i just bought a 1990 legacy 5 speed for my winter car, so i dont have to drive my '97. i picked up for a good deal, and the previous owner said he just had the clutch replaced somewhere. my problem is when i shift fro 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd the gears want to grind for a second before engaging, and the same thing happens when downshifting. anyone with any ideas???? i had a problem like that with a manual dodge before, and it was fixed by mopar manual trans. fluid. i thought subarus took a regular off the shelf gear lube. Has anyone had a similiar problem with there older legacy 5 speed? thanks for the possible help in advance.

you can try changing the transmission oil but i don't think that will help your grinding. but i guess it might. subaru XT6's often have a second gear grind (i think i've had 3 that have done that). in the case of the XT6 it is annoying, but has no affect on the transmission. i've driven them 200,000 miles no problem and the trans were still in great shape. don't know why, but i believe i recall a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) from Subaru titled "Second Gear Grind", but i never subscribed to the service to read it.

Make sure the clutch is porperly adjusted as a first step. In my older sooby i noticed if i shifted too fast it would grind, so I just shifted less aggressivly, and the tranny laster right up to 225K, when rust killed the car.

 

 

nipper

Yeah, check to make sure everything is working right with the clutch. There are two clips that hold the clutch fork onto the throw out bearing. It's possible something might be wrong with that.

 

If everything is good, it's probably the synchros....in which case, you'd have to tear into the trans to replace them.

thanks. after driving it more today, i noticed if i shift slowly, it hardly grinds. i think tom. i will replace the fluid, maybe with an additive, and test test drive it. and if i need to i will start to remove the trans. can you see the clips you are talking about through the rubber boot, where the clutch pedal freeplay is adj. ?? Does anyone have any recommendations for manual trans. fluid?