Need opinions on a 2002 Outback

[jeryst]

I can pick up a really nice 2002 Outback for pretty cheap. It has the 6 cylinder engine and has about 120k miles on it. Automatic with full time AWD.

First of all, I would like to know if there are any issues with the 6 cylinder motors, and if they are reliable as I travel 150 miles round trip to work every day.

The main issue with the car, is they say it needs a transmission, however, that is also where I need some opinions/advice.

The car is sitting at a garage where it was taken for inspection. The mechanic said he drove it into the garage fine. He checked it over, then when he went to pull it out, it went a few feet then slammed to a stop. He tried to move it forward and again it went a few feet then halted. Motor was running all the time. The mechanic shut it off and tried to push it, but it did the same thing again.

The mechanic had to go do something else, so he let it alone for an hour or so, then came back to it. He said that he then got in, started it up, and it drove out fine. The mechanic says he thinks the transmission or differential is bad.

Does that sound like the transmission or differential? Why would it exhibit problems only sometimes? 

Apparently the transmissions for the 6 cylinders are pretty rare and used ones are costly. Did these trannys have known issues? I know that the trannys in the SVX's were troublesome, so is that the same tranny? Should I trust a used tranny of this type?

Any help that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[Hellzbellz1234]

we need more details on what kind of outback it is
:edit: im dumb the impreza outback didnt come with the H6 afaik
heres an ebay part. just make sure it fits. if your not going to do the swap yourself i would expect a fat pricetag in the range of 1500+ (including tranny)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-SUBARU-LEGACY-OUTBACK-AUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSION-3-0L-W-VDC-AWD/273936168365?hash=item3fc7de35ad%3Ag%3A1ToAAOSwraRdMlA4&fits=Year%3A2002|Model%3AOutback|Make%3ASubaru

Edited September 17, 2019 by Hellzbellz1234

[Hellzbellz1234]

if your mechaniclly savy look into putting a 6spd in it

[jeryst]

10 hours ago, Hellzbellz1234 said:

we need more details on what kind of outback it is
:edit: im dumb the impreza outback didnt come with the H6 afaik
heres an ebay part. just make sure it fits. if your not going to do the swap yourself i would expect a fat pricetag in the range of 1500+ (including tranny)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-SUBARU-LEGACY-OUTBACK-AUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSION-3-0L-W-VDC-AWD/273936168365?hash=item3fc7de35ad%3Ag%3A1ToAAOSwraRdMlA4&fits=Year%3A2002|Model%3AOutback|Make%3ASubaru

What else info do I need to provide? Right now, I just know that it is a 2002 Outback station wagon with a 6 cyl engine. It has an emblem in the grill that says H6.30, I believe. The mechanic said he located a replacement tranny that cost $700, and he would do the swap for $300. Unfortunately, I cant do the swap myself because of a combination of time, age, health, and pretty much total lack of mechanical ability.

Can anyone answer my other questions about the problem seeming to be intermittent, and if these transmissions are generally unreliable?

Edited September 17, 2019 by jeryst
Extra info

[3Pin]

check to see if the trans is VDC or not.   Look at the alphanumeric code on the top of the trans and get the same one to be sure.  You can get a used one for less, but that is not a bad price to do the job.

 

use: car-part.com for search in PA.

[Numbchux]

That is a seriously strange symptom....I can't even speculate what that would be without an inspection.

 

The question is if it's a VDC or LL Bean. The LL Bean transmission is the same as the 4 Cylinder ones. The VDCs have a different AWD/center diff, so they are a unique transmission, but still available.

 

I own 2 Outback VDCs, both with over 200k miles on them. I love them. We took our '04 on a 3600 mile round trip from here in northern MN to my inlaws' house in SC. Loaded down (we had our 1 year old daughter with us), A/C cranked, and cruise at ~75mph+, fantastic car. I covet no other car in terms of inexpensive, reliable, versatile, comfortable transportation.

 

The bearings in the serpentine belt idler and tensioner have a tendency to fail with very little warning on the 6-cylinders. So it's a good idea to pull the belt and check those periodically. The bearing itself can be replaced fairly easily and inexpensively. There are also a pair of steel coolant tubes on the bottom of the engine (one across the front of the oil pan for the oil cooler, and another under the drivers head that goes back to the heater core) that tend to rust here in the rust belt.

[1 Lucky Texan]

broken tripod joint catching/releasing?

parking pawl failure of some kind (there was a recall for that on some Gen2 cars - check cars101.com)

is the trans pan dented?

tires all the same? (identical brand/size?)

is it original trans and rear diff?

[jeryst]

3 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

broken tripod joint catching/releasing?

parking pawl failure of some kind (there was a recall for that on some Gen2 cars - check cars101.com)

is the trans pan dented?

tires all the same? (identical brand/size?)

is it original trans and rear diff?

Dont know if trans pan is dented. Tires are all the same size. Seller bought car at an auction, so have no idea if motor/trans are original. Battery was dead from sitting. I had the mechanic jump it so that I could hear it run. Found out that it has 220k miles not 120k. I dont know how reliable these engines are, so I'm having second thoughts now, because I put over 30k miles on every year and I need something dependable.

The behavior is baffling to me as well. Maybe something broken in the tranny and its floating around in there and jamming thing up erratically?

[Mitchy]

I would look elsewhere, there must be similar cars in better shape for the price of this one plus its necessary repair work.

I would only buy a broken car if I knew what was broken, how to fix it it, and how much to fix it.

 

[Rampage]

The mechanic said it rolled a few feet and stopped. That would mean the tires rolled maybe one third or one half of a rotation. More than likely the problem would be an axle or differential. I doubt the problem would be in the actual transmission because of the gear ratio in the differential everything in the tranny turns 3-4 times faster than the wheels.

He would have put it up on a lift for inspection. That lets the wheels drop and extend the axle joints. I would look there.

Letting it sit for an hour and then it worked fine, that is weird.

[Mitchy]

Getting all four wheels off the ground and seeing which ones don’t spin under power would give strong clues. Surely the mechanic could get it up on the lift.

Is it an Automatic? Then I could imagine all sorts of reasons for that behaviour.

[jeryst]

Thanks for all if the info. I think I'm going to pass on this one.