Help!

[Thor]

1994 front wheel drive with 168K,

Well I think the transmission just bought the farm. I pulled into traffic rather fast to merge and then heard a clunk. Then the car wouldn't move at all. No forward gears of reverse. I made it to a side road and poped the hood. The transmission fluid looks normal and smells normal. After sitting for a while it drove ok again for another two miles and then started to act up. I pulled over and allowed it to cool off. Then it drove ok for another couple miles and did the same thing. I did this until I got home.

Im not sure what it is. Maybe the transmission is finally dead. Or maybe its just the torque converter isnt working? There is no fluid leaking at all and as mentioned above the fluid seems normal. I did hear some poping sound every so often over the past few days. Like a CV was getting ready to go out.

I really am unsure what to do right now and my wife isnt very pleased with the car.

anyway I need help.

[Thor]

Anyone? I really need help with this.

I am already looking for a replacement transmission. I did find two , one is out of an 2001 STI and the other is from an 1998 Forester AWD. I would need to convert to AWD ofcourse. I havent heard from the STI guy as of yet. I am unsure if the forested transmission will work with the power of the EG33.

[Trevor]

The symptoms you describe could result from any intermittent break in the drive chain and not necessarily within the transmission as such. Further investigation is required before jumping to conclusions.

Please describe any noises or what you can notice when there is no drive, forwards or reverse.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by Trevor

The symptoms you describe could result from any intermittent break in the drive chain and not necessarily within the transmission as such. Further investigation is required before jumping to conclusions.

Please describe any noises or what you can notice when there is no drive, forwards or reverse.

Ok... it is cold here.... maybe not as cold as it might be in some parts of north america but its been between 0-28 F. When you first start the SVX it makes a noise like gears winding. (The PO said he replaced the timing belt just within the past few months.) The transmission is still in park and the car is warming up. Ok now I put the transmission in 3rd with manual button selected. The gear sound increases as I pull forward onto the street and drive to work. It continues to make that gear winding sound the entire time I drive the car. Reminds me of a 4x4 transfercase low with gear lube. If you have ever heard that sound then you know what I am trying to describe.

Sometimes I hear a pop sound when we pull forward. It reminds me of a CV joint going bad and getting ready to break. It is a front wheel drive but when the transmission started acting up it felt like the rear axle was jerking. Right after that it acted as if the torque converter was not engaging and I had zero gearing. Did not notice any noises at this time. But I did pull over and look under the hood and car. The transmission fluid is red and clear and smells normal. There is no leaking from the car at all. I looked behind the battery and that resistor was plugged in. At the time I couldnt remember what the resister did so I unplugged it. I started the car put it into 3rd and it drove fine for another 2 miles and then started to slip again. It also make a big clunk as I put it into gear. I pulled back over and let it sit for a few minutes. It did the same thing and then started to slip so I pull over again. This went on all the way home. It is now parked.

Prior to all this the transmission was not working very good. With the manual button out and in normal operation the rpm's go very high prior to shifting into gear. If you punch the gas pedal down it will go fast and shift into 4rth. but somethings it doesnt shift at all and the rpms rev up and the transmission will not go into any gear until I push and engage the manual button.

If I leave the manual button engaged and drive in 3rd gear it shifts almost normally. On the highway I then shift it into 4rth. If I punch it it will kick down and shift back into 4rth but sometimes it revs up and doesnt shift into any gear and slips.


Today after I pulled into traffic and had top punch it in order to merge the transmission slipped but contined to go and then not far down the road it just slipped as if it were not into gear. Reverse dose not work either.

What do I need to do next to find the problem?

[TomsSVX]

any loud noises or hard shocks??

Tom

[nextse7en]

I'm going to go ahead and predict severe stripping of the front differential drive gear.


If I'm right, that would be 5 differential breaks on the network in the last 2 months.


Planned obsolescence, anyone?

-Patrick