FIXED!! Trany delayed forward engagement

[Rooster2]

Dave...........My 99 OBW trany is still running well with Trans-X. Sometimes, it may hesitate a second or two before shifting from R to D, but usually the gear transition is rather quick. I am still singing the praises of Trans-X. I can't remember when I wrote the original thread on this subject, prolly going on 3 years ago. I'm still sold on Trans-X.

[CNY_Dave]

Cool beans.

 

 

Dave

[SchwarzeEwigkt]

I'd like to add my praise for Trans-X. I recently did a drain-fill-drive-drain-fill-drive-drain-transx-fill on mine and it was a HUGE improvement. I had done the drain-drive-fill dance about 30k ago and it wasn't nearly as good, even with some Lucas tranny stuff on there too. Shifts better, torque bind is gone, delay for engagement is much less. All around better.

 

I can say, though, that Trans-X smells vile. Really stinky stuff. Made me gag.

[Rooster2]

I'd like to add my praise for Trans-X. I recently did a drain-fill-drive-drain-fill-drive-drain-transx-fill on mine and it was a HUGE improvement. I had done the drain-drive-fill dance about 30k ago and it wasn't nearly as good, even with some Lucas tranny stuff on there too. Shifts better, torque bind is gone, delay for engagement is much less. All around better.

 

I can say, though, that Trans-X smells vile. Really stinky stuff. Made me gag.

 

I am glad you reported back that Trans-X is a success in you car. Good to hear that it is working well for you.

I have been finding that Trans-X treatment lasts a year. Then I start to notice the trany getting just a little bit lazy in shifting from R to D. When that happened, I drained about a pint of ATF, and added a pint of Trans-X. Immediately, the lazy shifting was gone. The added amount of Trans-X now makes the trany shift more positively, and I like that better.

[pearlm30]

I also use the Trans X as part of the trans maintenance since 2007. I have not had any problem with it and my original trans on MY95 just turned over 200,000 miles!!!

Great product!

[johnceggleston]

picked up a 2000 lego L wagon today with 80k miles. got it cheap because it ''needs a trans rebuild, $1800''.

 

the trans would not engage at all or at least not before i started shifting the selector around looking for a gear to grab. eventually it would grab, usually in 3.

 

i did a drain and fill with 1 qt of Trans-x, ~3 qts of dex 3. i drove it about 2 miles and it improved to a 1/2 second delay. then i drove it 50 miles home and by the time i got there it was working fine.

 

the only issue in regards to the trans, it seems to make a slight ''clunk'' when put in gear. i assume this is a result of the previous owner reving it trying to get to engage and then it ''grabbing'' suddenly. anyone else have this?

 

i still need to do more drain and fills to replace the old fluid. it was yellow, not red. but i guess that could just be the brand.

 

so another Trans-x success story.

[Rooster2]

picked up a 2000 lego L wagon today with 80k miles. got it cheap because it ''needs a trans rebuild, $1800''.

 

the trans would not engage at all or at least not before i started shifting the selector around looking for a gear to grab. eventually it would grab, usually in 3.

 

i did a drain and fill with 1 qt of Trans-x, ~3 qts of dex 3. i drove it about 2 miles and it improved to a 1/2 second delay. then i drove it 50 miles home and by the time i got there it was working fine.

 

the only issue in regards to the trans, it seems to make a slight ''clunk'' when put in gear. i assume this is a result of the previous owner reving it trying to get to engage and then it ''grabbing'' suddenly. anyone else have this?

 

i still need to do more drain and fills to replace the old fluid. it was yellow, not red. but i guess that could just be the brand.

 

so another Trans-x success story.

 

 

Glad to read another Trans-X success story. I originated this thread about three years ago. I agree that the slight clunk is prolly from PO reving the motor to get it to engage a forward gear. Subie tranies are built tough, so your trany may give you many more miles of service. It has been my experience to fill and drain the ATF with 2-3 miles of driving between changes to mix old and new ATF. Add a can of Trans-X on the last fill. Reason for the 3 changes, is that only about half of the ATF can be drained from the trany at one time. The remainder stays in the system.

 

After about a year to a year and a half, the trany will start to get lazy again about shifting into Drive. A drain and refill with ATF and another can of Trans-X will restore to quick Drive engagement.

 

A nice buy for $1800, and only 80K on the odo. Enjoy your new ride!

[Rooster2]

I originated this thread. Update.......I have been using Trans-X for three years now. My 99 OBW started to get lazy, reverting back to its earlier habit of delayed forward engagement, when shifted from R to D. So, I filled and drained twice the ATF, and added a pint of Trans-X. Within 5 minutes of driving, the lazy shifting has now completely gone away. Trans-X continues to do its magic.

