roadsubiedog Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 today started first man tranny removal from my 99 OB after reading a pictorial on RS 25 about 10 times and a You Tube video 10 times and taking notes from Subaru manual. 1. almost finished everything on top except removing the speed sensor plug. cant figure that out so a tip would be helpful. 2. unplugged the neutral and back up plugs on top. do they disconnect from the tranny below too? do you use a open ended wrench or adjustable? 3. two different methods on removing axle from tranny. RS 25 shows using a scissor jack to move tranny sideways to pop axle. You tube video says take off wheels and take off some bolt so you can whole thing out to pop the axle. which is easier ? ,...or is there a better easier way to pop out the axles? sprayed everything with blaster such as exhaust bolts etc. cause having problems there . will try again tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 I just unbolt the exhaust from the heads and drop the whole getup from Y to muffler and slide it out from under the car. You should have the roll-pin axles. Theresa pin at the inner end that jolds it to a stub on the trans. Just knock the pins out with a suitable sized punch and the inner joints will slide away from the trans. When you get ready to lower the trans you can just wiggle them off and push the axles towards the front of the car out of the way. Nuetral and reverse light switches don't need to be removed, just be mindful of them while removing the trans. Leave the wires hooked in the little foldy wire tab on the trans so they don't get hung up on anything. Don't forget to unhook the rear O2 sensor connectors. The extension harness can stay attached to the trans and you don't have to mess with fishing it around. Speed sensor connector can be a pain. Tap it a few times with a screwdriver handle to knock any dirt out of it. Then try pushing it together while pushing the lock tab and pull it apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 thanks for the tips. I couldn't see the lock tab on the speed sensor . wish I had unplugged it before putting it on jack stands. was aware of punching out axle pins with a 3/16 punch but thought it would be a lot of trouble to take them out while prying the tranny and lowering from the motor. maybe that is why that guy used a scissor jack. I don't have a tranny jack or an accessary that bolts onto my jack. I have a pretty good jack from Costco and was going to try that with a homemade wood attachment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 I've done several trans swaps on these with just my 3 ton floor jack. If it has a 4" pad the trans will sit on it mostly without help. You'll see a big tab on the bottom of the trans that seems to be a good balance point. Put the jack head there. The axles are easy enough to slide off by hand. Once the trans is slid off the engine studs just rotate it a bit, don't tip it side to side, just spin it on the jack head, and the axle joints can be slid off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 yes, this Costco jack has a nice big pad on it and I was thinking it would work. thanks for the axle tip. I will try that. every nut and bolt was soaked by blaster and hopefully I wont spend as much time as I did today breaking loose nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 everything is done except the shift shaft and shifter. I loosened the 4 front tranny mount nuts and saving the 2 big ones once the tranny is supported. I think my main concern will be finding a good point to put the jack on the tranny to find the center of gravity. it seems like you need two supports. one on the wide flat spot and one right underneath the tranny mount. I know how important it is to do this right so you don't damage anything on the way out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 finally got it out. 3 ton jack with small 4by4 and tie downs. the throwout spins good but real dirty with red dust and lots of crud on spacer. as mentioned in another thread, I tried making a FWD by taking the rear drive shaft off but it wouldn't go at all. I could drive it slowly but it would buck very hard so I didn't move it that much. 2 mechanics told me it was the front diff/spider gears. lots of fine metal flake in oil. no pieces of metal. taking it to trans shop in Reno ASAP. the clutch was last changed 90k ago but my driving is almost all highway. maybe shifted thru the gears about 7k miles. there was a noise going down the road that stopped when I pushed in the clutch pedal. other than that no other obvious issues with clutch or shifting. recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Probably no reason not to do the clutch. Pretty cheap kits on Ebay and rock auto. Exedy is the preferred brand. I've put a couple cheap Banhof clutches in on 3 cars and had no problems but none are tested beyond 20,000 miles so far. Here's a great pictoral and write up of the how-to of it. It's pretty dummy proof following the steps and pictures in there. http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t128163-diy-clutch-replacement-pictorial.html That write up was my reference for all 3 swaps. It's really about a 15 minute job since you have the trans out already. Better to do it now than to kick yourself in another 10,000 miles if the clutch starts slipping and have to pull the trans all over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 (edited) thank you very much Adventure. that link was the thread that gave me the confidence to attempt this since im not a mechanic. I also used you tube for tranny removal/clutch with briansmobile1. video helps me a lot too. Edited September 1, 2014 by roadsubiedog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Not the diff. Diff problems will make noise that is wheel speed dependent. The Mainshaft ball bearing is worn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 ok. i'll make a note of that .thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 just back from from tranny shop. Fairtax4me is right about that noise that goes away when I push in clutch. he said that suggested a bearing on input shaft. he is wondering if it is really bad that it would eat into the case. I explained how it bucked in turns and even straight down the road. going straight for 5-10 seconds real smooth and then a big buck/bang like. I only drove it 5 miles home and then slowed to about 25. he thought it sounded like a bad viscous coupler ( $600 from Subaru ) I also told him that from Grossgary suggestion to take rear drive shaft off and make it a FWD and I told him the car would not move front or back. he was a little puzzled by this. he said the VC only works in turns, when you have mismatched tires or when a wheel is spinning. ( don't quote me on this. it was a 30 minute conversation and I did not tape it so this might not be accurate ) what worries me is that he was puzzeled about the bucking going down the road straight. he said that doesn't sound like the VC. he'll open it up this week and inspect and said that is only an hour labor and we can go from there if I want the repair done. oh, almost forgot. he said he didn't have the necessary equipment to check the vc because it is a closed unit. for a $600 part that is disturbing. someone on USMB said that can be changed without the tranny being taking out but a shop wouldn't put a used one. this shop is considered the best in Reno. all 5 stars on yelp and google and everyone I know in the business told me to bring it there . he told me the best case is some bearing changes, acouple other minor things and about 6 hours of labor. he is concerned about the fine flakes in oil ( I brought the oil). that might mean the case being worn down by bad bearing. plus the concern on bucking going straight and no movement with the rear drive shaft off. the conversation was long so I might of forgotten some of what he said. going back next Monday after he pulls the cases apart and checks everything. want to be more informed from you guys before I go so I can ask the right questions, etc. thank you very much in advance. couldn't of done it without you all and especially AdventureSubaru's pictorial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 The bucking is probably just the "Subaru Jerk". These have alot of driveline and lots of places where a little bit of play adds up to a jerky ride if you're not used to the way the car drives. Removing the rear driveshaft and not being able to move says the VC center diff is in good shape. It's not a true open design, but it does have to heat up before it will transfer drive torque to just the front or rear wheels. It has to heat up ALOT before it will make the car drive in only FWD. The mainshaft bearing flings off a lot of fine metal flake. It doesn't hurt anything else unless the bearing is extremely bad. It will pop out of 4th and 5th gear if the bearing is worn badly enough to harm other parts of the trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share Posted September 4, 2014 ive driven this car 180,000 miles since 2005. it never bucked before. it deteriated very quickly after bucking/binding in a couple tight turns. it bucked very hard going straight down the road. once every 5-10 seconds. I checked the tires. new from Costco only a year or so old. one of my main concerns is that the tranny shop wants to replace the VC. but he said there is no way of knowing if it is bad or not. that puzzles me. especially on a 600 dollar part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 (edited) it would have been nice to diagnosis before pulling the trans - it may be tough now. Two reasons suggest the VLSD may be good:1. It didn't run in FWD - they fail to a "locked" state so with the shaft removed it will run FWD. This only works if the VLSD has completely failed, which they usually do. Yours didn't do that so it either: a. hasn't failed b. has an abnormal or early failure mode 2. there's flakes in the gear oil - suggesting bearings, not VLSD. the VLSD is replaceable with the transmission in the vehicle, so there's not an enormously compelling reason to do it right now IMO. nice to properly diagnose and get it over with of course if it's done though. there may be a way to simply engage it by hand/tools and see if it's locked insitu? the mechanic is correct - it's a sealed unit and no way to disassemble it. Edited September 4, 2014 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 (edited) sometimes you can get a used one for $200 or less if you end up needing one. if you pulled the transmission then you shouldn't have any problem installing that yourself later if need be. Edited September 4, 2014 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 at $600+ parts/rebuild pricing a used/known good transmission is starting to sound tempting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share Posted September 4, 2014 the bearings and labor alone is gonna be close to $800. that's not counting the VC so thanks Grossgary and Fairtax4me for the input. I kinda agree with USMB members and the tranny shop owner that it may be best to fix the tranny I know rather than gamble with a unknown one. I'm trying to be as informed as possible and ask the right questions when I go back next Monday after he has split the cases apart. I'm still wondering about the occasional big buck going straight down the road. the mechanic told me that assuming the tires are not the culprit that then something could have worn out and the spider gears in the front may be a problem. could this also be true going down the road straight? like I said before.... it will go down the road smoothly for 5-10 seconds and then buck. the only noise is the bearing noise and that has been like that for 5 years . another dumb question. can you take VC out and run car FWD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Jerking/bucking when going straight could be due to damaged transfer gears in the tail housing of the trans. I didnt catch the year of the car in the first post. 99 had an issue with a snap ring popping loose and getting snagged up in the transfer gears. Any chunks from those typically stay back in the tailhousing and dont make it to the rest of the trans. Only way to run FWD with a manual trans is to weld the front pinion shaft to the countershaft. The VW conversion guys have a fabricator who makes a bolt on coupler to go in place of the VC rather than welding. They AWD trans and convert them to FWD to use in buggies because the AWD trans is so much more common. The coupler costs a couple hundred $$ IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 Fairtax: that's real good info for me to have when I go back to the shop. thanks. will report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 ever get word on whether its a phase 1 or phase 2 trans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 10, 2014 Author Share Posted September 10, 2014 im not sure how to tell the difference between phase 1 or 2. there is one set of numbers on trans and then another with letters like TY something. the trans is at the shop and they are on vacation all week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Phase 1 trans has 4 bolt holes in the bellhousing. Phase 2 trans has 8 bolt holes in the bellhousing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 id say phase one. there are 4 studs from the motor. 10 oclock ,2 then 4 then 8 oclock. makes a square. I was told the 1999 tranny was a unique year. they told me I have the specific one for a swap and other years wouldn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 ty754cacb is the transmission type Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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