back into drive, then the problem resets. I can switch between drive and reverse fine without issue. I added some ATF but that did not fix anything. Just wondering if anyone has any idea what this is. Is this car gonna be worth purchasing or will it probably need a new transmission. if it is a small fix that would be great and this car should be a good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 If it's what I suspect, it's a small fix. These cars were known for an issue called "delayed forward engagement" it got bad in the 2000 and 2001 cars but was corrected by an additive called trans-X Read up on here. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/84847-fixed-trany-delayed-forward-engagement/ It's a $8. fix that usually lasts a year or more before repeating the process. Happened on our 2000 Outback and was fixed by trans X. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 If it's what I suspect, it's a small fix. These cars were known for an issue called "delayed forward engagement" it got bad in the 2000 and 2001 cars but was corrected by an additive called trans-X Read up on here. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/84847-fixed-trany-delayed-forward-engagement/ It's a $8. fix that usually lasts a year or more before repeating the process. Happened on our 2000 Outback and was fixed by trans X. I wrote the original Delayed Forward Engagement post about 6 years ago. Trans-X does a great job fixing the problem on 99 and 00 models. I thought Subaru fixed the problem on the 2001 model, but maybe you have an early 2001 that still uses the 2000 model tranny. Spend some time reading the post from the link just above. It is well worth a Trans-X fix to see if it can repair your tranny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bajaracer Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Cool I checked out your thread! Thanks for keeping all of us updated on it. I think it will fix it and will probably pick that car up. So the fix would last you about a year or 20k miles right? Then you just re serviced it and it still works correct? Does that sound like a decent deal for this car? $1750 for a outback with 110k miles? Do these cars run pretty problem free? Are the trannys a weak point more than just that seal problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 The tranny on our 2000 made it to 300,000 miles. As a general rule, they are very durable. Those motors usually needed head gaskets at some point after 100,000 miles but once done well, will usually outlast the car. I guess the factory head gaskets were not that great. At 110k the car is due for a timing belt if it hasn't been done yet. Gates kits on ebay are good and inexpensive. I'm a big fan of these cars. They are a strong 2nd place to the reliability of the 90s EJ22 cars - which is pretty darn good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Cool I checked out your thread! Thanks for keeping all of us updated on it. I think it will fix it and will probably pick that car up. So the fix would last you about a year or 20k miles right? Then you just re serviced it and it still works correct? Does that sound like a decent deal for this car? $1750 for a outback with 110k miles? Do these cars run pretty problem free? Are the trannys a weak point more than just that seal problem? Yea, a good chance Trans-X will correct the problem. Yea, the Trans-X fix usually lasts about a year, then the lazy shifting into drive starts returning. Re-servicing with fresh ATF and Trans-X continues to fix the problem year after year. It is best to drain and fill the tranny 3 times, then add Trans-X on the last fill. Each drain and fill tames one gallon of ATF. Last fill, then topped off with Trans-X fills, 15 oz size plastic bottle, fills the tranny to the proper level. $1750 is prolly a decent price, but you may be able to negotiate an offer of $1,500 if you voice your concerns about the tranny problem., and that the tranny may need to be replaced. The current owner knows about the problem, so prolly willing to lower the price . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 i agree with the above posts, a bottle of trans-x will likely correct this enough so it is not a concern. but worst case senario, you have to buy and install a used trans, ~$1000 - $1500 installed. even if you add that to the purchase price, you still have an affordable car. it does increase the ''cost'' of the car, but if you own and drive the car for 35k miles, it will only cost you 10 cents a mile. and it is very very very likely you will be able to do this. more likely is you will drive the repaired car over 105k miles. this will reduce your cost per mile to 3.33 cents per mile. this is a no brainer , imho. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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