The shifter sort of bonelessly flops around. Works if ya know where to find the gears, but kinda embarrassing when ya pass someone loudly and quickly, and do a 1st drop instead of a 3rd shift... not to mention the tranny probably doesn't appreciate it either. What part # or linkage centers up the shifter and makes it springy, and able to find the gears?

While I make it a point to not offer 'shot in the dark' advice in real life and on line, I had sloppy shifting and a rattle in almost all gears on my outback and found the bolt that connects the shifter to the linkage, essentially where the 90 degree bend is, to be loose. This is accessed from in the car. I didn't have to remove the shift knob or boot. Found the screws that keep the plastic trim in place, 2 on my car, and lifted it out of the way. There are some washers and a brass fitting that the bolt passes through as well. Took it all out, cleaned it, a touch of grease, and put a drop of some 425 loctite and the shifting is considerably more solid and feels more 'direct' for lack of a better term. As always, this may not be your solution but could be worth a look. If the Forester is radically different, sorry. Now back to Walker, Texas Ranger.

Edited October 16, 201015 yr by goof_ball

Sounds like your centering spring is missing.....

 

GD

the 98 Forester my Dad got has this too. Was a worn out bushing, he made a new sleeve for it, and also checked all other wear pivots. Now he says its the best shifting 5spd he's ever driven.

Pretty common on Subarus. You get to crawl underneath and inspect the linkage for the shifter. Lots of threads about this on the board here. Look at the bottom of this page under the "Similar Threads" heading for a few leads.

 

I know there was at least one with good pics of the linkage on here somewhere.

I'll check it out. Thanx!