GPrime2

There should be 3 pictures, the first one is under the transmission at the bell housing with the front of the differential and the teeth of the TC showing. The other two are from the top, one of them is the picture you requested showing a side view with the TC in. I'm pretty sure it's seated though because i cant imagine (based on the space between the teeth and the bell housing in the first pic) that it could go into the trans any further, and it seemed like the driveplate still had a bit of space to pull the TC in as I bolted it up. Last question: With this junkyard transmission and whatnot, how much fluid should I put in this thing before starting it up? Just fill to the cold line? or do I need to put more in to fill the TC and cooling system?

Bump.

Alright then, update time. I put the transmission in and I'm in the process of button the car back up and giving it a shot, but I took a few pictures of the TC in the trans as it was about to go into the car just to make SURE that it's seated properly. If someone could be so kind as to just take a quick look at these and say it's seated properly or it isn't, I REALLY don't want to blow up another transmission. I don't think it can go in any more and I spent about 10 minutes spinning it both directions to be sure, but once again, I'm measuring twice cutting once. Thanks. The first pic is the underside of the trans, the other two are top down. Thanks again.

Just to be sure, I also swapped the shaft that goes through the transmission from back to front (connects with a gear in the back and the front is kindof an onion shaped spline that meshes with the actual front differential), and everything fit together just fine. What do you mean by moving the axle stub? I'm not familiar with a lot of this stuff and I want to make sure I'm not making another catastrophic mistake like like not seating the TC all the way. Edit: I believe the bell housings changed in '99, the housing is identical on the 95 as the 98, however it doesn't matter because the bell housing is attached to the front differential case which is being moved onto the 95 trans from the 98, so the bolts will be off a '98 either way.

I'm posting an image to make absolute sure I'm doing this right (and provided I am, maybe it can be a good pic for someone else to look at who is doing the same thing). Anywho, The goal is to put the '98 front diff on the '95 trans, and life should be swell. Is there anything else I need to do to make this work 100%. Apologies for seemingly asking the same question so many times, I'm out of my element being this deep into a car repair, but I'm trying to measure twice and cut once, so to speak. Edit: The 1995 and 1998 front differentials look literally identical, is it possible that they're the same? Or are they different in a way I cant see from just looking at them?

Ok one last idea, since I already have the 1995 transmission which I'm gathering has the wrong front differential final drive ratio, can I just take the front diff from the transmission that has a blown oil pump and put it on the transmission that has the wrong front diff? I'm pretty sure that should work (I'm also going to swap the torque converter in the process), but if I'm way off the mark for some reason let me know. Thanks again for the help.

Ok so from the looks of things, it's going to be more work than it's worth to make this '95 transmission work in my '98. Another question, are the transmission pumps the same in both transmissions? ie could I swap the pump from the '95 transmission (which works) to the '98 transmission (which also works, minus the pump being shot due to me not seating the torque converter all the way)? If so, how hard is it to swap oil pumps, or should I just look for another transmission?

Update: I went to the junkyard in search of transmissions, the best I could find was a 1995 Legacy Outback auto, the transmissions look 100% identical but after getting it home and comparing it the torque converters are slightly different. (It looks like it will fit and bolt up, but the physical shape is slightly different). Questions: Can I use this transmission on my '98? and if so, should I/can I just swap the torque converters so that it's the right one, or does it not really matter? Thanks for the advice, I can still return this one if I have to and possibly order one online.

Long time lurker, first time poster, wanted to say thanks up front for all the advice I've gotten from this site. I've come to what I think is a solid conclusion on this issue but I want to make sure I've got it right, so please if you all could confirm/deny my conclusion, it'd be a great help. Anywho, on to the issue. I picked up this 98 legacy outback from a buddy with a bad front diff. Figured it'd be easier to replace the whole transaxle than just the front diff, which was great because I got a used trans for pretty cheap. Tore the car apart and got the old trans out, put the new trans in (this was my first auto trans swap so it took a while to get it right). Started the engine for the first time when it was all back together, got a terrible noise from the back of the engine/front of the trans (the torque converter area) and some smoke, and it wouldn't move in any gear. Immediately took it apart and realized that I hadn't seated the torque converter all the way. I made it to the second click and thought it was in, apparently it wasn't and it had another 1/2 inch or so to go. My question is this: I've read that I've probably destroyed the transmission oil pump, which is to my knowledge somewhere inside that magical box run by gnomes that makes gears change. Is it a 100% conclusion that I've destroyed the oil pump? I've got a u-pull-it yard pretty close and I can now tear a trans out of a subaru in a few hours and for another $100 or so I can have a new trans, but if I can save money and this one works, that'd be great. With the torque converter fully seated in the transmission, it doesn't want to rotate more than the gap between the splines in either direction (about 3-4 degrees of movement or so), is it safe to mate it up to the engine and give it a go? Or should I just bite the bullet and get another trans, learn from my mistake, mate it properly and be done? Can I hurt the engine by giving it a shot as it sits? Any help would be greatly appreciated, and the sooner the better, I'm going to go pull the transmission tomorrow morning if it isn't worth my while to try this one out. Thanks in advance.