Oh boy... Guess it's time for a 5MT conversion...

[EddieSVX]

So... My SVX now has around 96k miles in the odo... My wife's been driving it daily back and forth from Spanaway (home) to Bellevue (work) (Washington state...that's a 50 miles route each way), and the commute, as I expected, took a serious toll on our poor subbie...

At around 75k miles, the tranny was rebuilt. The issues back then were that it would take a long time to engage reverse, and it had some serious gear hunting action going on (it would go back and forth between gears during shifting).

After the rebuilt, the tranny worked like a champ... That is, until today... What a day.

So my wife calls me up while driving on the freeway, freaking out, saying the car would rev up real high whenever it would try to shift... Hmm, I tried to explained it sounded like the tranny was flaring. I asked her to try and putting the car in 3rd and see if the problem would go away, but then she said the car wouldn't accelerate, just go up to redline if she tried without it accelerating.

The problem sounded worse by the second... So I asked her to try and make it home (I should've just had her pull over and me pick her up, but I had a little bit of hope that the car would hold up 'til she got home).

Once she got home, I went out and started it... At first the car revved up then down, on its own, then idled rough for about 5 seconds... Once it settled, I revved the engine a little and I could hear a strange rattle comeing from underneath... It kind'a scared me so I shut her off, popped the hood open and checked engine oil/tranny fluid levels... The engine oil levels were low but not too terribly low... Although I checked last week and they definitely had dipped about half a quart since, which isn't common for our SVX at all... Tranny fluid levels were good, and the fluid didn't seem to be burnt or gunked pu or anything.

I backed the car up so I could put it on jacks, and my wife's expression changed as she looked down in front of the car once I moved it... I was like "Oh God...what???"

I get out of the car and notice a puddle about the size of a CD...engine oil! At this point I'm getting extremely confused trying to figure out if it's an engine problem, tranny problem, both...uggh...

So I jack her up and look underneath and realize there's just a mess of oil down there... I removed the plastic cover directly under the engine and look around and realize that the seals/gaskets on the block (I've never worked on a boxer engine before even tho I've owned the SVX for over 3 years...yea I know, I'm lame) so I didn't realize the block was not a single piece. Anyways, both seals on either side seemed to be leaking, but the one towards the driver side (left bank) was leaking worst...Fresh leak, too...

So now I'm scratching my head... I started the car and now it's idling perfect and the motor revs up smooth with no weird noises.

I decided to take her out for a spin to try and reproduce the problem my wife was having, and it didn't take long... I left it in D, and it goes through 1st, then 2nd, and as it's supposed to shift into 3rd, the damn thing downshifts to 1st!! The revs went right up and the car shoot forward like I was racing it... so I immediately let go... So then I decided to try again, this time to see if it would eventually upshift from 1st... So it goes 1st...2nd...then the dreadful 1st gear downshift...and it went up to almost redline then shifted to 2nd again (I'm doing well over 40 MPH by now of course), and in 2nd it just keeps going up and up (not upshifting)... So I let go of the gas and noticed that OD engages! But whenever I accelerate the revs match up 2nd gear and the car keeps going...fast...

So, I'm like...WTF? This time, I put the car in the 3rd position and go for it... Well this time it gets even more bizzare... It goes 1st...2nd (normally, no crazy redline crap), then when you'd expect it to either shift to 3rd, or do the weird downshift to 1st...it does neither! It free revs, like 3rd gear never existed... Now the car stays in a sort of "neutral" position, no up or downshift until I move the lever to D (in which case it goes back down to 2nd), or 2nd, in which case it...yea, goes to 2nd too, hehe...

Hmmm, so, in summary, my car thinks that the shifting order is 1, 2, 1 really fast, 2 really fast.... If it's in Drive... And if it's in 3rd, it's 1, 2...then Neutral.

Okay so now I think I know what happened to the poor motor... I mean, try driving an SVX for half an hour on the freeway constantly shooting up to 5500 ~ 6000 RPM... It wouldn't like it much now would it?

The engine, though, does not seem to have been damaged internally, as it revs smoothly, has lots of power, and idles perfect.... But now it's got that nasty leak from the seals.

The tranny, though, seems to be a much more serious issue. I've either lost 3rd gear and it just doesn't wanna go up, chooses to go down instead, or Satan's posessed it and all it wants to do is try to get me a speeding ticket by shifting into lower gears when it shouldn't.

So what's the veredict? Should I do a 5MT swap? Have the TPS/brake band adjustment checked to see if by some cosmic miracle that's the issue? Or sell the car for really cheap?

How much do you guys think the engine gasket/seals replacement will run me, provided that's the only issue with it?

Oh, and if I go with a 5MT, should I take it to Small Car Performance (I live about 15 ~ 20 minutes from their shop, or get my own subaru 5 speed and have a shop install it for me? What all will I need them to custom manufacture for me if I go the latter route?

We love the car and it's been very reliable dispite the current situation (any car will have issues being driven over 100 miles a day on 405/167 traffice here in WA state). We would really like to keep and rebuild her, and the 5 speed conversion sounds tempting but I'm scared of the costs... What recommendations do you all have?

[michael]

I think you should get more than 20k out of a rebuild. Take it back and complain. I'm no expert but you may need a brake band adjustment. The engine seals proably just got a hell of a workout from the high revs, under normal conditions they will proably hold oil. If that trans is smoked I would go for a 5MT wait for Earl to chime in about where to go. -Good Luck

[mbtoloczko]

Where did you get the tranny rebuilt? Who installed it? I agree with michael that it could be as simple as a brake band adjustment. A bad TPS could also be contributing.

