About to drive from PA to Wisconsin tomorrow and the transmission on my girlfriends outback has me concerned. 2000 Legacy Outback with the 2.5 and automatic trans. (295k) It has had the delayed forward engagement issue since she bought it and it was getting sticky again so we recently did a trans fluid flush with trans-X to clear it up. For the past month or so it has occasionally shifted hard when accelerating up a hill or under a lot of load. This morning, it's been acting very slippy. Didn't want to fully engage in drive for a while. If you accelerate hard, it often slips.

 

About to take it on an 800 mile drive is a little concerning. What's my best bet from here? I am thinking of adding some Lucas Oil or at least having it along. Anyone with more Subaru know how have some opinions on it? And going from here, is this fixable for the trans or should I be shopping for a new one?

to be honest i would go get a new one....they are a dime a dozen..... especially with that many miles on it....its alot for the 4eat tranny.

 

not saying i wouldnt trust it for a 800 mile trip because i would....just make sure all fluids are topped up and i would use a tranny fluid cocktail..... alot of people know about whats in it....i do not as i only have 116000 miles on mine and dont hafta do it yet....

 

good luck

 

-jarrid

I too, would be reluctant to take a car with trany issues, with that many miles on an 800 mile trip. It is just too easy to break down.

 

To give you an idea of what can happen, I had a 91 Subie with about 178K on odo, and took it on a 150 mile road trip. The trany seemed fine to start out with, but after about 50 miles, it seemed to slip, and the car would slow down when climbing interstate hills. About 20 miles from home a warning light lit on the dash stating that the automatic transmission was over heating. I pulled off the interstate right away, turned off the motor, and waited about 10 minutes. Upon restart, the warning light went out, but the car would not shift out of second gear. I took back streets to get home, and no amount of changing fluid, or adding additives revived that trany. It was shot. I would hate the above to happen to you.

 

I am thinking you are better off taking another car on the trip if possible.

If the fluid level is correct, I'd be wary of a long trip.

Depending on how quickly this slippage has been getting worse I would look into borrowing or renting a car depending on how long you will be away. The expense of you breaking down hundreds of miles away from home will be pretty large and the inconvenience would be great I would think.

My friend has your model. Hers is really nice. If your car in top shape otherwise, I think I would try the junkyard pick your part put it in... Or if the rest of car is so so, than I would get a new one. Sounds little too far gone for 800 miles.

It sounds like the 1/3 band is slipping. You can tighten it if you pull off the transmission extension housing. At some point the band will snap, as it is a moving parts. All moving parts eventually fail.

Once an AT is slipping, it's days are very numbered. Slipping tears up what, at that mileage, little friction material remains. Even if everything else in the AT is working fine, eventually the friction materials wear out, and that may be what is happening at that mileage.

 

Some used car places will add brake fluid to the ATF in this case to give it a little more life until they can sell the car.

Thanks guys. We're going to cross our fingers and pray a little and see if we can make it okay. I bought some Lucas slip stop and may get a little brake fluid along the way. I'll be shopping for a new trans once we get home. What years/models might be compatable?

Thanks guys. We're going to cross our fingers and pray a little and see if we can make it okay. I bought some Lucas slip stop and may get a little brake fluid along the way. I'll be shopping for a new trans once we get home. What years/models might be compatable?

 

You have to make sure you get a trans that is both compatible and that also has had the Duty C Solenoid and AWD clutches replaced.

Thanks guys. We're going to cross our fingers and pray a little and see if we can make it okay. I bought some Lucas slip stop and may get a little brake fluid along the way. I'll be shopping for a new trans once we get home. What years/models might be compatable?

 

 

I hope you alos have an AAA membership as insurance, let us know how you make out.

You might be able to carry the brake fluid as an 'emergency' use, i.e. if it starts acting up quite a bit. If you use the brake fluid, you may want to change the title of the thread from 'a little worried about this trans' to 'a lot worried'. Keep your foot out of it as much as possible. If you feel slipping, let up on the throttle or possibly try a different gear to get around it.

Whew! Made it! The trans held up fine. we babied it all the way and altered our route to take the highway as much as possible. (nearly going broke on the toll roads. The state of Illinois is a greedy fiend.) It slipped a little on a couple entrance ramps or pulling away from a toll booth, but otherwise seemed okay. Checked when we got here. Fluid has that nasty burning smell so I'm certainly in the market for a good used trans for the car. We'll share my Impreza until I get her car fixed. Any good info/leads would be much appreciated.

Glad you made it. Before you spend money on a new trans drain the fluid and refill three times. Also add in a thi for Lucas stop slip. It might buy you some life. IL is less greedy than it used to be. I'm from there and moved out to mass 7 years ago. Every frakkig road has tolls here both getting on and off.