channingsk Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I have a 1995 Legacy 2.2L that will not shift into OD and is also only shifting into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at extremely high rpms. The car has about 300000 miles on it. My first thought was my tranny is bad but all other gears work fine and fluid is fine. However, the rear main seal went out. Are these connected? I wanna figure out what are the options before I fix the engine with a bad tranny (if it is bad). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 leakage from the back of the engine? that is often the separator plate. If the fluid is fresh, I suppose you could try some Trans-X additive. Some people have luck with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channingsk Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 Yeah, the back of engine is loosing massive amounts of oil. I'm not getting any codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 99.9% of the time, oil leaks on the back of the engine are from the separator plate, not the rear main seal. tranny fluid level is right? being checked when fully warmed up, parked on a level surface? what are the rpms running when fully warmed up at around 55-60 mph? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Could be the converter isn't locking up. I know this is an issue with 90's Fords. The torque converter clutch fails, and won't lock up and you drop 4th gear. I'm assuming Subaru have 4EAT have them (hope I got the correct trans there). Towing heavy loads at highway speeds in 4th can kill them, especially if there's no aux trans fluid cooler attached, but you should still be in "3" anyways with towing. If it has failed, I'd suggest keeping it limited to "3" while cruising so as to avoid random RPM surges or possibly random engaging then disengaging from the converter clutch trying to still do something it can't fully do anymore. You might want to manually shift 1, 2, and 3 if you find the clutch is locking up in the wrong gear. 300k miles is a pretty good period of time to get from any trans. If it has failed, go to a bone yard, find a torque converter from a lower mileage car, flush out the old fluid, top it off with fresh fluid, attach to the trans, fill the trans properly, and off you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channingsk Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Tranny fluid looked good and was at the right level. At highway speeds the rpm is like 4000 or 5000 depending on how fast I am going. Is there any way to test the torque converter and find out if that's it exactly? The problem is that all the driving I do is highway or interstate driving so I need the the OD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channingsk Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 The main thing I'm trying to figure out, is it worth trying to fix the car with that many miles on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKFlight Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 The main thing I'm trying to figure out, is it worth trying to fix the car with that many miles on it? Tough spot lots of people get stuck in that situation. My opinion is, unless you are buying a brand new car, why buy another used car that you don't know what its been through. Unless your 95 is rusting away, and the repairs are going to break the bank I'd consider fixing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 what is the general overall condition of the car - aside from the tranny problem? if it is generally in good shape, minimal rusting in non-critical areas, then yes, it is worth fixing. use car-part.com to find either a used torque converter, or whole tranny, to replace yours - just make sure the final drive ratio matches the rearend, if you go whole tranny Reseal the separator plate with ultra grey while the motor and tranny are separated (if you have a plastic plate, replace it with a metal one - there are replacements out there) bought a 95 Legacy a year ago with a bad tranny - no reverse, thrashed suspension, and 206,000 miles - granted we only paid $300 for the car - but put a different tranny in, did a forester strut swap and have been driving it for a year now with pretty much no issues (aside from a bad coil pack causing a random misfire and a starter that died - both items replaced with used) if the engine runs well, and you keep up with the maintenance on it, and the body is in decent shape, there is little reason to worry about it. So it has 300K - go for 400! there are some out there that have done it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channingsk Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 The car is in pretty rough shape overall. It's been wrecked three times and two of those times it was totaled. I think the engine still has some life left in it, rebuilt the heads about 20000 miles ago. I only paid $800 for it about a year and a half ago. The best way to describe it would be to post a picture cuz it was missing some front end body parts. How do I find out what my rearend is? Could I also switch this to a manual? I know engines but when it comes to transmissions I don't know anything. Thanks for the help from everyone, this is my first Subaru and it's been an adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 you could swap over to manual, but it would be a fair amount of work to do so - pedals, clutch linkage & related items, some wiring, tranny, shifter linkage, console trim, and rear diff as I think they are a different final ratio than the automatics... I believe the 95 automatic has 4.11 gearing - there should be a tag on the diff that tells you - may be dirty and need wiping off to read it It's been wrecked three times and two of those times it was totaled. a testament to how durable these cars are! like the old timex watches - take a lickin and keep on tickin! LOL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channingsk Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 Haha and even though it wasn't very nice looking I have become kind of attached to it. AWD still worked and it was a tank this winter, had too much fun busting drifts with it. I'll probably just leave it as an AT then, I prefer MT. Very good information, thank you. I'm borrowing my dad's Chevy metro right now so I've got some time to deal with it. The Chevy is still a step down even though it has less than half the miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Haha and even though it wasn't very nice looking I have become kind of attached to it. AWD still worked and it was a tank this winter, had too much fun busting drifts with it. I'll probably just leave it as an AT then, I prefer MT. Very good information, thank you. I'm borrowing my dad's Chevy metro right now so I've got some time to deal with it. The Chevy is still a step down even though it has less than half the miles. Uh, yeah - big step down after having an AWD Subaru! LOL My first was an 89 GL wagon, FWD, 5 speed that I drove for 8 years - ugly as sin (her name was Brumhilda), but super reliable - paid $150 for that car, and yes, it needed work for that price - but when I finally dragged it off to the scrap yard, I got more out of it than I paid for it! Still miss that old car sometimes - lots of good times in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 TBH, if the condition is *that* rough, why not just find a good runner for $700-900? You could keep that one as a parts car. As far as rear end ratios go, lift all 4 wheels off the ground and put the vehicle in neutral. Mark the drive shaft with a chalk, or whiteout line as well as the bottom inside of the tire that spins forward. Spin the drive shaft until the tire makes one full revolution. If you have 4.11:1, the drive shaft should spin 4.11 times as the tire makes one full revolution. Gear ratios go up to .99 before rolling over, so the .11 will be just a touch pass the 4 mark. If you had 3.73:1 ratio, it'd spin 3 times solid and stop around the 45 minute mark or roughly 75% of a turn. If the trans has full fluid, and the shifter linkage is OK and matching the gear selector numbers, and refuses to go into OD, it's most likely the converter. I don't enough about Subaru trans though to not rule out something else with the trans, a sensor, the trans electronic box, etc. Best bet is take it to a REPUTABLE trans shop that does free inspections. Let them diagnose, then say you'll have to think about whether you want to put the money in the car or not. If it were me, I'd take the car to 2 different shops (hide any evidence i.e. receipts from the 1st shop) and see if they come up with the same evaluation. From there, you can make a better informed decision on what path to follow next. If it's only the torque converter that's bad, it's something you can do yourself (saving a ton of money) with a used converter and fresh fluid, with basic hand tools. Just follow some DIY videos or write-ups so you make sure you filled the trans (AND converter with fluid beforehand) and understand about running it through the gears several times before adding more fluid, as well as torque ratings for the bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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