cyclewacko

Thanks for the heads-up! I called those guys, and I'm picking it up tomorrow. CW

WAWalker: Thanks very much for the feedback. I really appreciate it! CW

Here's an update. I inspected the engine and transmission mounts this morning. They definitely look like 174K parts, but I'm not sure if I need to replace them. I pulled the tranny anyway, and the main shaft moves 10mm fore/aft and radially, so the tranny was the source of my noise and definitely needs to be rebuilt/replaced. I'm debating whether or not to replace the engine and tranny mounts. They all have the thinnest rubber piece separated from the steel. Below is a pic of the tranny mount (the engine mounts have a similar problem). Look at the air gap between the lower steel bracket and the thin rubber piece in the lower left of the pic: I think that gap is not supposed to be there (the rubber should be bonded to both the top piece of steel and the bottom piece of steel?). I'm think that without that bond, the engine and tranny can move fore/aft more easily than they should, which I assume puts stress on many parts. Here are my next questions: 1. Should I have the tranny rebuilt, or look for a used one? I called a few salvage yards, but nobody answered because it's the weekend. Anybody have an idea what a used tranny costs? I called a few tranny shops, and the concensus is that it will be $800-$1500 or more to rebuild it. 2. Should I replace the engine and tranny mounts? The cost to replace is over $250. This car is my beater car, so I don't want to put any more money into it than I have to in order to get it running. If I use the mounts as-is, will I be repairing the tranny prematurely in the future? Thanks again for all the advice! CW

I guess I'm just a pessimist! I did change the lube last week. The old lube seemed okay. There was the usual clump of fine metallic particles mixed with oil sludge stuck to the magnet, but no large particles, and the lube looked "normal" for used lube. I'll be taking a close look at all the mounts this weekend. I'm hoping that it's that simple! CW

The noise was there long before the driveshafts were replaced. I replaced the driveshafts because one of the boots was torn badly. I used a cheap aftermarket part (I can't justify OEM parts on this beater car). The noise was unaffected by the driveshaft replacement. I'm 100% confident that I don't have a driveshaft problem. I'm definitely going to inspect the mounts before pulling the tranny, though. I didn't think mounts could cause all the symptoms I'm seeing, so thanks for pointing that out. Hopefully that will be the problem! CW

Could that cause popping out of gear, rumbling noises, and screaching noises? I can see how it could cause the shifter to move under accel/decel, but I'm not sure it would cause popouts and noise?? CW

To be honest, I don't recall whether or not I changed it, but I do know that I took a look at it - either it was OK or I replaced it. I'll certainly have another look at it when I pull the tranny this weekend. CW

I don't think it's either of those because in neutral or with the clutch depressed, the rumbling stops (plus, the front wheel bearings and driveshafts were all replaced in the last 10K miles). In fact, the rumbling also stops when there is no load on the driveline. For instance, if I let up on the throttle and hold it in precisely the right spot, so that the car is freewheeling, the rumble will stop for a short period of time. I didn't really want to do it, but I guess I'm going to have to pull the tranny this weekend... Thanks! CW

I didn't think a clutch problem could cause it to pop out of gear, but latest symptoms seemed to be clutch related. Thanks for your quick reply! I guess I'll be spending my New Year's Day off under my Subaru! CW

Hello, everyone! This is my first post to this forum, and I'm looking for some advice. I have a 1998 Impreza Outback Sport with 174,000 miles on it, and something in the driveline is slowly failing. It is a 2.2L with a 5-speed manual tranny. My problems started about 10K miles ago with a low rumbling or growling noise that only happens when moving, with the car in gear with a load on the driveline (accelerating or decelerating). Then, it started popping out of 4th gear when cresting hills and letting off the accelerator. In the last couple weeks, it has been hard to shift occasionally, and a new noise has appeared - an occasional metallic screach when accelerating from a stop, after the clutch pedal is fully released. Also, I noticed today on my drive home from work, that the gear shift lever moves fore/aft significantly if I accel and then decel repeatedly. I also noticed that the car surges with the screaching, but the tach and speedo seem to be in sync, so I don't think the clutch is slipping. I've also noticed that the clutch "feel" is not consistent. Sometimes it's harder to depress than other times, and sometimes it feels like something "gives" in the middle of the pedal stroke. I should note that I put a new clutch and TO bearing in about 35K miles ago. Also, I towed about 2000 pounds from MN to TX in April, and I had to stay in 4th gear the entire way because it wouldn't pull 5th up the hills. My first thought was that the tranny was going due to the noise and the 4th gear pop-out, but I changed the lube this weekend, and there was not an abnormal amount of metal on the magnet. Also, the clutch-dependent symptoms that showed up today point me to the clutch. Is it possible that the TO bearing or something else in the clutch could be the source of all my woes? Do I have both a tranny and clutch problem? I sure hope not, because if so, I'll have to "send the horse to the glue factory" if that's the case. Any ideas? Thanks, CW