1999 Legacy L 2.2 liter engine A/T 165K on Odo.

 

Car runs great but shifts a little slow sometimes allowing a small rev increase during shift. (I drive with a very light touch) Trans fluid is clean and no burnt smell. Had filter cleaned.  Just got the car but believe it was stored or at least not driven for a while. Looking for the best possible tonic to add to the trans fluid to help restore it if that's what it needs or any other suggestions to help restore it to maximum functioning. 

 

Thanks

Suggest draining and filling with new ATF three times, with short drives between drain and fills. The reason for the 3 fills is that only about half of the ATF can be drained from the tranny, the remainder stays in the torque converter. The 3 fills gives a better refill of fresh ATF. With last fill, add some Lucas transmission additive.

Suggest draining and filling with new ATF three times, with short drives between drain and fills. The reason for the 3 fills is that only about half of the ATF can be drained from the tranny, the remainder stays in the torque converter. The 3 fills gives a better refill of fresh ATF. With last fill, add some Lucas transmission additive.

 

this but i dont know about the lucas. i tried lucas in mine but did so before the 3 drain and fills and my trans did not like the lucas and shifted weird with it in there i was afraid of the drain and fill because of not knowing how long its been but my fluid was clean and people here told me the transmissions respond very well to drain and fills so i did and did not add a lucas when finished. im happy with the results.

I am doing the three change plan. How many miles between changes would you suggest?  I notice that the oil is quite a bit thicker when cool then when hot yet new in bottle is quite thin.  Does this suggest it's really old? It looked great and smelled great on the dipstick... but since the only real problem in shifting is when it's first started up... I am beginning to think this thickness could be the issue.  Haven't driven cold with second change (5 quarts) so I have no idea if it's helping yet.  

I will try the Lucas once finished the change out.... but am wondering if you know anything about the Seafoam Trans Tune vs Lucas.. and which Lucas... I notice there are two... a revitalizer and a stop slipping one

I am doing the three change plan. How many miles between changes would you suggest?  I notice that the oil is quite a bit thicker when cool then when hot yet new in bottle is quite thin.  Does this suggest it's really old? It looked great and smelled great on the dipstick... but since the only real problem in shifting is when it's first started up... I am beginning to think this thickness could be the issue.  Haven't driven cold with second change (5 quarts) so I have no idea if it's helping yet.  

Recommend you drive about 5 minutes between ATF changes to give the old and new tranny fluid a chance to mix well. Tranny fluid should not be thick at any time, so agree with you that the "thickness" could cause shifting problem when the motor and tranny fluids are cold. Maybe previous owner added some additive to the tranny fluid that results in thicker fluid to perhaps seal a leaky pan gasket??

UGH.. what a horrible thought... Perhaps I should do a 4th or even 5th change to make sure I get everything changed...???? 

Hi,

Yes...more the better. It doesn't need to be expensive ATF either....the Walmart DEXIII compatible works OK, IMHO. And if you notice an improvement you can go back and do the 'drain/refill/drive/repeat x 3' routine w/better stuff.

 

In addition, ensure you MANUALLY SHIFT thru all the gears when driving it..including Reverse (if not obvious).

 

And it's noted in the Owner's Manual, too, that after an ATF change the trans has to 'recalibrate/relearn/something' for the new fluid, so give it a few drive cycles AFTER you've done the drain/refill/drives to shift normally. 

 

And from my personal experience, Do NOT power flush a higher mileage Subaru trans....it may actually cause the trans' internal seals to leak, which will result in a dead trans....Just do the drain/refills.

 

If you do have  leaks around the pan, grab a 10mm wrench and LIGHTLY snug up the multiple bolts that hold it on....it helped mine.

 

TD

Well.. I've already started down the road using the Valvoline MaxLife synthetic ATF so I might just keep going with it so I don't have to do extra changes... They're not too hard as I do them from the dipstick with my pela 6000 but still..... 

Thanks for the tip about manually shifting... I'll do that. Never would power flush as I am a cheap-rump roast DIY'er all the way... (when I have the skills anyway)

DO NOT USE LUCAS OR OTHER ADDATIVES IN YOUR TRANSMISSION.

 

Make sure both trans filters have been changed.  At least on my wife's 1999 Forester there is a spin-on "oil filter" type mounted externally and a second, "traditional" AT filter, mounted internally.

 

If flushing the trans and changing the filters doesn't cure what ails your transmission, there is probably some physical damage that no amount of magical soup is going to fix.

+1 carfreak85

For what it is worth, there may be an external auto tranny filter on your car. It will look exactly like a spin on oil filter. However, the media inside the filter is different. Replacement external AT filters are available. Cost is about $30.

 

Don't bother dropping the tranny pan to change any filter in there. Just a waste of time.There is no internal filter, just a piece of screen wire that never seems to clog up. Dropping the pan also puts you at the risk of creating a leaky pan, as a pan gasket is nasty to remove and replace, and pan will want to leak afterwards. Not worth going down that road. You can tell I have been there before.

Rooster2, the funny thing is, I AM about to go down that path, having only recently replaced the spin-on, external filter.

 

This go 'round gets a full flush, change both filters and hope for the best.  Otherwise, this Forester may be looking for a new home...