jeffroid Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I've got another post on the Parts Wanted page, but I have questions that I though would be more suitable posting here. The tranny in my 96 Outback 2.2L five speed went out at about 160K miles. It started making faint grinding noises which got progressively louder, then started slipping out of gear, then it finally destroyed the clutch, leaving me stranded. When I removed it I noticed excessive play in the input shaft. So I got another one from a board member that he said was out of a 91 Legacy with "around 100K miles". When I put it in it shifted fine and wasn't making any noticeable noise, but after about a year and 20K miles or so, it started to make the same grinding noises, and now it is starting to slip out of gear again.. So after another post on the Parts Wanted page, I've found another tranny from a Board member with "around 100K miles and shifts fine" for a reasonable price. I'm not having much luck on-line otherwise. Responses to my older post indicated that it was easy to find a good tranny on-line, but I am just not seeing it. Getting one shipped with any kind of a warranty is over 1000 bucks and I still need to install it. What's the deal here? I have been driving Subarus for over 20 years and I always thought their manual trannys were pretty much bullet proof? I've got nearly 200K on my wagon, but the engine is strong as can be, doesn't use a drop of oil, and I absolutely love the vehicle otherwise. So what should be a reasonable expectation for the life of these trannys? Should I worry about putting another old one in? Any insight is greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 (edited) My 5MT died in about the same way as yours - but at 270,000+ miles. They are durable transmissions but there are a lot of factors that can contribute to their life expectancy.Driving style/history are huge. Aggressive drivers can expect to see transmissions fail. Weight and towing will add wear and tear as well. I think the 5mt tends to last a little longer in an impreza vs. legacy/outback simply because one is a bigger/heavier car that fits more/heavier stuff and over time puts more strain on the trans. Do your homework on the new trans. If it was well taken care of and not abused, 100k is nothing for these transmissions. If you can get some burning smell from it (gear oil stinks anyway) or if you find metal shavings in the oil/on the drain plug, that's a warning. Make sure you put the right gear oil in there in the right amounts. My best guess is that it was just luck of the draw. Stuff breaks and that's just the way cars are over time. The last trans lasted 20k. This trans may last 20k or 200k but for the few hundred bucks and few hours it takes to do the swap, it usually pays off in the long run. Swap in a used trans and drive. It's worth it way more often than not. Edited September 26, 2014 by AdventureSubaru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Remove the trans you have, open it up, and replace the large bearing on the upper shaft. This si the one that goes out, and when it does...the shaft can walk for/aft which is why it begins poping out of gear. Ussually it's 4th and 5th that begin poping first, since they are the ones with shift collars on the upper shaft. the bearing is about $125 from subaru.....and it's pretty easy to change. Any machine shop should be able to press the bearing on......just make sure the snapring is to the back. Read my write up on "easy front seal" replacement. it covers the front bearing and seal, but will give you an Idea of what's involved to get to the rear bearing. The rear one is the most important to securing the shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyKeith Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 How's the pilot bearing in the flywheel? if you are getting enough play in the shaft to kill the clutch I have to question if there even is a pilot bearing installed. The bearing on the input shaft failing happens especially if you don't change the fluid every 80k'ish, but I've never heard of getting enough play in the input shaft to kill a clutch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffroid Posted September 26, 2014 Author Share Posted September 26, 2014 Well, the tranny I installed last year is all still in the car, so I don't know about the pilot bearing. But that's a good point about the pilot bearing supporting the shaft near the clutch. I guess it's possible the clutch disintegrating had nothing to do with the bad tranny. But there was significant play in the input shaft after it was out of the car and it was popping out of nearly every gear. I can't remember which gears exactly, but some of the gears I couldn't even hold it in gear with the shift lever. I guess I just assume that's what destroyed the clutch. It had around 100K on it but the disc still had plenty of pad. I just know that the one I'm driving on now is making the same grinding noises and just starting to pop out of fourth gear. One other thing of note is that my miles are easy miles. I'm not an aggressive driver and nearly all of my miles are on the interstate commuting back and forth to work. I regards to Gloyale's suggesting to replace the large bearing on the upper shaft, that's something I considered. But I have read other posts warning about extremely tight tolerances and these transmissions being difficult to rebuild. If replacing this bearing will fix my original tranny and is much less involved than a significan't rebuild, I may decide to give it a try, but I'll need to do much more research. Anyway, thanks for the replies. This Board is awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 When the mainshaft bearing goes bad the input shaft starts workig back and forth and causes he clutch hub to flex more than normal. The splines on the clutch allow some movement but the hub will not slide when the clutch is under load (accelerating or decelerating). This causes the hub to flex and crack. Which then causes the disc to wobble off center and break. The mainshaft bearing isn't difficult to replace, but you do need to catch it early before it starts popping out of gear. Once it starts kicking out of gear it starts wearing other parts, gear teeth, shift collars, synchro hubs. If it has only popped out of gear a few times you might not have any other damage, but its a gamble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffroid Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Back again with more questions. I really appreciate all the responses. Again, this board is awesome. So I am trying to find another tranny. I am not confident that either of the ones I have are not trashed to the extent that simply replacing that main top bearing would be wise. I have someone scouting junkyards for me and we have some "swap ability" questions. The part puller seems to think that in 2001 they "eliminated the speed sensor". Implying that the place in which you screw in the speed sensor that is currently on my 96 outback is not there or somehow different in transmissions after 2001. Can anyone shed any light on this please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afterbang Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I just replaced the rear input shaft bearing on a 2001 Outback 5MT and it had a speed sensor. Also, the plug that Subaru uses to close the hole in the case for the manual transmissions that don't have that speed sensor has an application date of 2005-2014, according to the part number information. This leads me to believe that 2004 would be the last year it was used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afterbang Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Oh, and by the way, I have a known good input and pinion shaft from a 4.111 99 Forester transmission. Has a brand new rear input shaft bearing installed by me. If you want to muster up the bravery to crack yours open, this could be a good option for you. Have a brand new thrust plate for it as well, but I'd have the check what number it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffroid Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 Funny how things work out. I picked up another tranny from a 98 outback just today. Literally hours later, the tranny that is currently in my car destroyed the clutch and again left me stranded in the middle of the road. Luckily, this time it was only a few blocks from my house. A couple of good Samaritans helped me get it into a parking lot and my neighbor helped me get it back to my house with a tow rope. So my next move is to send you (afterbang) a PM. Thanks again. As I always say, this board is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffroid Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 Hey afterbang, I am interested and sent you a PM last week. Hit me back if you would please. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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