 

I now see a pattern has developed, that Trans-X will work for a year, then begin to fail. However, draining ATF, and adding fresh Trans-X completely fixes the problem. So, I have learned that after a year the Trans-X additive must wear out. It is just great to know that the cure in the plastic bottle will work year after year.

[jackofalltrades]

Thought I'd throw two more cents in -

 

My 2001 Outback (at 162k) began having all the symptoms that have been described throughout this thread and in other forums. After the initial shock of having mechanical problems (minus an alternator at 85k, nothing's ever gone wrong!), I got worried that I'd have to drop thousands for a new transmission - or worse, get a new car.

 

Luckily I found this thread, drained and replaced the fluid along with the prescribed dose of Trans-X, and voila! Back to new and still running great, 3 months and 5,000 miles later.

 

Thanks for the thread!

[Rooster2]

Thought I'd throw two more cents in -

 

My 2001 Outback (at 162k) began having all the symptoms that have been described throughout this thread and in other forums. After the initial shock of having mechanical problems (minus an alternator at 85k, nothing's ever gone wrong!), I got worried that I'd have to drop thousands for a new transmission - or worse, get a new car.

 

Luckily I found this thread, drained and replaced the fluid along with the prescribed dose of Trans-X, and voila! Back to new and still running great, 3 months and 5,000 miles later.

 

Thanks for the thread!

 

Glad to hear that Trans-X works for you. I thought that the delayed tranny problem affected only 99 & 00 models with AT, before Subaru fixed the problem. Guess your 01 joins the list. Maybe you have an early 01 that has the lazy seal too.

[CNY_Dave]

[Biner79]

I got linked to this site from another website. I was about to give up and replace my Subaru since I need the head gasket (and timing belt etc) job to be done; adding a replacement tranny to the bill was just not going to happen. One shop told me that the delayed engagement of the transmission was the initial stage of the tranny death.

So after getting the information here I ran right out and got the Trans X and am another success story! Amazing results! So glad that I don't have a car payment in my immediate future! Thanks, all...

[CottonwoodJay]

I've got a similar problem. I've changed out all of the fluid but just added regular ATF and one can of Trans-X. Performance improved when transmission is warmed-up. When cold it still slips between second and third. If I invest in the Amsoil will that fix the cold start poor performance of the transmission? Thanks to Larry in Colorado Springs for turning me on to Ultimate Subaru. Jay

[Kassie]

I have a 2000 Subaru Legacy L with an automatic transmission. Here is what it is doing.....

 

When I first start it, it will engage into drive fine (most of the time). After it is driven and parked while I go into a store, it will not engage into drive unless I put one foot on the brake and rev the engine. I get looks from people when doing this because I think they are worried I'm going to run them down..LOL... Reverse works perfectly.

 

Would draining the fluid and adding synthetic ATF and Trans-X fix this for a bit?? Would I need to use a genuine Subaru external filter or would just one from my local auto store work just as good??

 

Any advice anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated. I really can't afford a rebuild.

[AdventureSubaru]

Similar things were happening on my 2000 outback. The delayed forward engagement got to the point that the engine needed to be revved to go in gear. Trans-X is a worthy solution, but as the problem gets worse, it seems to need to be changed/added with more frequency. When was the last time you changed the tranny fluid?

 

1. Check your fluid levels to be sure there's no problem there.

 

2. Add Trans-X. It can fix the revving issue. Same problem (only a little worse.) with the same fix.

 

3. If it's still not fixed, do a full flush and add new ATF and trans X. I personally wouldn't use synthetic. Some might see otherwise, but plain old cheap ATF should be fine.

[Rooster2]

I have a 2000 Subaru Legacy L with an automatic transmission. Here is what it is doing.....

 

When I first start it, it will engage into drive fine (most of the time). After it is driven and parked while I go into a store, it will not engage into drive unless I put one foot on the brake and rev the engine. I get looks from people when doing this because I think they are worried I'm going to run them down..LOL... Reverse works perfectly.

 

Would draining the fluid and adding synthetic ATF and Trans-X fix this for a bit?? Would I need to use a genuine Subaru external filter or would just one from my local auto store work just as good??

 

Any advice anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated. I really can't afford a rebuild.

 

Kassie,

 

I wrote the original thread on this subject several years back, and have read all the subsequent response posts. Yes, I think your car is a good candidate for Trans-X treatment. If you don't know, it is a simple as draining the ATF from the trany at the drain plug, and adding Trans-X and new fluid. Adding ordinary ATF or synthetic prolly doesn't make any difference in which you use. An aftermarket trans filter works just fine. You don't need a genuine Sub external filter. Don't substitute an oil filter for a trany filter. They look the same, but don't use the same filtering media. The trany dip stick from low mark to high mark is just a pint, so be careful not to over fill. The system will take about 4 quarts of ATF and the appx 13 oz of Trans-X. You should notice the trany shifting normally from R to D within just a few minutes of driving. Trans-X works that fast.

