Need advice on 1998 outback 5 speed trans

[alexbuoy]

Hello i’m looking into buying a 98 outback 5 speed trans and rear diff. Problem is the transmission has 280K miles on it and the input/main shaft bearing on the trans has tons of play in it. 

The PO thought the trans went out on it so I bought the ej22. I pull the motor and the clutch disc is cracked in half. The bearing on the flywheel(forget the name) is seized which is probably why the main shaft bearing is trash. PO did say trans did shift well and did not pop before clutch went. Main shaft bearing doesn’t look too bad to diy replace

So my question is, is it worth it to buy this trans? I can get the trans/diff for cheap like sub $50. This will be going into my loyale with an ej22 na-t. Worth it or pass?

[el_freddo]

I reckon for $50 it’s a good deal. Pull the box apart and replace the input shaft bearing and the oil seal. If the gearbox is toast it’s still good learning that’s not expensive (in my book anyway). 

The spigot bearing is the one that lives in the centre of the flywheel with the gearbox input shaft in it. If the spigot bearing was none existent then the input not bearing could have worn out due to the little bit of play it would be allowed to have. In the single range gearboxes this wouldn’t be so common as the input shaft is very long, going from the clutch all the way to the rear side of the front half cases. 

On the dual range boxes that we have, the input shaft is only a few inches long and relies on the spigot bearing and another roller bearing in the low range setup to hold the shaft for the main input bearing to run true. 

$50 is a good deal I reckon. Your call. 

Cheers 

Bennie

[alexbuoy]

4 hours ago, el_freddo said:

I reckon for $50 it’s a good deal. Pull the box apart and replace the input shaft bearing and the oil seal. If the gearbox is toast it’s still good learning that’s not expensive (in my book anyway). 

The spigot bearing is the one that lives in the centre of the flywheel with the gearbox input shaft in it. If the spigot bearing was none existent then the input not bearing could have worn out due to the little bit of play it would be allowed to have. In the single range gearboxes this wouldn’t be so common as the input shaft is very long, going from the clutch all the way to the rear side of the front half cases. 

On the dual range boxes that we have, the input shaft is only a few inches long and relies on the spigot bearing and another roller bearing in the low range setup to hold the shaft for the main input bearing to run true. 

$50 is a good deal I reckon. Your call. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Yeah for $50 can’t really complain. I’m wondering if I should just run it with the bad input shaft bearing until it blows, as id hate to do all that work for something else in the trans to blow. At 280k miles on the transmission I think it’s reaching the end of its life.

I also have a deal with another EJ transmission with 130K miles and matching rear diff for $100. It’s a 3.9 but i’m not sure how long ill have to wait until i’m able to get it.

[el_freddo]

Yeah fair call. I just did the conversion to km to put that distance into perspective - 488,000km! 

At that distance travelled, unless the gearbox was resealed and had its oil changed when it should’ve been, it’s bound to have leaking seals and worn bearings, not just the input shaft bearing. 

Still, sounds like a good one to pull apart to learn from if you can afford it. 

Cheers 

Bennie

[alexbuoy]

On 8/15/2019 at 2:59 PM, el_freddo said:

Yeah fair call. I just did the conversion to km to put that distance into perspective - 488,000km! 

At that distance travelled, unless the gearbox was resealed and had its oil changed when it should’ve been, it’s bound to have leaking seals and worn bearings, not just the input shaft bearing. 

Still, sounds like a good one to pull apart to learn from if you can afford it. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Yea it had an insane amount of mileage! When we drained the gear box oil it was dirt nasty.

Ended up passing on the trans, the sleeve that the throwout bearing sits was worn down a lot. And i don’t think the 4.11 rear diff will bolt into my loyale unless i started switching insides.