Hi all,

 

we have a 97 Legacy with manual shift. It has been hard to get it into gear lately, I'm wondering if the transmission fluid is low. I can't find the dipstick for it though (maybe there isn't one?). Any help would be great.

 

Thanks,

 

chris

Hi all,

 

we have a 97 Legacy with manual shift. It has been hard to get it into gear lately, I'm wondering if the transmission fluid is low. I can't find the dipstick for it though (maybe there isn't one?). Any help would be great.

 

Thanks,

 

chris

The dipstick is on the left handside of the motor, if you are looking at the engine from the front. Near the back.

Probably not low, needs changed. How many miles?

 

Put in some Redline 75W90NS and you will be good to go!

Oh man, I still can't find it, driving me crazy.

 

The car has 152K miles. Its been hard to get into gear the past week. Do you think it just needs a fluid change?

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

Oh man, I still can't find it, driving me crazy.

 

The car has 152K miles. Its been hard to get into gear the past week. Do you think it just needs a fluid change?

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

Has it ever been changed? If not 150k is a lot of miles wo change.

You also might be missing the dip stick and that could have allowed dirt, dust into the fluid. Do you see the tube on the left hand, passenger side of the transmission?

Thanks for the replies :-)

 

It hasn't been changed to my knowledge. I did find the dipstick, had to move some wires out of the way. The level is well below the 'low' mark. I'm guessing I just add the fluid through the tube with a very long funnel.

 

Thanks again for the help, we don't have the funds to take it into the shop.

 

Chris

 

 

Has it ever been changed? If not 150k is a lot of miles wo change.

You also might be missing the dip stick and that could have allowed dirt, dust into the fluid. Do you see the tube on the left hand, passenger side of the transmission?

Thanks for the replies :-)

 

It hasn't been changed to my knowledge. I did find the dipstick, had to move some wires out of the way. The level is well below the 'low' mark. I'm guessing I just add the fluid through the tube with a very long funnel.

 

Thanks again for the help, we don't have the funds to take it into the shop.

 

Chris

Yep that is where you add it.

Do not take it to a shop, this is easy to do yourself.

The drain plug is directly under the tranny, unscrew it and then refil.

Just topping it off will not help too much. It needs to be changed if it has been in there for that long, before you really get damage.

If your car is an AWD your trannt shares the fluid with the transfercase so not only are you harming the tranny....

 

Use a good gear lube. I get a gallon of the stuff from the parts store and get a pump while I am at it. The pump has a tube attached to it so all you have to do is put the tube in the hole and pump it. Check around for the fluid capacity of the tranny/TC. On the side of the Geare lube bottle it says how many quarts are in there, use this to put in the right amount of fluid. This way you do not have to keep sticking the dip stick in and out and getting fluid everywhere. Use the dipstick at the end for final measure.

 

Hope this helps.