I'm starting to think about my transmission.

[Gsir08]

Edit: Its a 5 speed if I didn't make that clear right away.

So now that I've got a pretty solid OBW, actually extremely good since the motors fresh, and the rest of the car is in very good shape except for a few minor problems that will get fixed as I put money into this. But it is still my daily driver and all of us know that getting the best car you could have for the cheapest price is best so I try to spend only the money thats necessary on this car. Not much fails on these cars but I'm beginning to wonder about my transmission. This transmission was swapped out of my 1996 OBW and put in my 97, and when I bought my 96 the car had about 215,xxx miles on it. And now about 20,000 miles later that tranmission is in my 97. It seems to be in quite fine shape, although I'm sure it would shift smoother with a new set of syncros in it. But I dont know the maintenance record of this trans and I'm basically wondering how much could I expect out of this one with normal driving conditions. It does get the occasional gear grind because of clutching issues or whatever(it happens occasinally maybe once every few weeks I'll grind second for a quick instant) I'm also wondering what would be the best bet if this trans starts to go downhill? How much is the average price to get new syncros installed and all gone through. Or would I be better off finding another good low mileage 5 speed?

[idosubaru]

Trans failures happen but aren't common. Input shaft bearings, torque bind, front diff, synchro's can fail.

 

With moderate driving as a daily driver I would expect the synchro's to outlast other potential issues. I've known older 80's Subaru's to last a very long time without any substantial change in synchro issues, so I would expect the same with newer ones. I would change the trans gear oil to a high quality synthetic, maybe even Redline...but I'd read some reviews of those who have more substantial info on that than I have.

 

Personally I'd rotate the tires often and get the best gear oil I can in there and call it a day. The synchro's will tell you over time how bad they are....how quickly they deteriorate, or in my experience, stay the same.

 

Should the trans start to fail a low mileage used unit is a far better bet in my opinion than a rebuild. Given the low rates of failures the transmissions are cheap and easy to find.

 

If you did rebuild the synchro's, replace the input shaft bearing for sure.

 

Another option is to just source a good low mileage unit and plan on swapping it when the clutch needs replaced....which might not be a very long time if you drive moderately.