gregB

Wife was driving my new to me 97 Gt wagon, with 2.2 swap to work. The car is supposed to be my daily driver, but hers for her 25mi trip to work in snow. She was driving into work, crossed a rough rail road track, and then the front end started making noise, clunking and steering wheel shaking. Thought maybe she bent something. Went over to look at the car, nothing obvious, so I said I would drive it home. Started out no noise, then depending on speed and wheel position thumping from rotating parts. I'm thinking maybe nocked it hard enough for CV joint to crack. Not really sure. Got it home into the garage, grabbed the 19mm socket and went to put it onto the lug nut to check the size. Spun it by hand Checked the rest all loose or finger tight. When I bought car I had the local Goodyear shop put on a set of Eagles. Looked at the wheel where the lug nuts ride, you can see some shiny rubbing and stud thread lines on the thru hole of the wheel. I guess hitting the pot hole like rail crossing shifted the already loose wheel. Tightened up the lug nuts, noise went away so far. Checked the other wheels, backs were torqued to spec, a couple of the other side fronts were loose also. Lesson, If you want it done right do it yourself, or at least double check the "professional" you pay to do the job.

That was my thought, also the seperator plate while it is out. I am going to try and hold off until Spring though. Wife has been tolerant of me using her heated garage so far but do not want to push the issue right now. And my two bay shop garage does not even have a ceiling, just ridge vents to let any heat out. Greg

:banana: Went to Advance Auto yesterday, bought a gasket, put it together last night with a thin bead of Pernatex Black RTV, as there were one or two gouges from prying. Added fluid this morning, and no pump noise No leaks so far. Now on to the rest of the new to me car issues, Rack mount bushings, rack boots, Cam seals (probably, not to suprising from a Junk yard motor). Not gushing, just annoying drip, and occasional smell. Thanks for the suggestions on this fix. Greg

Did not buy parts, some confusion on the two dealers I talked to about parts, and needed to get it back together. Straightened the pan with my press, used a trim pry bar to pull the pick-up back into shape. Any last minute suggestions on how to re-install pan with RTV and get a good seal. I have made a cradle for the small floor jack to hold it up to the trans, to install the bolts. any suggestions on whether to put the RTV on the trans case or the pan? thanks Greg

Well, I dropped the pan today. Did not have to worry about the pan falling down as I was removing screws, the orange rtv gasket held it well in place. Had to use a sharpened butter knife, then screwdrivers with hammer to get it loose. Found the pickup filter assembly pushed up against the filter element. Looked like it was drastically reducing the flow of ATF. Now to order replacement parts. i'lll try to post pics of the damage later. Greg

Yes on the fluid level warm, idle, thru all gears and in neutral. The pan is dented up from the bottom. Where is the pick-up located? I seem to remember seeing post where somones pick-up came loose and caused "pump" noise. Maybe it is cavitating from lack of proper volume of fluid? Maybe before swapping trans's I'll drop the pan for a look. Greg

I can't seem to get a link to post correctlly, gives a malformed video Id error message from U-tube?? But if you search on the 98 surabu forester noise, its justa couple of spots own on the list, mine soundds the same. Maybe friction modifier was the wrong words, Is there a type of additive to help quiet pump, torque converter chatter that will not damage clutchpack etc?

I recently picked up the GT, after previous owner swapped a 2.2 into the wagon. First time I drove it had a little noise when cold, now getting worse. Sounds sort of like this clip I found on U-tube. 98 Forester Automatic Transmission Noise http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5gZZqr3********* (could not seem to get link to paste right,I'll try to fix, newbie user) It does get quieter during the shift between gears, but does not greatly slip or lag between gears, or not want to shift. Other info, I have drained and refilled trans fluid twice, first time added seafoam, second time trans-x. I have a friction modifier to add with next flush. First drain was very dark, second time dark, but you could see red in the fluid. Also the pan is pushed up in the middle, not leaking though. I saw in another post this could cause problems, any pictures out there of bottom of trans without the pan to see what might have been damaged. I'm picking up another trans for potential swap when it gets warmer, Engine looks like I'm going to have to do cam seals, also. Any other things I should be looking into, anything could have been damaged during the swap? Thanks in advance for any input Greg

Been reading the board for about a year, when the 97 legacy L sedan started with some minor torque bind issues. Son has that car at college in Johnstown, so I picked up a 97 GT wagon, for a daily driver (I hope). Previous owner bought to resell after he did a 2.2 swap. Did tires, starting to work through leaks, maintenance, and little things. Cleaned the sunroof drains after it leaked on the wife Thanksgiving morning (did not impress Her much) But the trans is whining, did the first drain and refill over the weekend, added seafoam conditioner. Will probably change again this weekend, and add friction modifier. Hope I can get it to quiet down, do not really want to replace the trans. Been a few years since I did any heavy wrenching, worked on a lot of aircooled VW's, then watercooled, until I sold my 86 GLI (bought new) with 186,000 miles about 8 years ago. Hope to be around for a while, maybe long enough to actually help somone else, like so many here have done. Greg