99 legacy outback questions

[mdjdc]

Okay, I picked up a '99 outback legacy Yesterday and was told that it was having temp problems. I checked the radiator and it was very low. I topped it off and drove it to my shop. The temperature never went above a third on the guage and I never smelled any antifreeze burning off.

 

I realize that i may have a minor issue and not a blown HG, so my question is where to start looking?

 

Also the manual tranny wanted to pop out of fifth gear when I let off the gas. Any ideas as to the cause and possible fixes.

 

This is a very nice car and I only paid 500 for it, so I think I may be selling my 87 turbo and driving this one as my daily driver. It is plush inside with all of the options.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Mike

[nipper]

i doubt its a minor issue, but maybe you got lucky. HG's in the very begining can make you nuts. First thing to do is to replace the radiator cap. Next is to do a compression test. If that tests ok then a cooling system leakdown test. Lastly test for exhaust emissions in the coolant (or air bubbles).

 

The scary thing is that a sooby can pass all these tests when the HG is just starting to fail, and you have to wait for it to get worse. ON the plus side if either of those tests fail you have an answer.

 

nipper

[Cougar]

You got a great deal on that car Mike. Even if the engine and tranny need work.

 

Nipper covered the possible engine problem well. The tranny sounds like it needs to be repaired. There may be a bad syncro causing the problem.

[porcupine73]

Article from EndWrench:

Popping Out Of Fifth Gear Some 1999 and 2000 Legacy and Forester

vehicles may intermittently pop out of fifth gear when coasting. The cause may be a loose main shaft nut. In some cases, all that maybe necessary to repair the transmission is to replace the nut, torque to specifications and stake the nut. In other cases, damage to the hub and syncro assembly may be found.

[mdjdc]

How do I find the article about the tranny?

 

I did a pressure test on the cooling system and it hold pressure very well. It seems that the radiator cap was very loose and needs replacing. My mechanic says that this could be the problem, as when it gets low on coolant it will begin to run hot.

 

Also, does anyone know if the tranny for the shoc and dohc are the same?

 

Thanks

[porcupine73]

Go to http://www.endwrench.com, click 'archives', then enter your search term. In this case 'fifth', then click search articles. And poof: Popping Out Of Fifth Gear, summer 2003

 

I don't know about the dohc vs sohc MT's; sometimes the turbos have some differences in the AT's. If for some reason you do change out the tranny, you must make sure you get on with the same final drive gear ratio as what you have, or get the rear diff from the same vehicle and swap that in too.

[mdjdc]

thanks for your help