dirtywork Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I recently bought a 85 GL-10 2wd. I am a newb on this model of subaru! The car has tons of miles (285,000 or so). The transmission will not upshift (automatic trans) Its like its hung in first??? The fluid looks fresh and to the correct level. It shifted ok for the last month that I have been driving it. Now all of the sudden it is acting up. Previous owner says he has never had a trans problem. Please help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Vacuum modulator on the passenger side of the transmission. Also make sure the vacuum line is still connected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Vacuum modulator on the passenger side of the transmission. Also make sure the vacuum line is still connected. That would affect kickdown, not shift up. His problem is most likely the governor gear is striped. Canister looking thing on the passenger side. Needs remvoed and inspected, likelty replaced. Good news is that a replacement can be had from any 2wd or 4wd 3SPD auto trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Hhhmmmm - inspect the drive gear inside the transmission as well - sometimes they just eat govenors like candy due to a worn drive gear. If that's the case then you want to start looking for a transmission because it's not really worth repairing them - especially with that many miles on it. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdemaris Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I recently bought a 85 GL-10 2wd. I am a newb on this model of subaru! The car has tons of miles (285,000 or so). The transmission will not upshift (automatic trans) Its like its hung in first??? The fluid looks fresh and to the correct level. It shifted ok for the last month that I have been driving it. Now all of the sudden it is acting up. Previous owner says he has never had a trans problem. Please help Stuck governor? If so, it's an easy fix. Had to fix some of mine several times, on 80s Loyales with the three-speed automatics. Cars would run fine - and all of a sudden get stuck in 1st with no upshift. Every time -it was a 10 minute fix. Open the hood, reach down - and unbolt the governor. Clean it, free the stuck parts, re-install and worked fine, every time. Seemed to be a common problem in older Subaru three-speeds. That and having lousy 4WD since the rear-drive slipped because of that three-speed trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 If you can manually shift it from L to 2, then the governor is likely at fault as the others have said. (+1 on the governor.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtywork Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 Here is a update on the problem now that I have tested it a little more. The car will shift manually up through the gears and back down through the gears. Occasionally when up-shifting from 2nd to drive, it jumps into neutral and you have to take it back to 2nd and then back to drive again or you can bump it into the neutral position and back to drive and it will usually go into drive then. If you are in drive and up to speed and then slow down, the car will not shift down on its own, you must manually downshift to keep any sort of power. Maybe this extra info will help everyone diagnose my problems. Thanks in advance for all the help. I am so glad I found this forum, it is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtywork Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 So, should I inspect/replace the governor gear and plan to replace the vaccum modulator also? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 So, should I inspect/replace the governor gear and plan to replace the vaccum modulator also? inspect/clean, if you can't clean it, then replace it. the vacuum modulator is another story, I would clean the governor first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtywork Posted November 27, 2010 Author Share Posted November 27, 2010 OK, I have pulled the governor and the gear looks good, all teeth seem sharp with no signs of major wear. I took the clips/snap rings off and pulled the plunger out (it seemed to be hanging-but not sure since this is the first one I have taken apart). There seems to be some shiney small flakes mixed in the atf. My question is: Should the gear on the end of the governor turn if you are holding the shaft? If so then it is stuck. It will not turn at all. I did not attempt to force it since I am not sure what it should be doing. But I would not think that the whole governor assembly should be spinning around under the domed housing? Please help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Answered in your other, specific governor thread. Gear is fixed and the entire governor assembly spins with the gear. If you have disassembled the valve, all of the internal sliding parts should slide effortlessly without ANY catching or binding. They should slide "like a knife through butter". Kind of unusual to find metallic flakes up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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