Guest BFP-closed Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 ok ive got a 1983 4door car EA81 and a 2 wheel drive auto tranny. got it about 2 weeks ago. everything was fine with the car... only issue was when it was cold (overnight) the tranny would not want to shift out of first gear until it had warmed up. after that it would shift just fine. So i was driving down the freeway yesterday, and i happened to notice that my tach said 6000!! took my foot off the gas, and there was no tranny there to grab a gear! i pulled over... 1st and 2nd work just fine.. but no third. it almost tries to grab 3rd gear, but just goes neutral. can i fix this myself? is this a chance to make it into a 3 speed manual-automatic?? can you build these trannys like a freight train to tolerate many years of abuse?? if not ill just stick another one in there i guess... HELP!!!!! thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 I'll try to beat the "convert it to a manual" crowd... Oh, and the "search first" crowd... The 3-speed automatic (aka 3AT) has a couple of problems, mostly having to do with low, dirty, and/or burnt ATF. Check the fluid for level and color/smell, this will give you a clue. If the fluid isn't burnt looking or smelling but is low, top it up (I'm sure that you have already thought of that one). If the fluid is low, and if after you fill it up you get a white smoke screen behind the car, then it is likely that your vacuum modulator diaphram has ruptured, adn the modulator needs to be replaced ($10-$30). You can check for this by pullin off the vacuum hose where it attaches to the side of the trannyand see if its inside is wet with ATF. The other major, and most likely, problem involves the governor assembly on the passenger side of the tranny, almost directly above the axle shafts. The governor assembly is used to tell the trannywhat your road sed is for automatic shifting. It has a gear that is driven off of the final drive pinion shaft, and this gear sometimes strips. The other trouble spot in this assembly is the valve itself, which the gear and its shaft spins. This valve get gummed up and doesn't move which causes all sorts of shifting issues. There are some excellent writeups on how to clean this up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BFP-closed Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 tranny fluid is fine.... actually i must admit - i put some of that lucas tranny fix in there.. (helped a bit with the cold shifting) BUT i do hear a new noise now.... its like a weeeeeeeeeeeee sould much like a small sounding shaft thats not engaging properly... its a quiet sound - but it wasnt there before... is this something that i have to take the tranny apart to fix? thanks PS - Ive heard you can make a manual automatic.... actually ive heard of doing it with GM trannys - not sure if its possible with a subaru one or not - its still automatic - but you have to tell it what gear you want by selecting it wiht the shifter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85Sub4WD Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 Ive heard you can make a manual automatic.... actually ive heard of doing it with GM trannys - not sure if its possible with a subaru one or not - its still automatic - but you have to tell it what gear you want by selecting it wiht the shifter Um - if you mean upshifting/downshifting when you want to, you can already do that by putting it in 1 and shifting to 2 when you want to, and then to 3 when you want to and vice-versa - ALL manual and automatic transmissions are different - in the case for Chevy, they probably did not allow you to select certain gears manually (Subaru already does) - but whatever you do to it, you will still have the same planetarty gear box (NOT like a stickshift's mechanism). If you are curious about the actual mechanical mechanisms, I urge you to find some diagram/pictures of the two trannies - they are quite different and interesting designs. I am wondering if you don't have a slipping transmission band - I would have that checked, because that could explain the freewheeling in 3rd. Another possibility is a burnt-out clutch. (yes autos have multiple clutches embedded inside them) Convert to 5-speed at the earliest oppertunity, I have never seen an Auto by ANY manufacturer of ANY age that I liked - the stickshift is inherently more reliable and economical because when you fully engage a gear you lock the engine through the gear reduction to your wheels and clutches are an infrequent replacement if driven properly (I've seen clutches last longer than auto trannies) - some autos can come close to matching a manual's fuel economy - but not to beating it. I guess what bugs me is that domestic manufacturers and most imports have stopped offering manual transmissions in the US on some or all car models. I guess we Americans are lazy, but it is rather annoying because I hate the lack of control one deals with when driving an automatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratsrus1 Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Hey Penguin This is Jerry, i have a 84 hatch that has the front wheel drive auto. It runs and drives not much to look at. It's for sale 100.00 take it home with you, or if anybody else wants it same price. Let me know Thanks Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BFP-closed Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 the gear was the issue! got it outta there and sure enough it was all rounded out. got a new one in there, and now it works great! thanks all~! the info and the walk-thru guide really helped!! -Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BFP-closed Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 ok.. I drove the car about 100 miles, and the same thing just happened again this morning!! I dont understand how the gear can get striped out like that!! the replacement one i got was made out of metal - not nylon. it was used... but looked to be in good shape. whats going on here? ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85Sub4WD Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 what kind of shape is the govenor in? if the govenor is frozen, that could be your problem Generally speaking - check the condition of what it is meshing with that is a really weird problem alright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BFP-closed Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 It was a used governer.. but it seemed to be in ok shape... I was hoping not to have to take the tranny out. :^( what kind of shape is the govenor in? if the govenor is frozen, that could be your problemGenerally speaking - check the condition of what it is meshing with that is a really weird problem alright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XSNRG Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 I have a '88 2wd auto with 80k miles. Let me know if all else fails... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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