cbose

Cookie points out Yep, that's an unfortunate fact about used parts. Component failures are much less random that one would hope. Bye the way, I am in Hamilton NZ, since you asked. And I agree, the mechanics here are terrific and very resourceful, not that I've really needed one yet. I find them really easygoing about giving advice and they don't seem to mind stopping work for a few minutes to explain something to you if you get stuck (within reason of course!). alias20035: Owch! I think I mentioned that the going rate down here is $500NZ or about $400 canadian. But the trick is to find one. With all the turbo subaru cars down here, the gearboxes are mostly in very bad shape even at low mileage. Also, I think the turbo gearbox needs some modification to work (clutch different?). Chris

Thanks for all the info. I am in New Zealand for only 10 months -- I usually live in Victoria, Canada and all my tools are at home:( This would be a limiting factor in a complete DIY rebuild. My plan was to pull the gearbox, clean it up on the outside, open it up and clean up all the sealing surfaces (no gaskets as far as I can tell) and then take the package to the mechanic to do the pressing and setup of shims and whatnot. However, I don't want to wreck any diagnostic info in doing so -- sounds like that will not be a problem. My mechanic will replace the two sets of syncros and the main bearings. He said that after the bearings are pressed off, they still look and feel good, but he has had rebuilds come back after a short period with failed mains when they reuse them -- figures that the press stresses them in some way. I have only a basic set of wrenches here, a hammer, few screwdrivers and for some reason the house I rented has an excellent floor jack and, I just found out, a pair of axle stands! I like messing around with my car and I like to be independent: so far I've rebuilt both front driveaxles (including outer CV R&R) and replaced the steering rack. I have no concerns about pulling the gearbox. FWIW I've found the subaru to be a well put together and sensibly engineered car. My vehicles at home are Mercedes and I would NOT say the same about them. But they are interesting to work on! I'll keep you posted on what happens. Thanks again, and feel free to offer up any other advice that seems to have been missed. Chris

Have a 91 legacy 4WD s/w with 190,000Km on the clock and shot syncro's on the 4-->3 downshift. I plan to pull the gearbox over the holiday (or thereabouts) and take it in to the subaru independent mechanic for a rebuild. He says it is a fairly simple job, and new main bearings and syncro kit are only a couple hundred dollars. However he books 8 hours labour for the job which he says is 'mostly cleaning' plus a little work at the press of course. Total cost about $600. A used gearbox from the wrecker is $500 with a 'replace if defective' warrantee but no cover for the labour to swap. I can clean. Why can't I do everything except the bearing mount and setup myself? Has anybody done this job successfully and maybe have a few pointers about what to watch for or warnings not to do it? Chris

I just did this job on my 91 legacy sw with a 5 MT. There are two switches on the side of the gearbox. Front one is for reverse, rear for neutral sensor. To test: remove the connector at switch and jumper the two wire lead -- your reverse lights should go on. That tells you it is the switch. Otherwise, you have another problem To fix: When you get the switch out you will notice that it has a worn nylon contact rod. Reconnect the switch to the wire lead and push on the rod to verify that the internals of the switch are working (note: I think, for some reason, the switch body needs to be grounded for this to work) Now to the rod -- if you can arrange for the switch to seat 180 degrees around from its original position, the contact will hit the non-worn part of the rod and function will be restored. This can be arranged by using an thinner sealing washer or by shaving the old washer with a file and sandpaper. Look at the threads on the switch body to estimate how much has to be removed to account for 1/2 of the thread pitch. One last thing: if you mark the switch body with a dab of paint before you take it out, it will be easier to see if it seats 180 degrees further when you re-install. My reverse lights are now working fine. YOu could always buy a new switch, but it looks like a dealer only part and I'll bet it is quite expensive. It fails when it still has lots of life left just because of the small worn spot on the nylon rod. Chris