subyboy

Yep, the mystery of the on/off clutch has been solved. As per the attached picture, a small bit of the clutch plate had broken off and would sometimes get jammed between the clutch plate and the flywheel, keeping them spinning even though I was pushing the clutch in. Makes sense now why it wouldn't go into gear. (Why it didn't go into gear even with the engine off the first two times it happened I still don't know: wind up in the gearbox maybe?) It jammed again at the worst possible moment: as I was moving houses. So I dumped the car, only to get a call from a worker saying I had to move it as they were doing roadworks there the next day. :mad: Tow truck took it to the mechanic who couldn't fault it! I told him to open the clutch to have a look and there it was. $800 later it's all fixed and feels great. Thank you all for the input, it's been much appreciated.

Thanks everyone, it all sounds very interesting. Even though I suspect a dodgy clutch fork or spigot bearing, I'll probably test the clutch anyway. If it feels fine, I'll have to decide whether to try and have a look at the fork by sliding trans and engine apart or pull it all out. That said, the clutch's got about 50k miles and the timing belt needs doing so I'll probably bite the bullet, pull the engine out and get both the clutch and T-belt replaced in one go. Cheers everyone, will keep you posted once I've got it sorted.

Nipper: not sure if it's the original cable. I did just disconnect it to operate it by hand in order to get a better feel and it feels fine. I'll be sure to replace it if I get the clutch done, though. Fairtax: rain doesn't seem to make any difference. Actually, I think it's only happened during dry weather. But I'm afraid you might be right, my clutch might be about to destroy itself. If the same thing happens again (no gear when engine on but ok with engine off) I will get the clutch done. Not sure what you mean about how to test the clutch. Push against a tree and see if I can feel it slip??? Clutch still feels very strong and 'grabby', if you know what I mean. Cheers.

It's cable operated. Strange thing is, clutch pedal feels completely normal when it happens. And no matter how many times I put the clutch in and out, it still won't go into gear unless the engine is switched off... Oh, and by the way, with the engine running, I was able to use the dual range selector (Hi-Lo) but no other gears.

It's done it again! After 2 weeks of driving fine, I thought I must've been making it all up but it happened again. Engine on, couldn't push the stick into any forward gear. Reverse would grind and grind and grind but not stop and slide in. Only difference is, this time I was able to put it into gear as soon as I turned the engine off, started it up again and then it drove fine. Go figure I'm definitely suspecting the clutch now, correct?

Thanks Fairtax, it does seem to help a bit to put it in 1st before reverse. Nipper: no, it's not a push button. It's more like a second gear lever, except it's horizontal rather than vertical. The lever pulls a cable that connects to a small lever on the side of the gearbox, near the clutch.

OK, first of all yes Olnick, I am in Australia (Melbourne, to be precise) I thought I'd put that in already? Will have to check. Nipper: yes, it is dual range. As in I've got a High/Low range selector, but no fwd/awd selector (permanent awd). Sorry if I didn't make that clear. You were right: the problem is definitely with the forward gears (main gear selector 1st-5th)

Well, I took it to the mechanic today (not a Subaru specialist) and he couldn't find anything wrong with it. He adjusted the clutch slightly, that's all. He also said there's a small chance it could be one of the two electrical switches (reverse and low range, I'm guessing) that come into the gearbox and could potentially jam the gear change shaft. But I doubt it, too, as I took them out to have a look and they seemed fine. The fact that even a professional mechanic is stumped makes me feel a bit better. We'll see how it goes... Thanks everyone for the input!

OK, so I had a very, very good look at the gear linkage (inside and out) and couldn't find anything wrong with it whatsoever. As Nipper advised, I tried changing gears from underneath the car. It felt OK to move the shaft coming out of the gearbox lengthwise (in and out) but I couldn't work out how to move it sideways. (A bit strange since it's the exact opposite of what the problem was, but then again it was a bit awkward to do it from underneath.) I'm completely out of ideas. I think I might have to take it to a mechanic to see if they can work it out. Unless somebody's got another idea of what it could be?

Yes, trans and engine mounts look fine. Not much filings on the magnetic plug when I drained the gear oil, either. Gears shift fine (except reverse who tends to grind a bit sometimes) The clutch fork (where the clutch cable attaches outside the housing) moves from side to side quite a bit though??? Other thing is, there's a grinding noise if I'm ever under 2000 rpms and I step on the gas, but it's been doing it for ages so I don't think it's very relevant?

Ah, I see. I'll try it and report the findings ASAP. It's kind of in a tricky spot though, isn'it? But if one of the gear forks was damaged/jamming, how come I can't get any gears (except maybe reverse). If a fork was jamming, wouldn'it affect 1st/2nd or 3rd/4th only?

Hey Nipper, Haven't tried that when it happened but pretty confident that's not the problem. I had a good look at the linkage both inside the cabin and underneath the car and couldn't see anything at all that could get jammed in the gear linkage. I wish it was just a linkage issue though... Will try it next time it happens.

Thanks Fairtax. Might pickup some gear oil today and flush it a fw times to see if it helps. I've driven a couple of times after draining the oil and putting it back in (minus the plastic chip) and it feels fine. I'm hoping it's just a clutch issue. Could anyone tell me if it could be? Or is it definitely a gearbox issue since it jams whether the engine is on or off?

Yes, i did. I only drained the oil to have a look at it after the problem started. I can't see anything at all outside the gearbox that could stop the shifter from moving. Is there anything inside the gearbox that could jam somewhere and cause this problem?

Also, and for what it's worth, I had a good look at the gear oil and found a small chip of what seems to be plastic (wouldn't stick to a magnet) Could that get stuck somewhere and cause and intermittent problem like this?