Hi Everyone,

 

New to the forum, have been reading lots of great posts. I have owned several Subaru's but never encountered this. I recently bought an 89 DL Sedan that the prior owner said had "transmission problems". When you put the car in gear it makes a horrible grinding sound:eek:. Auto tranny fluid is red and does not smell burnt, however gearbox fluid shows none on dipstick and when I fill it runs out the bottom. I have not had a chance to pinpoint location of leak. Guy said he was driving the car and all of the fluid came out and it started grinding. Don't know that i beilive him, but it's what I have to go on.

 

Has anyone ever encountered this? I presume I have to replace the entire tranny / gearbox? I believe it is a 3AT. Have never attempted this replacement. Any thought or comments would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Scott

toasted front diff

 

get another trans

The diff is cooked.

The transmission is not very difficult to replace. if you pull the motor, there are just 2 crossmember bolts , 2 axle pinsand the cooling lines and shifter to unhook, and you can pull the trans out from under the hood with an engine crane.

 

otherwise, taking the trans out from under the car, you have the exhaust pipe to contdend with and the car has to be up off the ground enough. easiest to jack the car from one side if you do this.

 

you will have more wiggle room for the axles if you pull the motor first. You can avoid popping ball joints or taking off a control arm this way.

Yuck, I was afraid of that. Is the differential / trans one unit? How hard is it to replace? You have to remove the axles, right? I found one with 98k miles on it for $185 don't know if this is reasonable. Also, do I need special tools to pull the axles?

 

Thanks,

Scott

Edited October 27, 201015 yr by workin4weekends

Yes thats reasonable. Yes it is as easy to replace as any tranny. Yes you have to remove the axles. And yes for all arguments sake they are one unit.

 

The things of wierdness in those years. Make sure the splines are the same amount. Alos make sure the frt and rear diff ratios are the same.

Thank you again. for the wonderful info. My car was manufactured 10/88 and I am told by the reseller of the trans that I need an early trans which his is. Would this cover the gear ration. My car is FWD, not 4WD if it makes a difference.

Can anyone recommend a good book (or 2) for me to tackle this project myself? I have a Chiltons manual and am not impressed.

Hayes will cover it.

Thanks, I will pick one up. Found some good books on older Subies but not much for this year model. Would also like to find a book that would give me different engine and tranny info and just good general info on the cars if anybody has a suggestion.

how about fix the leak and see how it does, work it until it gives? damage is done but the leak is probably not hard to fix.

 

there really aren't any books. chilton's, haynes, and the Subaru FSM is about it. best resource is probably here. there's quite a few threads about engine pulling, trans pulling, trans swaps, etc. start a thread with specific quesitons you might have as you go or before you start.

 

if you can do a trans swap then you can probably land yourself in a nicer/newer vehicle too.

Thanks grossgary. I didn't know if it was too far gone at this point to try to fix it. I haven't pinpointed the leak yet as the whole undercarriage is covered in oil right now. The guy I bought it from drove it about a 2 miles completely dry and I pulled it up in my driveway dry so I don't know how much more damage has been done. I actually have a newer car. This is probably the cleanest 89 I have ever seen so I couldn't pass up the deal. It is actually going to be a first car for my youngest kid next year. I worked for Subaru when these were new, but never had much experience with the drivetrain and all of the Subaru's I ever owned were standard trans.

 

I have to agree with you that reading these boards, there is A LOT of great information, i have printed a few things out. It's also made me want to find an old wagon or hatchback with the hi/low transfer case and jack it up and make a toy out of it. This could get more costly than I thought....LOL Anyway, thanks for the info and I appreciate your reply!

 

Scott

it's more than likely too far gone but diff oil is easy enough that it might be worth a shot for some. you're a mechanic so i'll state the obvious for anyone else following, once a diff starts making noise you're probably hosed.

 

i'd probably throw oil in and see what it sounds like.

 

if the leak is from the side shaft seals (most likely) then you'll have to remove the retainer holding them in place - be sure to mark and reinstall it exactly the same number of turns and position, they set the backlash on the front diff...but i don't know maybe getting them wrong will quiet it down since it's flakey

 

good luck with it.

The nice thing about a diff when ti just starts making a whine (gets louder with speed), it is a very long hose to be hosed with, but never the less it is dying and needs replacement

I appreciate it guys, I hear ya on both accounts. Curiosity will probably make me have to see if i can get it to hold oil and run it for a little bit, but I already know its gonna be a project. I ordered another one yesterday, they put it on a freight truck today so I'll have it here when the big day comes.

 

I'm going to be offline for about a week and a half - leaving tomorrow for a little R & R, need a vacation!! I welcome comments, feedbacks, suggestions, book recommendations and the like, you guys have an excellent board going on here. Take care and I'll talk to you in a couple weeks.

 

Scott

given the lack of oil it's not worth fixing. just drop another one in place.

 

as for books, you really only have chiltons, haynes, and Subaru FSM's, that's your only options really.

 

we have the Subaru XT Factory Service Manuals hosted at subaruxt.com for free digitally. The XT was an EA82, though we have the 1988 which were 4EAT - but the trans removal will be identical. just download that and you're good to go. i also have the 1989 EA82 Subaru FSM.