I have a 98 Impreza. A little while back it started popping out of 4th while driving thrn 3rd and 5th followed. First question what would cause this? Second question I was going to take it to my mechanic to get the transmission checked. It backed out fine went into first fine, but when I tried to go in second it would not go in gear and would not go into any gear after that. What would cause that? I am mechanically retarded, the second sounds like a clutch issue, but I'm lost on the first issue. The car only has about 135k miles on it. Any info would be greatly appreciated

This sounds like a transmission failure. Pull the dipstick and see what the fluid looks and smells like. I'd be willing to bet the input shaft bearing is going out, that's the most common issue in theses transmissions

Guess that means a new transmission? I checked the fluid it looked grayish if I recall correctly. I can check it again. What should it smell like and what should I be looking for in the fluid?

If its looking grayish that's a bad sighn, I bet that if you drain the fluid you'll see a lot of metal. I would say transmission replacement would be the best course at this point

Booger. I was hoping it was something simple like the clutch.

More expensive maybe,  You would have to pull the tranny anyway to get to the clutch.  If you're gonna replace it, do the clutch, as well as the rear main seal on the engine just because you have it all apart and it's a deep seated component to get to if IT ever goes bad.

Mainshaft bearing in the trans went bad. Its a common failure. Had you taken it to have it looked at when it started popping out of 4th you could have put a new bearing in it, and it would likely have been fine for another 100k or more miles.

Trans is toast at this point. Need a new (used) transmission and you will definitely want to replace the clutch while there is easy access.

 

Rear main seal hardly ever leaks on these, and often they start leaking after being replaced. The separator plate is the major source of leaks and is almost always mistaken (by people unfamiliar with Subarus) as a bad rear main seal. There is another o-ring on the access cover on the back of the block that can leak as well.

Kind of figured I entered the realm of the new transmission. With tge engine only having 134k on it how far can it go with a new trans? I'm kicking around the idea of upgrading tics wrx or wrx sti.