bdecriscio

Hi All, Trying to diagnose intermintent transmission problems. 1999 Outback wagon 4eat tranny. The transmission has been rebuilt after missing the fact that all my prior problems were caused by a loose wire inside the dropping resistor. Anyway, all was fine for awhile, then the same problem of tranny going into limp mode returned ,only sporadically. When I looked at the smaller wires that are external to the resistor, they were pretty nicked up from probings etc. I taped them up and the tranny ran fine for about six months. Recently it has started to shift extremly hard, up and down on occassions. If I shut the engine off and restart, it goes away. Now however there are no flashing at or check engine lights and nothing shows up in memory when I get it to the tranny shop. I shoud mention that the dropping resistor in the car is not new, it was picked up from a salvage yard during my prior frustrations. Obvious question is should I replace it or as some suggest, disconnect it. Also, if I'm missing any other potential causes of this behavior I welcome any input P.S. Any good places to get one online? Thanks Bob

I had the exact problem after my head gaskets had been replaced. Long problem, hopefully short fix. If your 2000 is the same as my 1999, there is an inline resistor on the passenger side inner fender wall. Mine had been bent at some point when the engine had been removed and reinstalled. It looked good on the outside but internally it had pulled one of the four wires loose. I went through maney dollars and repairs before finding the problem, hope this helps you. P.S. Another forum member had advised me of this potential problem when I was stumped but no one I reported it to thought to look inside the resistor till 7 months and a total rebuild failed to solve the problem God luck, Bob

Thanks for the reply, I'll start there, as an update, today it happened again after two good days, a few restarts and it ran fine for awhile,then started hard shifting without any flashing of the AT-Temp light. Thanks again, Bob

Hi folks , 1999 outback , 2.5 ,95000 miles , automatic. I had many problems in the last year with the mystry transmission problem . finaly solved by finding loose wires in the resistor that had gone unchecked internally. In the meantime, the tranny was rebuilt, everything internally except the torque converter. It ran fine for about 5 weeks then started flashing the AT temp light and slaming into second gear and not upshifting to third. The first two times this happenened I was not able to get back to the repair shop before it started working properly on it's own.(All I did was shut it off and restart it) The third time I was able to get the trouble code read but by the time we reviewed what it was etc. the car was running fine again before he could road test it with the scan tool on. One additional note, after the first two occasions, there were no codes stored. Before the problems started happening, I have had intermintent check engine light for a bad knock sensor. Now it's been three days at the shop and it is running fine so I'm hoping someone can help with somewhere to go. The scan tool suggests some options such as the throttle posistion sensor or speed sensor but the speedometr works ok and the normal running between events has me a little confused. Bye the way, the code 731 indicates first gear ratio incorrect . Sorry for the long post, thanks, Bob

I read through a few of the posts and links regarding Techron as a decent product and decided to try it. One of the posts as well as the container stated to put it into a nearly empty tank and then put the pproper amount of gas in. My question is. Does it matter if I put in in an already partialy full tank(12 gallons is whats recommended for the size I bought) or is there another reason besides accuracy of the mix? Thanks, Bob

Interesting that you posted today, I was looking through old posts to find the code that my car was giving since I stll haven't gotten my problem resolved. The transmission guy who is working on my car is stumped. I've had the entire valve body with all solenoinds attached replaced, the ecu swapped out, the internal wiring harness pulled and checked, 3 tranny guys and an auto electric guy check it out and still no resolution. the reansmission is currently out of the car and disassembled. No problems internaly to cause the diagnostic code or drivability issues. I thought prior that it was starting and staying in limp mode but apparently the codes can be cleared, no dash lights and can run in 1st gear but when it tries to shift into 2nd. it goes into limp mode. The original problem that came after the pan had been damaged led us to think that after exhaustivly checking out possible electrical problems that when the pan had been crushed the tranny got starved for fluid due to the filter being damaged. Appaerntly thats not the issue so we are at a stand still going back to trying to figure out if there is a damaged solenoid or what. For anybody that might be able to help, the original valve body and tcu are back in the car. Sorry for the lenth of this post but it's been a long process trying to get this car fixed. Thanks, Bob

I apologize for not including more details but I didn't want to go on and on. The original mechanic who did the head gasket was unfortunatly moonlighting so I have no recourse other than I haven't paid him for his labor. The codes, i'm not sure but there has been more than one indicating different solenoids were bad. The tranny guy did pull out the complete wiring harness that runs through the tranny and checked for continuity etc. I don't think anyone has checked out the ecu, could something there be the problem? Thanks again, Bob OOps, I meant the tcu had been replaced,not the ecu

Hi all, I've been dealing with transmission issues with my 99 outback wagon for an eternety' since the engine was pulled for a head gasket job and the mechanic crushed the tranny pan, it shows at temp flashing and reading codes indicate bad solenoids. My last tranny guy replaced the valve body and all solenoids and nothing changed. In addition to the codes, the car is in I assume limp mode,. shifting immeadiatly from first to third or whatever that entails. I read an older post that warned about connecting the green diagnostic connectors that shouldn't be done. My question is (I don't have the car right now to check) if they have been connected by mistake, could this be the source of my problems? It's currently at an auto electric shop since two tranny guys are sure it's not a problem with the tranny but don't do much with the electrical end of vehicles. Also the ecu has been replaced with no change. If the connector theroy doesn't make sense, any insight would be appreciated. Sorry for the leanth of the post, thanks, Bob

Great! Glad to see others who are willing to give the fluid/additive cocktail a shot. Bob

