Shifting issues
 

Under moderate to high acceleration, my 1-2, 2-3, and 3-4 shifts are all rather sloppy (ie, slipping a bit) and when slowing down sometimes the car forgets to engage the clutch and it feels like it's binding like a manual does.

Now the question(s): How do I fix these things? Are they a TPS issue? I just replaced my old one today with a brand new one from Subaru and it seems to have gotten rid of my cold hesitation (from what I noticed). Is it something else perhaps - brake band adjustment or unplugging the resistor behind the battery? Would the Small Car shift kit help with any of these issues?

I searched up a bit regarding the sloppy shifting and I know about the brake band, but that's usually for the 2-3 and 3-4 shifts and it doesn't mention anything about binding up when slowing down.

Thanks for any help in advance.

When did you last change your tranny fluid? I would check it and change if you have not done it for a while. I know that will not necessarily fix the problem, but it might help.

I just got the car back in August so I don't know when the fluid was last changed. Unfortunately, it's not something I can do in the driveway - so I'd need to take it to Midas or something for them to change it.

(1) Was the problem in existence prior to the TPS being changed, or did changing the TPS bring on the faults.

(2) Exactly what is meant by "it feels like it's binding like a manual does." What is in fact binding, e.g. front/rear when turning, i.e. centre clutch?

(3) "when slowing down sometimes the car forgets to engage the clutch." Is this the same sort of slipping slipping as is noticed under acceleration, or something else?

Unplugging the resistor, or fitting a shift kit, can not fix the fault.

1. All the problems happened before the changing of the TPS.

2/3. When you drive a manual car, if you're decelerating and not depressing the clutch, the engine is connected to the transmission (engine braking) and you have the feeling of what I call binding (in a straightforward motion). In the automatic, usually the transmission drops into 3rd to help the car slow down. It feels like the computer is confused on whether it should do this or not and I get that feeling.

Simply put, I know how my old Legacy drove and my SVX acts a little weird compared to that. The SVX slips on the upshifts under hard acceleration (old transmission - expected), but I've never had a transmission bind up like this one does. It's not extremely dramatic - it's like the transmission forgot to unlock the torque converter or something to that effect.

The overall symptoms are quite strange, but all could be due to low line pressure and it is possible to get this checked.

Meanwhile it is important to drive the car very gently, so as not invoke any form slippage, which could cause expensive wear and tear. Caught in time the fault may not involve removing the entire transmission, i.e. it may involve only the valve body and or solenoid A.

Make sure any commercial advice obtained is honest, and not engineered to open wide your bank account. :eek:

The shift kit eliminated the hard shifting at low speeds and stop and go traffic for me.
Now if you have slipping of some sort, this kit will probably not address that, but like Trevor instructs, you should have the Duty Solenoid A inspected.

I really don't have a problem with the rev flaring between shifts - it rarely happens unless I'm pushing it.

Are we still anti-transmission flushes? Or are we just anti-1992/3 transmission flushes?

Drain and fill is about as safe as you can get. A flush using the transmission's natural pumping action would also be safe. A power flush where an external unit pumps the fluid at pressure through is the one some members have had transmission failures with.

I guess I'll have to call up my mechanic and see how much he'd want to charge me to do that. It probably needs done anyways and could probably help out the transmission a bit.

I can't really find much information on Solenoid A - is that outside the transmission or inside? Is it something I can look at? I noticed as I was searching that a lot of people have seen the transmission resistor need replaced just because it was old and melted from getting so hot. I need to go down to look at mine to see if this is the case as well.

Jason, have a look at the stuff in my locker for dope on the resistor and solenoid A etc. This will help you understand the issues involved.

Cheers, Trevor.

To be honest, the Legacy automatic is a little more "crude" in comparison to ours... we seemed to get a more "smooth" transmission than the Legacy had. At least, those are my observations.

While it is not a fix by any means, it would be interesting to see how the transmission would act under a raised shift map. If you're inclined to test, give this thread a read:

http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=39133

Just as Trevor has already said, I urge you to not unplug the resistor behind the battery. And from what I have read, the smallcar "shift kit" essentially selectively creates an "unplugged resistor" situation depending on the vacuum switch so I can't see that being a good alternative either. Removing the resistor will create hard (sometimes jarring) shifts which I can't imagine are good for the transmission and you will lose engine braking in 3rd. Altogether a bad idea.

If your resistor is bad, the symptoms are those I outlined above (losing engine braking in 3rd is obvious) as well as your "POWER" light will flash 16 times upon startup.

Whatever you do, it is most important to drive the car in third rather than drive, when not exceeding say 50 MPH and in traffic, as well as when negotiating tight sections of road. Top gear is an overdrive and very high ratio, so that in low speed situations the transmission will endlessly hunt up and down with subsequent wear.

I am sure that if Subaru had labeled "3" as "D" and "D" as "OD", transmission problems would have been reduced by a large margin.

I wasn't planning on unplugging the resistor - I was interested in seeing if it was fried or not via visual or multi-meter inspection.

If the shift kit does a version of that, then I guess I better stay away. I wonder if the TPS is involved as well. I really need to find my multi-meter to test these things out.

Where exactly is Solenoid A? Trevor, I read your documents and while informative, they didn't quite explain Repair or Replacement procedures.

This sounds suspiciously like the resistor - if Trevor or other could check my logic, so that Menarious might get the go ahead.


The resistor is responsible for softening shifts by reducing line pressure in the event of a shift, correct? Also, binding, or a slight "catch" while shifting down thru the gears is the earmark of an unplugged resistor.

While I searched long and hard for the solution to my binding and flare issues, in the end, it turned out to be resistor failure, diagnosing this problem could be as simple as unplugging the resistor and taking a short jaunt thru varied traffic in D. If the shifts feel much quicker, this might be your issue. However, it may just mask another issue of low line pressure that would be temporarily alleviated by decreasing resistance to that circut.

This was the solution to my problem, a new resistor, adjustment of the TPS to proper values (.5v) and an adjustment of the brake band was the answer to all of my woes.


-Patrick