wally

i realize this is an old thread, with lots of confusing information. for a manual transmission, with a working center diff, removing the driveshaft will result in the car not moving, or moving with limited ability, until the center diff heats up enough to lock, and then the car will drive. if, however, the center diff has already failed (and they fail by locking up), a manual transmission car can be driven in fwd with the rear driveshaft removed, with no problems. i drove mine in this condition for 2 years, and never had an instance where the front wheels lacked drive effort/power. i put nearly 50K miles on it in that condition, and only replaced the transmission once it started popping out of gear in 3rd and 5th.

as you've seen (the original poster), the '95 has a pretty good reputation. i'm still driving mine, with 292,xxx miles on it. the single biggest issue for them is rust. next is making sure your tires are the same, including checking air pressure on a weekly basis, or more often if you are really good. one tire with low air pressure can and will ruin that center diff in the manual transmission. not sure about the auto. frankly, i've never changed the brake fluid in the car, so it's approaching 18 years of age. maybe i should. i have replaced all four rotors twice (rust from salt), and the calipers once (also rust from salt). i hate the abs system on these subarus, and disabled it. i've been driving it for more than 10 years without abs. when i first had it, in the span of 4 days, i nearly totalled the car twice because of the abs system not allowing the car to stop. i had to downshift. some people swear by it; i swear at it. i'm not recommending that you disable yours; just a heads up on it's functionality. i still drive the car from nh to mi every year, 1700 miles round-trip, and have averaged about 18,000 per year since i bought it. wally

absolutely. my job takes me onto unmaintained gravel roads often, and when my vc failed, i could drive those roads better than i do now, with the working vc. however, tight turns on pavement (like into the parking spaces at the grocery) were nasty with the failed vc.

i haven't been burned, but i have no use for the chart. the fact that it does have errors makes it absolutely useless for swaps.

it could be, but after 2 years, it's still functional, so i'm going to say it's the same ratio. i know it's functional, because of some of the client properties where i drive the car (very steep hill, loose gravel). when i took out the rear driveshaft prior to replacing the transmission, i couldn't even get one-third of the way up the hill. last month, i was able to ascend it slowly, in very dry, loose conditions. no way the car goes up without functional awd.

to the original poster, i'd verify that your existing transmission does, in fact, have 4.11. my original transmission was coded exactly the same as yours (and matched the factory tag on the fender, next to the strut top). i believe it really had 3.90, especially since the replacement transmission is supposed to have 3.90, and i didn't change/replace the rear diff.

possible, but not the only reason. several years ago, a truck threw a large hunk of asphalt through my rear window. prices for just the glass were quoted at over $1000, nevermind installation. instead of doing that, i replaced the entire hatch with a complete junkyard hatch for $300, including a working defroster and wiper unit (both of which had failed on the original).

it had the TY752VAAAA transmission originally, which the chart claims is 4.11. i replaced it with a transmission from an impreza, coded TY752VT3AA, which the chart lists as 3.90. i did not change or replace the rear differential, and i have been driving it since i installed the "replacement" transmission in july 2010. thus, my original, or the replacement, does not have the gearing claimed via the "chart". additionally, the TY52VAAA isn't listed for model year '95 legacy wagons. it's listed as model year '94 outback (i know they didn't exist in '94, at least in the us). according to the chart, my original transmission should have been coded TY752VABAA, which has (according to the "chart") 3.90 gears. clear as mud? regardless, one of the listings is incorrect, else i would have munched the rear or center diff by now.

Ty752vaaaa

chart "claimed" i had 4.11 gears. i have 3.90s.

yes, it has been. it was incorrect for my '95 leg wagon. i don't remember the specifics, but it "claimed" the code from my transmission came from a different year, yet it was the factory original (which i replaced when i lost the synchros in 3rd and 5th, along with having it pop out of 3rd and 4th). the tag on the fender matched the numbers on the transmission bh.

is the Cda couer d'alene? i worked out of there back in the early 90s, mostly up to bonner's ferry and naples, but also down to elk river. wally

that i agree with.

i'll respectfully disagree. prior to prepping the mating surface many years ago (7 to 9), i hit the sidewall over 30 times with a sledge and the wheel wouldn't budge. it finally came off after about 7 solid whacks on the wheel itself.

i try to hit the tire, but i've hit the wheel a few times. i don't have alloy wheels, though, so i don't really care. fwiw, i've put at least 175K on the rear wheel bearings after using the sledge pretty hard. as far as i know, the bearings are original, and stand at 287K today. i'll be honest. my car isn't pretty, but it isn't all rusted out, either. it's serviceable transportation, relatively cheap, and completely paid for (over ten years ago).