Ducky23

Thanks! My mechanic friend brought the car home for me, and he noticed the tranny problem in the beginning. He told me to check the fluid and possibly start running full synthetic. But I never got around to it, mostly because I was unsure how to do that. I'm not confident with trannies because I usually don't work on them. I've had others be unable to drive it because they stall out at start up. It's somewhat finicky, but I have patient feet. And I've had a year to adjust and get it perfect. But it's not an operator issue, it's the transmission itself.

My 2000 Legacy Outback is a 5-speed. And first gear jerks the car around if I don't have the RPMs perfectly feathered until the clutch is all the way out. And fourth gear grinds 85% of the time. I've found that if my RPMs are around 3,000 it doesn't grind, and if I slip it in slowly it doesn't seem to grind as often as well. I don't know how to check my transmission fluid, to be completely honest.. This car is a lot newer than anything I've ever owned before, and I'm somewhat intimidated by the modernity of it. Any advice on what's causing these issues, how to fix it, and how to check the tranny fluid..?