My WRX is broken

[86BRATMAN]

You can get a used wrx 5mt for a good chunk less than repairing yours. What year is your car, that will make a difference when it comes to a replacement.

[1 Lucky Texan]

2006 WRX

 

they are charging $500 to r&r, so that and any shipping/delivery charge would be on top of the used trans cost - for a trans that might have twice the mileage of mine.

 

 

but yeah, it's a minefield of risky and expensive decisions.....ugh

 

already committed to the repair but thanx for the thought - I briefly looked on-line at car-part (I think, maybe LKQ?) and there was a trans for $1650 listed in a town a coupla counties away.  AWD even offered the possibility it might be cheaper for them to put in a trans they have leftover from a 6 speed swap they did for a guy.

 

interestingly, they say the rest of the internals in my trans look fine? It is low miles so, maybe in the brief drive I took to get home, not much more damage occured? I dunno, this is way out of my experience/knowledge level. I learned that is isn't easy for big chunks to get from the trans to the drain plug magnet, much easier for front diff parts to wind-up on there.

 

I'm glad it's at AWDTuning and not a dealership. Most respected non-dealership shop in this area.  and really, it comes to an extra $200 per every year of ownership(but, I have very low miles). That's not horrible. A lady I work with had to have new trans put in her Mazda, it is half the age of my car I think. Bunch of Maszdas have bad transmissions evidently. It just seems like really bad luck. I can sya this, anyone tuning for more power should set aside some extra geeters to pay for a trans, or dogtooth 1st and second - maybe 3rd. They said they see more stripped 3rd gears than my second but ???? I dunno how to interpret any of that.

 

I don't plan to drive like granny now, but I'm gonna be very nervous about every little noise for a while !

 

this is the shop's website for anyone reading here in the future; http://awdtuning.com/

Edited October 4, 2016 by 1 Lucky Texan

[86BRATMAN]

So their $2k estimate is all inclusive, that's not too bad then. Might be worth looking at the RA or LGT gearset, I'm not sure what those are going for these days so it may put you over where you want to be for the repair.

 

I'm familiar with awd tuning, they currently have the fastest Legacy in North America and a close contender for the world. I'm not a terribly big fan of Mary, but it's not because of the work the shop does more about the attitude revolving around her car in the legacy community. But that's neither here nor there.

[1 Lucky Texan]

I didn't know any details like that.

 

parts are pricey - second gear is machined out of the main shaft, all the gears have to be pressed off, then on to the new shaft/gear. great, just my luck.

 

Honestly, the &2k , while not a horrible price, is kinda burdensome right now - but many people have bigger repair bills than that so, I just have to suck it up.

 

car ownership is not cheap in general, and having any kind of performance car is an additional risk. 

 

I still have maintenance to do on that car and my wife's car this month. When I was under my WRX  draining the trans, I also saw I have questionable axles(one seems very worn, the other has a split boot - what do I do for 'quality' axles for my WRX?) - *sigh*. I also have a split forming in a strut mount - it just never ends. I really have no business owning a turbo rice rocket.

Edited October 4, 2016 by 1 Lucky Texan

[86BRATMAN]

For axles I would get in contact with FWE, formerly MWE. He's still doing remans of oem Subaru axles. Not sure on pricing for those though.

[1 Lucky Texan]

as it turns out, AWD is not comfortable putting the car back together with a torn boot so, I think they would if I asked or maybe signed-off on it, but  I'm gonna pay them to install a new axle - good news is, they don't need to surrender a core on a new axle and I can rebuild the present one to swap in the other side sometime in the future.

[1 Lucky Texan]

got my car back - they had it 4 weeks! (I guess Subaru dropped the ball on shipping one of the parts)

 

anyaway, nice to have it back.

 

I also wanted to report, they say they have had good luck with FEQ axles from worldpac? maybe FEQ is wortha shot if you just can't re-boot OEM. Amazon sells them.

Edited November 1, 2016 by 1 Lucky Texan

[Fairtax4me]

Glad you got it back. Did you get any pics of the carnage?

 

Have heard of FEQ but haven't talked to anyone who has used them. Might have to give them a try on something.

[1 Lucky Texan]

I kinda wanted to take pics but, I kinda wanted to start my drive home (took an hour & 15 mins in heavy traffic) but I talked to the tech a little (thanx Kirby!) and he did retrieve the main shaft from the recycle bin - 2 teeth off the main 2nd gear, and a chewed-up driven gear of course.

 

he showed me the syncrhos and they are not worn, he said everything else looked good. H says they see 3rd destroyed most often, second is after that. He claims the case flexes and allows the teeth to bang into each other - I guess the 6spd's case is one piece or has some stronger design??? (honestly, I can't help wondering if my habit of engine braking with 2nd didn't contribute to stress on the teeth? remeber, I have NO power mods and only 63K miles - but they are almost  all 10 years of surface street miles - zooming between stop lights and around corners.)

 

I was very concerned about them re-using my clutch too - given my use and doubting my driving technique, I just figured the clutch was done. Kirby said there was 60%+ left on it. So, maybe I'll get another 10 years out of it!

 

they also saved my old axle so I can rebuild it. They , not unlike other mechanics, aren't interested in rebooting an axle.

 

oh, another interesting data point - the fill was Amsoil Severe Gear 75w-90. They charged me $15.75 a quart for it. So far, it 'feels' kinda in between the scrape-y notchiness of Extra-S and the butter-smooth feel of Redline Lightweight Shockproof. From initial drive, it seems fine.

 

I would much rather have spent $2K on a rear sway bar ...and a lightweight flywheel.... and a tune....but, it just is what it is.

Edited November 1, 2016 by 1 Lucky Texan

[Fairtax4me]

Well if that amsoil starts feeling more notchy, try Motul 300.

The amsoil may be better in the warmer climate. I tried a few different fluids in the trans in my 96 because it wouldn't shift into second at all when it was below 50° out. Motul made it shift like butter even in single digit temps.

[1 Lucky Texan]

^^ good point and, I now recall Kirby said Motul was good lube too. I didn't want to hog their time plus I needed to get on the road. I could have gabbed with those guys for a long time I guess. They seem to stay busy, lots of cars around, there was one guy waiting on an oil change on his '14 sedan and I had to wait when I arrived because Colin (main guy I've been emailing/calling with) was test driving a car.  I wish they weren't so far away but, I also hope I don't 'need' them again.  know what I mean? lol!