1998 Legacy GT- transmission/ downshifting issues?

[Stevo F]

My son who is at college with the '98 GT reported ot me that he began to drive it on a very cold morning the other day and as soon as he would let off the gas the car would downshift (he said it downshifted into first). 

He also said the car felt a little like it was dragging, like the emergency brake was on.

As he turned around and drove it back home he noticed a burning smell and when he got home and lifted the hood there was some smoke coming from area the front of the engine.

That's all I know and he is not very mechanically inclined. I happened to show him where the ATF dipstick is right before he went back to school and the car made the 50 mile drive there with no issues. I asked him to check the ATF level and he said he could remove the ATF dipstick (it does get stuck pretty good and you have to work to pull it out). He also said there are no CELS and the AT light is not blinking or staying on.

I hope to stop by where he lives Friday morning on my weekly trip to the office, as it's not very far away. Obviously I want to see if there are any ATF leaks. Since this is far from home and the only tools are what I happen to bring, what else should I look for while I'm there? 

I'm guessing I've likely have it towed to a shop run by an ex- Subaru mechanic about 20 miles from there if I can't do anything to fix it on the spot.

[1 Lucky Texan]

yeah - check all fluid levels and look for a split CV boot. Probably a good idea to confirm cam/crank timing. If it slips a tooth it might still start and run with reduced power.

 

what the smoke smelled like could be a clue - VERY stinky is likely CV grease, sweet-ish toasted marshmallow smell is coolant. Rubber....hmmm, could be a seized timing belt idler ? Or, maybe a delaminated crank pulley....?

hard to say without further data

[wtdash]

I was thinking stuck parking braked due to cold, but that doesn't explain smoke??? 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2019 by wtdash

[el_freddo]

GT meaning turbo over there??

GT = twin turbo over here but I know you guys typically don’t get the twins due to the LHS steering column fouling on the seecondary’s dump pipe or something. 

So, if a turbo, I’d say the smoke is the typical cam cover seal leak onto the turbo exhaust manifold. 

If NA it could be a rear main, or one of the other suggestions above. 

Cheers 

Bennie

[wtdash]

No turbos in the US from '95-'01. 

This is the  EJ25D engine in the '96-'99 Legacy GT, LSi,  Legacy Outback, SUS, '98 Forester and Impreza RS.

[el_freddo]

Hmmm... that sucks! Although a set of twins that aren’t well maintained are apparently an absolute pig to drive and even worse to sort out. 

You guys got the WRX over that period of time didn’t you? Best shaped models in my opinion. A MY99 WRX hatch would be nice!

@stevo f - can you try to describe where the smoking smell is coming from and what it smells like? 

Cheers 

Bennie

[wtdash]

36 minutes ago, el_freddo said:

 

You guys got the WRX over that period of time didn’t you? Best shaped models in my opinion. A MY99 WRX hatch would be nice!

 

Nope...as stated NO turbos @ all.

[Stevo F]

I doubt my son would know the difference between the burnt smell of oil vs. rubber belts vs. brake shoes. Interestingly, the front driver's side brakes were just removed to replace an axle, so I will be checking for anything seized with the brakes. I believe he said he did see some smoke though.Hopefully I'll find out more in the morning when I stop over there, but I'll have limited time to do anything as I'll be going to the office afterwards.

[Stevo F]

I went out and checked out the car. No sign of leaks, transmission fluid full, no burnt smell, drove it around his neighborhood and drove fine. 

Upon returning I did notice a little bit of steam wafting up from the driver's side of the radiator. I couldn't see a leak or where it was coming from, but I'm sure this was the "smoke" my son saw when it was 20 degrees out. I told him to drive it for a couple of short drives and if everything else is OK, drive it back home and swap cars so I can look at the radiator. I'm hoping the radiator I have out of a '96 Outback will work in his car, or else we may be parting out our '97 GT in the next couple of weeks so that one should work.

The only other thing that I looked at was the recently replaced A/C compressor (thinking it may have locked up when he was driving it). The compressor clutch was fine but the compressor didn't kick in except for a few seconds when I turned on A/C or defrost. Something for the mechanic who installed the compressor last summer to look at I guess.

[1 Lucky Texan]

don't drive it if it's overheating - headgaskets might be compromised. Check coolant level IN THE RADIATOR until this is resolved. don't rely on the overflow to accurately reflect total coolant volume.

could be a bad hose or hose connection - or leaking crimp or cracked plastic on the rad.

but sounds to me like you have a good sense of how to proceed. hoping it's an easy fix.

[Stevo F]

Actually it's not overheating at all and the coolant level really hasn't even dropped. We're having to part out our '97 GT so I'll likely use the radiator from that assuming my son can drive the car the distance back home at some point.

[Stevo F]

The car is now home. It turned out one of the slide pins on the passenger's side front brake caliper had locked up and subsequently the brakes overheated o the point of smoking, so I went up and replaced the entire caliper and brake line with the one form the '97. I've warmed it up on two different cold mornings and the steam I saw before is nowhere to be found. Everything else is normal- engine temp and coolant level is still full. No sign of any leaks at all. 

Since the coolant has been in there 3 years, I plan to replace it anyway, so maybe I'll find something else then, but no signs of anything leaking from anywhere at this point.