Dual range transmission problem on 1986 Subaru

[3crows]

Interesting happenstance on my '86' 4wd wagon. Some times when I try to shift, it stops and won't go into gear. I'll stop at a stop sign or signal, shift into neutral, then try to shift into first but it doesn't just slide into gear. It just stops, like someone moved the hole. I have to go back to neutral  and fiddle around with it before it will go into gear. Same thing happens in second gear. And it's not consistent. On some shifting sequences it works fine but about every other time, I now have this problem. The other thing I think I noticed is that when just sitting, car not running, I can shift into any gear with no resistance. Normally it's not uncommon for me to have to shift into a different gear first before I can shift into the gear I want ( lining gears up). I'll pull into the garage in first but sometimes have to shift around to line up a gear to shift into reverse. Seems that's not happening now. The dash cluster shows 140.000 miles so seems a bit soon to have transmission problems. I've never experienced this in my other Subaru's. I haven't taken anything apart yet. Thought I'd run it by you first.

[1 Lucky Texan]

hmmmmm, I have no experience with models this old, but, have you recently serviced the trans? Did you use synthetic lube?

[idosubaru]

Check all the clutch cable linkages underneath. 

Edited June 5, 2021 by idosubaru

[3crows]

I've done nothing with the transmission and there's only one clutch cable and it's on top under the spare tire,

[6 Star]

My '86 Wagon, DualRange, also needs to be "lined up" to be put into certain gears at times.
It has 242,000 miles and some change.
I've just taken to "lining up" for certain gears in most all classic cars.
Reverse-prefers-to-be-lined-up-with-second-first; is usually the combo of choice.
On this generation of Subaru, they don't like to be put into First while moving, unless going very slow.

[el_freddo]

What 6 star said plus: 

Check your selector linkage bush to see if it’s still there/surviving. Also check to see if the retainer pin has any slack in it - not usually an issue in this model though. 

Check that your oil level is correct too. 

Doubling the clutch can really help with gear changes. 

Reverse uses 1st gear, so selecting 1st or 2nd before going for revere will stop all rotation when stationary, giving you a generally clean reverse selection. 

Lastly it could be a terminal issue - a gear that’s about to let go from some other issue within the gearbox. Probably not likely if this box is factory sealed still. I’m only sharing this as I had a “built” gearbox let go of second several years after having it build. 

Admittedly that box was from factory parts and apparently someone before me mismatched gearsets, resulting in 2nd letting go at the worst time possible. In the lead up to this 2nd became super hard to select unless very spot on rev-matching was done. It let go several hundred km later on a gentle downshift rolling up a hill, little to no engine braking. 

Hope those things to check out help you out. Hopefully it’s not a failure in the making as this gearbox will be a 3.9 ratio and is harder to find than the 3.7 ratio. 
 

Cheers 

Bennie

[3crows]

I checked the bushing. Only a wiggles worth of play. The oil was about halfway down the stick and I topped it off . Tell me about this 3.9 /3.7 ratio and is there a way to tell them apart. I've got 2 other duel range transmissions that I've pulled from  other Subaru's. One is in my '87' and the other is in the barn. I'm not sure of the year's of the transmissions but the one in my '87' works fine. It came with the push button 4wd so no low range. That low range was saved my beutox on several occasions.

[el_freddo]

They’ll physically be the same and bolt in no worries.

The difference is in the diff ratio.

You could install it, select 4wd and see if it will move ok. If it feels like your driving with the hand brake being increasingly applied the front and rear diff ratios don’t match.

The other way to work it out is by counting the teeth on the ring gear through the drain hole. 37 teeth = 3.7:1 ratio; 39 teeth = 3.9:1 ratio.

NOTE for those using this with later model gearboxes and diffs, 39 teeth on the crown wheel can also be 3.545 ratio (rear diff) and 37 teeth can be 4.111 ratio. I can’t remember the number of teeth for 4.44. The difference is the number of teeth on the pinion gear.

Cheers 

Bennie

[ferp420]

theres a rubber mount on the shifter plate its kinda like a motor mount and more than likely it failed it keeps the shifter conected to the body to help line everything up when that breaks the entire shifter plate and all moves around and makes it hard to get in to gear

i mounted mine with a bolt through the rubber and.left it just a hair.loose and has held up just fine you can also adjust the.shifter by loosening the bolts on the shifter plate and move it around till you find the sweet.spot but most likely that rub er peice has.come unglued this is commin with big lifts on the square bodied roos