Hi All, I'm the concoction guy that Grossgary mentioned and unfortunatly I didn't do anything other than what you have already done, that is multiple fluid changes and a bottle of the Lucas transmission fix. I will add that my multiple fluid changes by the drain and fill method were preceeded by a power flush at a garage not too long before my experiment. Another member had posted that it did indeed take a number of attempts at fluid replacement before he had sucess, which prompted my efforts . I still have the car 99 Outback wagon and although I'm dealing with other issues caused by a horrible head gasket job, the delayed engagement problem has never returned. Good luck if you try the fuid change route. Bob P.S. I did drop and reuse the external filter and also started the car briefly with the fluid out to spin a little extra fluid out of the torque converter(probably dumb but I did get almost 10 qts. of fluid out)

Yes it was the high pressure solenoid. I'll mention the torque converter possibilitie. Thanks, Bob P.S. The tranny guy thinks it's an electrical issue rather than a mechanical or flud pressure problem. don't know if that helps on any direction to go on resolving it

Hi folks, two months after my post about tranny problems, two lyings mechanics and untold agrievation I find that the original mechanic did indeed crush the tranny pan and crack a solenoid. The problem now is that after replacing said solenoid and checking all other electrical possible problems, my car still shifts immediatly from 1st to third. The high at temp light still flashes and the computer code still says hi pressure solenoid but now the trany guy is stumpted. He's leaning towards it being a bad tcu but I don't think he really has a clue. Any help will as always be appreciated. Bob

I agree, hill descendt feature. My 99 Outback did it and it drove me to distraction till I found it was "normal" I did get it to lessen quite a bit when I drained the tranny fluid a few times and added the Lucas product. Also, try not braking when descending hills. Not being funny, I mean anticipate and slow before that feature kicks in whenever possible. Bob

Thanks to both you and Nipper, I'll be following up on both options, as always I appreciate the input. (Too bad we lost the Rolling Rock brewerey)

Sorry for bumping my own post but due to the server being down after my post I hoped for some help, thanks, Bob

Hi Folks, 99 outback , 2.5 doc, 93000 miles. Just had new head gaskets installed, engine was pulled, now mechanic reports tranny problems. Automatic transmission high temperature warning . Code says circuit fault for high pressure solenoid. It's not shifting right, I think he said it's going from 1st to third. He looked pretty thoroughly for any loose or broken connections, binds etc. but he really doesn't know where to go from here. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Bob

I had a DEI hornet remote starter put in my 99 Outback wagon this week. It works fine but when Subarus are running w/o the keys in them,as in the case of using a remote start, the keyless entry system doesn't work. At least this is what the installer at Circuit city told me. He said that it's not just the brand of aftermarket system used, wheather it has additional functions like keyless entry or not, just a Subaru security system control. He did seem to indicate that there may be some way around it, he just hadn't found a way yet. any info would be appreciated, thanks Bob

I've used the Lucas product for a different problem and was very well pleased with the results. I have a 99 outback with the auto transmission. My problem was a delay in engaging when shifting into drive. I'm also a big believer in fluid changes but I had very recently done a power flush as routine maintenance when this new problem developed. I took a chance and drained out as much fluid as I get could get w/o a power flush (about 7 quarts) and added the Lucas product. This was about 7 months ago and the problem has never come back. I'm not knowlegeable enough to be sure of the why's of how it corrected the problem, maybe just the second change of the fluid did the trick, but it was certainly better than a new/ rebuilt tranny. Also some of the older posts on the nessesity of sometimes multiple fluid changes are helpful when dealing with transmission problems

Hi Guys and gals, I've been through al the old posts on the problem of a delay when shifting into drive(99 outback, 85000 miles) but it seemed that there was no real resolution as to what causes it or how to correct it short of a tranny rebuild/replacement. My fluid was flushed and the external filter replaced just a few months ago for routine maint. so I'm not sure what route to take next. As for a timeline, the 1-3 second type delay in engaging has happened for about a month but today it got to the point of 10-15 seconds or until I went through the gear positions again to engage. I'm not sure if my reshifting had anything to do with it or not. Anyway, any advice would be appreciated. thanks, Bob

Do you have a remote opener with your wagon? I bought my 99 outback w/o a remote opener and didn't know it should have had one. The Cars that I've been familiar with including my daughters Imprezza that didn't have the keyless entry opened all doors with the key whereas the ones with the remote didn't. I bought a fob on ebay and programmed it to work with my car. not a hard process with lots of web help available. bob

Great info, thanks Bob

Does anyone know for sure if 205-70-15 tires on 1999 outback mag wheels would fit/work ok on a 1996 Imprezza with 195-60-15 standard wheels? Thanks in advance for any info, Bob

I've searched and searched and can't find out for sure wheather my 1999 legacy outback wagon is sohc or dohc. apparently mid year of 1999 is the changeover date for that model. I can't find a manufacture date on my car. Can one tell by the vin # or another way? Also, engine type says 2.5dcd 0n emissioms sticker on hood. Thanks, Bob

Sucess! I had the transmission flush done on my daughters 96 Imprezza's auto tranny. It had the classic torque bind issues and I had it done with some hope but not absoulute confidence. It worked immeadiatly as soon as I drove away before even turning the circles to flush out the gunk. Thanks to all the posts on both the torque bind issues as well as the flush vs drain thread. Also I'd like to put in a good word for the shop here in Altoona Pa. that did the work. Automatic Transmission Specialists- ATS- They were involved with a few Subarus that were experiancing torque bind and were helpful and willing to use the knowledge I picked up here on our forum. Thanks,Bob

Thanks to all for their opinions, I'll do the flush and report back any sucess or not on the torque bind issue. bob