 

The Trans-X fix works for about a year, then the trany will prolly start getting lazy again when shifting from R to D. An ATF drain and adding new Trans-X will again fix the problem. I now do the drain and fill every summer as normal maintenance for my tranny. Going into my 4th year with the Trans-X fix, and all is well. Hope trans-X fixes your tranny.

 

Rooster2

[ivans imports]

Narrowed that dealy down to bad orings on input shaft where it seals to turque converter takes a bitt to biuld fliud preshure your addatives sweled the orings and fixed the problem

[Kassie]

I know the fluid levels are fine, that was the first thing I checked

 

I changed the fluid and the filter about 1 month ago hoping that would fix the problem but I didn't add anything to the ATF. Would I need to change it and replace the filter again or could I just drain enough to add the Trans-X?

 

Also, I noticed that when I was looking at auto stores online for the Trans-X, I found it worded 2 different ways. One was Trans-X stops leaks & slips tune up and the other was Trans-X slip-stop & leak fix. Are they the same thing or different? I want to make sure I get the right one.

 

I'm really hoping that it will work for me. Fingers crossed

[AdventureSubaru]

I know the fluid levels are fine, that was the first thing I checked

 

I changed the fluid and the filter about 1 month ago hoping that would fix the problem but I didn't add anything to the ATF. Would I need to change it and replace the filter again or could I just drain enough to add the Trans-X?

 

Also, I noticed that when I was looking at auto stores online for the Trans-X, I found it worded 2 different ways. One was Trans-X stops leaks & slips tune up and the other was Trans-X slip-stop & leak fix. Are they the same thing or different? I want to make sure I get the right one.

 

I'm really hoping that it will work for me. Fingers crossed

 

There's a picture of it on page 8 of this thread. It's the second one you listed. Slip stop & leak fix. You can just drain out some fluid and add the trans-x. No need to replace month old fluid.

[Kassie]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone I will be purchasing this tomorrow!!

[Rooster2]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone I will be purchasing this tomorrow!!

 

Please let us know how well Trans-X works for you.

[Kassie]

I purchased the last 15 oz bottle that my local Autozone had on their shelf. Thursday evening I, well hubby did but I helped, drained some of the tranny fluid out and added in the trans-x. I don't want to jink my car so all I'm going to say at this point is....

 

:banana:

 

I will update my final thoughts on this in a week. I sure hope I feel the same then as I do now

[Kassie]

I just have to say that at this point I am in love with Trans-X !!!! This little product saved me big $$$$ !!!! I am sooo glad that I found this forum AND this post. I was beginning to think that the only way to keep my car was going to require a tranny rebuild. I know that this may not work forever but it's working now and that's all that matters at this point.

 

I also found it on the shelf at my local Walmart.

 

I want to send out a BIG THANK YOU to the person that started this post a few years ago !!!! It worked for you then and it's working for me now

[Rooster2]

I just have to say that at this point I am in love with Trans-X !!!! This little product saved me big $$$$ !!!! I am sooo glad that I found this forum AND this post. I was beginning to think that the only way to keep my car was going to require a tranny rebuild. I know that this may not work forever but it's working now and that's all that matters at this point.

 

I also found it on the shelf at my local Walmart.

 

I want to send out a BIG THANK YOU to the person that started this post a few years ago !!!! It worked for you then and it's working for me now

 

I am Rooster 2, who wrote the original post. Glad to hear that Trans-X is working well for you. From my own experience, a can of Trans-X will work well for about a year. Then, the trany will start getting lazy again on the shift from R to D. The solution, is to drain the trany, which will only drain about half of the ATF, (as the remainder stays in the torque converter,) and again add a can of Trans-X, and new ATF. You should be good for another, before you will need to repeat the process. I am on my forth year of replacement cycles, and Trans-X is still working well. The yearly attention is not bad, when compared to the cost of replacing the transmission. Motor on........enjoy your Subaru. Keep in touch on this forum to answer any questions or problems that may arise in the future! Lots of good people here willing to help others.

[subeseller]

Make sure that when you change the tranny fluid, you just don't change what you get out of the main pan. Its about half. It needs a flush, special equipment, and messy to do on your own. Or, do the change twice in a week or so, the poorman's way to do it. Think they take around 13 qts. Its a lot. For sure change the side external filter if it has one.