ladybaja

The break down was $550 for new tires and allignment/balancing, $1500 for transfer clutch and labor. Anyone have any recommendations inexpensive mechanics in the St. Louis, Missouri area who specialize in Subarus? I am going to need all new head gaskets and valve gaskets soon (dealer quoted me $1,800).

Thank you for all of the posts. They helped me with dealing with the dealer. I brought a friend with me who knows car stuff just to make sure I was not being taken. So this is what they said. They showed me the transmission fluid and showed me what they pulled out and what they put in. They claim that it is running perfectly after they put the new transfer clutch in and that there was still some of the old transmission fluid that was in it that seemed to gunk it up again. I am still not sure when or if anyone put transmission additive in my car (I have taken it to oil change places and different mechanics). Anyway, they said they did check the transmission fluid before they determined I needed a new transfer clutch... they also put in new solenoid. They explained that 1/4" difference in tread on tires can over the years tear up the transfer clutch and that when mine was pulled out it was awful. They said that after the 2nd transmission flush the car was only doing the popping occassionally and to bring it back in in a week or so and they will do another flush (free of charge). If it keeps on or gets worse then I will need a new transmission (because I might have driven too long with a bad transfer clutch). They said they would credit me the $1,500 I paid for the transfer clutch toward the new transmission ($2,200) so I would only have to pay $700. They really seemed to explain things better to me today. The technician also explained that even if you have all the same tires on your car you can destroy your transfer clutch if they are aired up differently (I had a slow leak in some of my tires over the years). When I drove it today it wasn't popping and drove smoothly. Anyway, maybe I still got taken to the cleaners but I feel better with the fact that if it turns out I do need an all new transmission they are going to give me a credit for the work I just had done. Thank you for everyones post.

I have a 2003 Subaru Baja. I took it in to a mechanic because it was making a popping noise whe I would turn into parking spots. The mechanic said it had something to do with the all wheel drive and told me I was better off taking it to a Subaru dealer. So I took it to the dealer they confidently told me I needed an all new "transfer clutch" and that I needed all new tires since there was one that was a little older on my car and that is what caused all of the problems (even though I read that as long as all for tires were certain size and not off by xxx amount I was ok with a different tire). Note: I did call another Subaru dealership to get a second quote and they had no idea what a "transfer clutch" was and only knew of a "transfer case". I paid $2,100 and they supposedly gave me an all new transfer clutch and 4 new tires. Well instantly it was doing the exact same thing. I took it back and they have had it for 4 days. First they said they were doing transmission flush to see if that was it. They did one flush and said it was better but wanted to do another the next day. Now they say it is only doing the popping a little bit and that when they had put the transfer clutch in they noticed an additive in the transmission fluid and they think it was gunking up the transmission/ transfer clutch. I asked them if I really needed a new transfer clutch if doing the transmission flush is what seems to be fixing it... no really definitive answer. Then they said that the additive might have messed up my car so much that I will eventually need a new transmission. I have no remembrance of anyone ever putting an additive in my car... but to be honest all this car stuff is over my head. Help! What should I do? Does all this sound right? I already paid them and they are not charging me for the transmission flush, however, it just does not make since to me that my car should be acting the same way after the new part that was supposedly broken on it was installed. Should I pick it up only somewhat working properly? What should I do? Does anyone know of anywhere in St. Louis I should take it to get a second opinion?