My wonderful 1987 Subaru GL wagon has served me very well and the engine is still running strong although it's far from perfect.

 

However, the vehicle has the original automatic 3 speed transmission which I had extensively serviced (taken apart, many internal parts replaced, and all seals replaced) about 2 years ago. Suddenly last week I find the car will not go into 3rd gear no matter how high the RPMs get. The car won't go into reverse either.

 

I'm posting this to find out if there is anyway this could be a fairly simple fix or if the symptoms indicate that it's definately major transmission problem. Because of the age of the vehicle and extent to which the engine leaks oil it isn't worth another large repair investment to me. I checked the transmission fluid and it's fine.

 

I'd appreciate any advice or assistance. I'm in San Diego, CA. Thanks!

Sounds like the high/reverse band/clutch gave up the ghost, or the hydraulic actuator did. Yank the engine, do a re-seal, and either rebuild the transmission or convert it to a manual. (or sell it to one of us for cheap lol)

Sounds like the high/reverse band/clutch gave up the ghost, or the hydraulic actuator did. Yank the engine, do a re-seal, and either rebuild the transmission or convert it to a manual. (or sell it to one of us for cheap lol)

 

Thanks for the increadibly quick reply. This kind of work is way out of my league however. I can do simple maintenance and exchange easily accessible parts but nothing like this. I still love the car though and believe the engine will continue to get the job done as long as it has oil in it. So one last question, must the transmission be completely disassembled/rebuilt to fix it as you've diagnosed the problem? If so, this vehicle will be on the classified section here very soon and "for cheap" no less. If there is anyone on the BB here in SD that wants to take a look (either to fix it or buy it you can PM me).

I was going to say "governor" before I noticed the "no reverse".

 

What does the transmission do in neutral? How about Park? Our DD ("Christine"...) was bought for cheap because it wouldn't go in reverse. In fact, it had 6 forward speeds: It would try to go forward no matter what gear was selected. After a fluid change and some messing around with it, I got it to break loose and behave itself.

 

Afterwards, I looked at a spare 3AT and realized that I could have fixed it without the melodrama. The band's actuator can be accessed externally on this transmission; the actuator housing is on the passenger side just before the transfer/tail housing. Open this up and you should be able to clean the actuator.

okay.....

 

is there anywhere (handy) that i might be able to read up enough on automatic transmission function, to understand what you guys are talking about?

 

i have pretty much always considered automatic transmissions out of my league. I would like to confirm or refute that, if possible. should i just do a search? :insert sheepish grin here:

I just went to www.howstuffworks.com

After an hours worth of reading ive got all the concepts straight in my head and have a fair idea how it all works, except planetary gearsets. If anyone knows a good site explaining those please enlighten me.

Having rebuilt 3 of these tranys I would say that yes the reverse 2-3 band has either failed or is out of ajustment. You could try ajusting it and see if that helps. I use the method that is in the Haynes manual. It is an easy procedure done with the car on jackstands.

Having rebuilt 3 of these tranys I would say that yes the reverse 2-3 band has either failed or is out of ajustment. You could try ajusting it and see if that helps. I use the method that is in the Haynes manual. It is an easy procedure done with the car on jackstands.

 

Hey thanks so much for the diagnosis. This job is still out of my league for at least 2 reasons. First, I live in an urban area and don't even have off street parking. Second, I don't have the time/patience/tools to get it done. I am now considering getting it looked at professionally or if there is someone on this BB who wants to/can do it please let me know.

You could try what I did: Change the ATF, add a cleaner (like SeaFoam), warm it up, then "jack up" the torque converter in Reverse or Neutral (assuming that it tries to go forward while in Neutral). I did this several times over 4-5 minutes and the stuck band/actuator came unstuck. (It was obvious when it happened.)