Four or Five Speed Automatic, 2008 Outback XT

[ebbsspeed]

I am in the process of getting a 2008 Outback XT back on the road, and when I pulled the engine I noticed the transmission fluid was kind of dark so I may be in the market for a replacement transmission. I have never driven this car, so don't know the current condition of the transmission. It was a $2000 gamble I took.

I discovered that there were both 4 and 5 speed automatics available, and was wondering if there is a way to identify which is in this car. 

Can a four speed be installed in a car that originally had a 5 speed, as that seems to be the predominant AT that came in Subaru's in 2008. Are there other Subaru's that had the five speed?

Thanks! 

[88SubGL]

I don’t know about the XT, but my 6 cylinder 2005 Outback had a 5 speed automatic. I’m pretty sure all n/a 4 cylinder cars had the 4 speeds.

[idosubaru]

2 hours ago, ebbsspeed said:

I am in the process of getting a 2008 Outback XT back on the road, and when I pulled the engine I noticed the transmission fluid was kind of dark so I may be in the market for a replacement transmission. I have never driven this car, so don't know the current condition of the transmission. It was a $2000 gamble I took.

I discovered that there were both 4 and 5 speed automatics available, and was wondering if there is a way to identify which is in this car. 

Can a four speed be installed in a car that originally had a 5 speed, as that seems to be the predominant AT that came in Subaru's in 2008. Are there other Subaru's that had the five speed?

Thanks! 

 

Determine what is in your car before thinking about swaps, which isn't likely to happen anyway.

4 ways to tell:

1. look in the cabin, does the gear selector move only straight forward and back and have a button on it and the base plate says P-N-D-1-2-3-R or some simlar combination for Park, neutral, drive..etc?   That's an automatic.   If it's a loan stick that has play left/rigth as much as forward/back without those demarcations then it's a manual. 

2. Post a pic of the gear selector/center console, and we can tell you or compare to online photos of the same

3.  plug the VIN into an online VIN decoder and it'll tell you what transmission it has.

4. Auto's have a long dipstick under the brake master cylinder on the drivers side, and a front diff gear oil cap on the passengers side.  Manual only has gear oil cap on passengers side.

This is too funny not to mention - I'm not sure how to own a car, see the trans fluid, and pull the engine without knowing what kind of transmission it has, the process to remove the engine is slightly different for each. 

A 4 speed easily installs in place of a 5 speed, they're like lego's and it bolts right up, but getting it to run is mad money or labor that's out of 99.9% of people's time or money thresholds.  Wiring, TCU, cruise, cables, pedal assembly, driveshaft length differences, center console.... lots of work and parts.  Yes other manual transmissions in other subaru's will fit that vehicle.  if they have a different gear ratio you'll need a matching rear diff and your speedo will be off by a litlte bit.

[ebbsspeed]

8 hours ago, idosubaru said:

I guess the title was misleading, but if you read the third sentence it should have been obvious that I was asking about the two different automatics. The question is do I have a four speed automatic or a five speed automatic.

FYI, there wasn't a four speed manual transmission available in the 2008 Outback. But you probably knew that.......

Determine what is in your car before thinking about swaps, which isn't likely to happen anyway.

4 ways to tell:

1. look in the cabin, does the gear selector move only straight forward and back and have a button on it and the base plate says P-N-D-1-2-3-R or some simlar combination for Park, neutral, drive..etc?   That's an automatic.   If it's a loan stick that has play left/rigth as much as forward/back without those demarcations then it's a manual. 

2. Post a pic of the gear selector/center console, and we can tell you or compare to online photos of the same

3.  plug the VIN into an online VIN decoder and it'll tell you what transmission it has.

4. Auto's have a long dipstick under the brake master cylinder on the drivers side, and a front diff gear oil cap on the passengers side.  Manual only has gear oil cap on passengers side.

This is too funny not to mention - I'm not sure how to own a car, see the trans fluid, and pull the engine without knowing what kind of transmission it has, the process to remove the engine is slightly different for each. 

A 4 speed easily installs in place of a 5 speed, they're like lego's and it bolts right up, but getting it to run is mad money or labor that's out of 99.9% of people's time or money thresholds.  Wiring, TCU, cruise, cables, pedal assembly, driveshaft length differences, center console.... lots of work and parts.  Yes other manual transmissions in other subaru's will fit that vehicle.  if they have a different gear ratio you'll need a matching rear diff and your speedo will be off by a litlte bit.

 

[idosubaru]

1 hour ago, ebbsspeed said:

 

Ah I see. Yeah turbos and H6s (Outback legacy Tribeca) got the 5eat. Any Outback or legacy 5eat will work but final drive needs to match. If you find a diff gear ratio swap the matching rear diff.   Not sure if Tribeca will work. 

The 5eat isn’t the beast like 4EATs but they’re not that bad, I’d just change the fluid and see how it does.

My Tribeca has 260,000 miles on a smooth as butter original trans. I’ve changed the fluid once with Amsoil. 

Edited April 13, 2023 by idosubaru

[heartless]

honestly, i would just replace what is already there.

final drive probably wont match between a 4spd & a 5spd auto...  not to mention you would most likely need the appropriate TCU as well...

save yourself the headaches and just go with what it already has

[Stelcom66]

16 hours ago, idosubaru said:

My Tribeca has 260,000 miles on a smooth as butter original trans. I’ve changed the fluid once with Amsoil. 

Wow - that has the 3.0L H6, right? If I were to get an older Outback I guess the 3.0L option would be what to look for. I do see an occasional rare mention of head gaskets going bad. The rarity of that, and having a timing chain are big pluses. I have archives of some reviews of the 3.0L Outback, all very positive. With the 5EAT highway cruising at 65 mph was under 2,000 rpm, and overall fuel economy not that much worse than the 2.5L.

[idosubaru]

5 hours ago, Stelcom66 said:

Wow - that has the 3.0L H6, right? If I were to get an older Outback I guess the 3.0L option would be what to look for. I do see an occasional rare mention of head gaskets going bad. The rarity of that, and having a timing chain are big pluses. I have archives of some reviews of the 3.0L Outback, all very positive. With the 5EAT highway cruising at 65 mph was under 2,000 rpm, and overall fuel economy not that much worse than the 2.5L.

Yeah they’re decent combos. Also have a 2002 H6 outback with 260k on it as well.

mileage is comparable to H4s only under ideal driving conditions. Even moderate City, mountains, heavy foot and they plummet quicker than H4s…which I’ve owned a ton of too.

The headgaskets don’t seem quite as bad as H4s but can be a problem. I bought the Tribeca (when they were still 5 digit vehicles) with blown headgaskets (cheap) at around 120k. Installed a JDM. The OBW is all original. I’ve owned others, been around lots of H6s and seen other headgaskets and repaired them as well. It’s a beast of a job compared to H4s.

I like them personally, but they can hose someone who can’t DIY or doesn’t have a good reasonably priced mechanic or doesn’t purchase them well.

[1 Lucky Texan]

tell him about the octane......