nurse Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 New to the forum so thanks in advance! Picked up 4 subaru's last week to fix and sell. One is a nice '88 wagon with an auto. The PO said it had a "govenor" issue. The tranny doesn't slip in 1st or reverse but didn't want to upshift out of first to second or third. I assume this is a direct tranny(no over drive) I did some research and found that the gear on the govenor can round off and cause problems. I took it out and it was obviously worn so I replaced it with a less worn looking one from a parts rig:D It seemed to help...I have 1st and 2nd now but no drive. Reverse holds fine. Any advice?? Tranny fluid looks used, but not black nor does it smell burnt. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 Anybody... Will look at the modulator next I guess. I have two parts cars with the same tranny, but they don't run so I have really no clue if the transmissions are worth swapping. Also have a 5-spd car with d/r tcase for parts. Could swap all that in, but would be lots of work just to sell..... Also forgot to mention, it whines in "D" and feels like neutral. I can manually shift it back down to 2nd or 1st and it seems fine. Thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhelme Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 (edited) First of all welcome to the forum. As to your question you may still have a problem with the governor. See this article to fix that http://www.indysworld.com/80s/genera...venorclean.htm. Then go to the ultimate subaru repair manual, product links and references then Tons of PDF FSM's. Under Old Models and then 83 then look at page 330 and adjust the 2-3 band and also see the list of problems. Lastly change the fluid. All you have to do is pull the plug DO NOT pull the pan and filter unless you have to clean the pan the filter is nothing but a screen. Hope this helps. Edited June 25, 2012 by silverhelme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 forward clutch pack smoked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 (edited) Silver, thx for the info! I'm not a auto tranny guy. Most experience I have with them is putting shift kits in. I assume I can have a "forward clutch pack" issue even tho 1st and 2nd gear seem ok? I have put very limited miles on the car. The engine will get pulled soon for new HGs and seals. Guess it would be a good time to r&r the tranny as well. Didn't want to put that kind of money into it, but don't want to sell it with a bad tranny. Thanks Edited June 25, 2012 by nurse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhelme Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 It may or may not be the forward clutch pack. I have picked up a couple of cars that all they needed to work was what I told you to do. One I still have 80k later. This trans is not cheap to rebuild anymore ( they used to be ) because they no longer make a complete "kit" for it. You have to buy all the parts individually. It would be better to locate a good used one and swap it. It can be swapped out in a couple of hours on a hoist and I have done it in 4 on the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990loyale Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 it sound like it is definitely a governor gear issue. i replaced my auto tranny in my loyale after the bearing in diff. broke and locked it up. the replacement tranny i bought was from an 85 gl and it didnt want to shift into any gears unless you manually shifted it. since my governor gear was still perfect from my old tranny i swapped them out and it works perfect now. so you could still be having issues with yours. see if you can get ahold of a NEW or low miles one and see how that does, the governor gear is needed to help kick in the 3 gear(final drive). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 Will have to take a look at the gear inside the tranny itself. The govenor gear was apple cored pretty bad but I replaced the entire unit with a donor that was in much better shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990loyale Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Have you tried manually shifting it into drive with the new governor to see if 3rd engages? If so its a governor problem, if not then its out my leauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 I did, and it wouldn't shift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 (edited) Update: Just got back from a test drive before I pull the engine to replace the HG's. The tranny will NOT shift if the selector is in drive. If I manually shift it from 1-2 the shifts feel good. When shifting from 2-3, it acts like neutrel. I did pull the accumulator and replace with another one I had on hand with no change in preformance. Also pulled the govenor apart. The gear end is apple cored, but not near as bad as two others I have. The piston inside the bore moves freely, and not froze up. I haven't looked in the tranny hole to see what that gear looks like, but I might as well pull the transmission out and have a look see while the engine is out. Where can I get transmission parts from besides the dealer? I order most my engine kits from nothern auto with good luck, but they don't sell transmission parts for this subaru. Advise? Thanks! Edit: For kicks I stuck the govenor back in the holie-hole and just tried to spin it. It spins pretty freely so I assume that the internal gear is stripped. I tried looking at it with a flashlight and mirror but couldnt get a good look at it. Stuck my finger in there and feels like there is hardly a tooth left. I confirmed this with another auto tranny subi I have. The govenor would NOT spin and the gear on the inside definetely had teeth :>) Guess a tear down is in order. Again, where is a good source for parts, or am I stuck with going to the dealer. Also, I have a case of Dextron 6 left over from a 4080e project. It is suppose to be the cats meow for atf. Would there be a problem using it up in the subi auto? Thanks again Edited July 7, 2012 by nurse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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