If it turns out that the tranny is bad and can't be fixed at a reasonable price, another option is to go with a used 4.11 tranny. Those seem to be available for as litle as $500. Put that in with a Small Car auto tranny shift kit, and it should last a while.

If you go with a 5MT, do not let Small Car touch it. They have been great for publicizing the 5MT swap, but their kit sucks.

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by mbtoloczko

If it turns out that the tranny is bad and can't be fixed at a reasonable price, another option is to go with a used 4.44 tranny.

Fixed your post.

[Earthworm]

The tranny sounds like the high clutch has failed and has taken something else with it (band brake?).

A manual tranny is my preferred fix but it would cost more than just swapping in a 4.44 auto.

[EddieSVX]

Okay so far I'm leaning towards a used 4EAT with the 4.44....

The 5MT conversion cost is outrageous and I'm not mechanically inclined enough to tackle the job myself (and trust the end result), and I have no option to go back and complain about the tranny because it was "rebuilt" by a third party while the car sat at a Subaru dealer, while dealing with an extended warranty (third party also, not Subaru) almost 2 years ago.

THe warranty is long expired.

Could anyone point me to a good resource for used auto trannies?? Or possible donor car options so that I could look up the local AutoTrader/Craigs List for them?

Is it a straight bolt-on, or will I need some custom stuff made?

Also, in regards to the motor, it seems fine and doesn't seem to be leaking as bad now, but I'm still concerned about it and would like to get an idea of how much something like that would run me if I took it in for repairs.

Thanks again, all.. Your advice is greatly appreciated!

[EddieSVX]

Will a 5 speed from a '91 Loyal be a good candidate for a 5MT swap? There's a local '91 Loyal going for $600 with a 5 speed...

[Earthworm]

It would work but wouldn't be my first choice. The good thing would be that you can take all the parts you need off the donor.

[EddieSVX]

Originally Posted by Earthworm

It would work but wouldn't be my first choice. The good thing would be that you can take all the parts you need off the donor.

Weak tranny on the Loyal?

So far, if I go with an auto, it seems like a Forester would be the way to go? What year Forester 4EAT's are recommended?

Does anyone just wanna buy the car from me for cheap? The interior is in great shape and the exterior, dispite a gew dings on the metal and dents on the bumpers, it's straight...I only bumped into someone at a stoplight (let go off the brake on accident), and that did nothing to my car (there's a bumper ding that was there when I bought it).

For me it's an issue with time... I don't have the time to deal with the repairs. If someone could use the car for parts I'd be willing to let it go fairly cheap.

This sucks because my wife and I both love the SVX, and really weren't counting on this...The tranny was shifting perfect, this was a very sudden issue and makes no sense.

[Earthworm]

The Loyale tranny works but I'm a fan of the hydraulic clutch and WRX gearing.

I'm no expert on other Subaru 4EAT's

[EddieSVX]

Originally Posted by Earthworm

The Loyale tranny works but I'm a fan of the hydraulic clutch and WRX gearing.

I'm no expert on other Subaru 4EAT's

hehe... okay we're comparing a 5 speed tranny I can get off of a $600 car... Or a $3500 tranny that I'd have to get shipped.

Still a fan of the WRX tranny?

I've also read that having a hydraulic clutch installed in the SVX is a little more complex.

What are the pros/cons?? Also, what is the absolute cheapest I could find, I guess with luck or if I know where to look, a WRX 5 speed and corresponding diffs?

[Earthworm]

Originally Posted by EddieSVX

hehe... okay we're comparing a 5 speed tranny I can get off of a $600 car... Or a $3500 tranny that I'd have to get shipped.

Still a fan of the WRX tranny?

I've also read that having a hydraulic clutch installed in the SVX is a little more complex.

What are the pros/cons?? Also, what is the absolute cheapest I could find, I guess with luck or if I know where to look, a WRX 5 speed and corresponding diffs?

I paid USD$1800 for my WRX tranny and that included everything I needed from the donor for the swap. WRX rear diff not required. If you want to do the swap on the cheap then definitely use the Loyale.

I had no problem with using hydraulic. It's not much more work.

WRX trannies are (arguably) stronger and have a stronger stock clutch (which I'm still using after my swap 2+ years ago).

[mbtoloczko]

I'd say that the '91 Loyal tranny would be a bad choice. Its probably high mileage, and the synchros are probably close to gone. If you don't have the skill to do the 5MT swap yourself, and time/money are issues, then I'd say you're best off with the 4.44 swap. Its a direct replacement with the exception that the rear diff (or ring and pinion) needs to be swapped out with a 4.44 diff/r&p.

[EddieSVX]

Originally Posted by mbtoloczko

I'd say that the '91 Loyal tranny would be a bad choice. Its probably high mileage, and the synchros are probably close to gone. If you don't have the skill to do the 5MT swap yourself, and time/money are issues, then I'd say you're best off with the 4.44 swap. Its a direct replacement with the exception that the rear diff (or ring and pinion) needs to be swapped out with a 4.44 diff/r&p.

Okay, so Auto swap is leading right now... I found a '95 Legacy AWD station wagon with a 5 speed, motor needs head gaskets so they're selling it for $2000... Yay or nay?

Is that tranny stronger than the loyale?

[Manarius]

That's a good choice of tranny. It's probably a 4.11 so you're in good shape...just take everything having to do with the transmission. Then ask Tom how to do it .