Tranny Help!!!

wyldnwoody44 · #1 03-03-2009, 05:25 PM

I just took off from my driveway and was driving along just fine, about 2 miles down the road i hit the gas and there was nothing, I pulled over turned my car off and once i started it i took off fine again for about 2/10 of a mile. soon after i had no gears at all, I had to put my svx in first and limp home all the while there was a terrible grinding sound coming from what seemed near the engine, I think the engine sounded fine, but is my tranny just shot? I had to keep shutting the car off for 5 minutes and starting it to get it to move a short distance in 1st gear. I just got in my driveway and it took half an hour to go 2 miles. Is there any good news in my future? I just insured and registered my car this morning and was excited to finally have it on the road. If it is my tranny can anyone help, I have around a grand or so left from student loans that i can spend and I dont even know where to start!!

Earthworm · #2 03-03-2009, 06:09 PM

The good news is now you'll finally be able to do that MT transmission swap you've been looking forward to.

From your description it sounds like the front diff is toast.

wyldnwoody44 · #3 03-03-2009, 07:34 PM

How much am i looking at. Im kinda at a loss for words right now, Does anyone know anywhere in NY where i can even start to find a manual or even try and fix what is wrong. If anyone is in the area that can help i would greatly appreciate it, I dont know much mechanically so im not quite up to par on the mechanics ive read in other threads.

TomsSVX · #4 03-03-2009, 09:17 PM

actually sounds similar to a problem ARED97 had a short while back. Unfortyunately it involves the front pump of your transmission biting the dust.

Tom

wyldnwoody44 · #5 03-05-2009, 01:10 PM

Im having the car towed to the mechanic tomorrow to asses the problem. If it ends up being the front diff. Does that mean that the tranny is shot or is the front diff a seperate part from the tranny. And i have found a couple 5sp wrx trannys for a decent price, is this type of conversion normal for mechanics or will i have to find a subaru specailist to try and get this done.

1986nate · #6 03-05-2009, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyldnwoody44

Im having the car towed to the mechanic tomorrow to asses the problem. If it ends up being the front diff. Does that mean that the tranny is shot or is the front diff a seperate part from the tranny. And i have found a couple 5sp wrx trannys for a decent price, is this type of conversion normal for mechanics or will i have to find a subaru specailist to try and get this done.

The differential is separate from the transmission.
It is not necessarily something a suby specialist will do. Anyone with decent mechanical knowledge should be able to do the swap for you. Just get the instructions from a writeup that someone has done(Huck I believe) and make sure you get all parts needed and the person you are thinking of doing the swap should be able to do it alright.

wyldnwoody44 · #7 03-23-2009, 08:14 AM

SO an update and a question....We determined that my tranny internals were shot. The hydraulics are broken and the clutches in the tranny basically shredded. My mechanic told me he has an automatic out of a 96 legacy and its in good shape. Will that bolt up onto my 92 svx and will i need to transfer the front diff or anything, any input will help a ton as this may be a fairly inexpensive tranny replacement Thanks guys, this site is great!!

1986nate · #8 03-23-2009, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyldnwoody44

SO an update and a question....We determined that my tranny internals were shot. The hydraulics are broken and the clutches in the tranny basically shredded. My mechanic told me he has an automatic out of a 96 legacy and its in good shape. Will that bolt up onto my 92 svx and will i need to transfer the front diff or anything, any input will help a ton as this may be a fairly inexpensive tranny replacement Thanks guys, this site is great!!

Yes it will work fine, just need to swap in a matching rear differential.

TexasSwift · #9 03-23-2009, 05:01 PM

The answer is not that easy I’m afraid.
The Legacy differential ratio is different from the SVX so you would need the rear end also as stated by 1986nate. But the Legacy rear end will not be limited slip like the SVX so the passenger axle is different. You can use a driver’s side SVX axle on the passenger side of the non-LSD Legacy rear end. So you would need to source that also.
You could also use the Legacy rear end and have the rear gear carrier from your SVX swapped in which would retain the LSD and use your current SVX axle.
Or you could get a 96-early 98 Outback transmission and rear end which have the preferred 4.44 gear ratios. You would still have the axle issue to deal with, driver’s side axle and no LSD or swap the LSD gear cluster and use your axle.
Also don’t forget that any change from the stock 3.54 SVX gear ratio will change the indicated speedometer reading from actual MPH.
There are several write ups on doing the swaps. Tomsvx’s was the best I read. I also called him and he was very helpful as I was deciding what to do with a bad transmission.
Good luck,
Keith

wyldnwoody44 · #10 03-23-2009, 05:11 PM

Thanks for the tips, my mechanic has a 96 legacy with a good tranny so thats why im adiment about trying to use the one he has cause he will cut me a deal. Im pretty mechanically dumb tho : ) So i can use the transmission from the legacy he has and then shop around for a 4.44 rear end from a different source. The AWD on my 93 legacy i have is by far much better than the AWD in my 92 svx so im not worried about the LSD functionally. I will run this all by him once he calls back and see what he tells me, I really need to brush up on my mechanic ability.

wyldnwoody44 · #11 04-03-2009, 01:20 PM

So i found a person that said he would be able to get me a tranny with 4.44 gears and then do the work on my rear diff to make it all work. Its 775 total for the tranny and diff with the new gears and id have to drive to ohio to get this, (about 5 hrs) and id bring my existing rear diff with me to get fixed. Then my mechanic said he could probably do all the labor for about 400$ that includes swapping speed sensors and mounts. There is a 90 day warranty on the tranny and is supposed to have all the issues resolved with the earlier bad trannys. So is 1200 a good deal all together and what exactly will the new gears do? Any input appreciated, Thanks