Hey all,

 

The AWD in my '95 Subaru Legacy is DONE! Ka-put! No Mas! Nada! Nothing!

 

My question to you all is, if it was your car and you otherwise plan on driving her to the most noblest of deaths, would you spend ~$1000 to have the AWD rebuilt. I've been able to get around just fine the past year with no AWD with only some minor inconveniences but, you know...AWD is a nice safety feature, even in the rain or on sharp curves.

 

Some quick background: 1995 Subaru Legacy Sedan (sorry, I said that already). Almost exclusively dealer maintained on schedule. ~148,000 miles. No other problems THAT I'M AWARE OF...

 

So WWYD (what would you do)?

 

Thanks kids!

 

-V5

well, there's a couple of things.

If you have owned it for quite some time, what work has been done recently---meaning, are you looking at other costly repairs soon?

 

If the car was in great shape I would fix it being in the snowy notheast.

Whether I would do it living in Oregon...not sure

I wouldn't hesitate if the rest of the car is in good shape,beats a car payment any day of the week.

John

Have the transmission replaced for 500 bucks. Screw a rebuild.

Have the transmission replaced for 500 bucks. Screw a rebuild.

 

why? u really think that always solves a situation? If the tranny has been maintained well, and not drivin, like a maniac, and shifts smooth, and perfectly, why not get the 1 part of the transmission fixed, SURE he might find a used one, but what if it has another problem, there is no garrauntee the last person maintained it as well as he did. And people have been push there trannies to 300,000Miles, and still running fine.

 

Just one suggestion, GET this tranny work, from a reputible Dealer ship, DO not go to a tranny shop.

Junk yard parts are junk yard parts might just be buying another problem....Might get a good one also???Luck of the draw.

I had a good friend who owned a shop and it was about 50/50 on customer supplied used parts.Nothing like paying twice(Labor) for the savings of a used part.

Easy, been there done that. At 187,000 miles i had mine rebuilt. The tranny was fine, and i didnt want to inherit someone elses problem. I can see how TB can be a reason some soobies end up in the junk yard.

 

nipper

Hey all,

 

The AWD in my '95 Subaru Legacy is DONE! Ka-put! No Mas! Nada! Nothing!

 

-V5

 

Can you detail what is Ka-put, as in there are more reasons, or symptoms to be considered. Saying your AWD is broken without the details is not the whole story. Does it achieve FWD with the jumper in place? Has the wiring been checked? Has the transmission been regularly serviced? Error codes?

 

It's easy enough to say:"ok let's throw a tailshaft housing at it" (probably that $1000 you speak of) but has the other stuff been eliminated? Because without eliminating the other stuff you aren't fixing anything, just throwing parts at a situation that may, or may not, fix it.

 

I have not been inside my transmission @300,000 miles, I am not saying that I will not get there, and if there I would be happy to report on the cost of the AWD clutch pack, but I did have a poor connection one time (easily fixed) that caused the dreaded TB.

i would go the rebuild route, especially the 95 trans from my experiences they have alot of issues with slow reverse (does not want to engage right away) which is normally an internal seal issue. you could wind up with one of them used and have to tear it back out. i dont know if i would just jump to having it done by a dealer, just find a trans shop with a good reputation.

assumeing nothing else is wrong with the car I'd do the rebuild. If you were to shiop around I bet you could get a reliable job done for $800 up there, it might take a drive to do it though.

Check for Richie Rich on this board (Subaru mechanic) and see if he can reccomend a place near you. You might have to pm him.

replacing the trans is a bad idea. if money is an issue i'd suggest considering replacing the rear extension housing with a used unit. post in the parts wanted forum and call some yards. if you find a cheap unit that's known to be good then that's an option that would probably run $500.

replacing the trans is a bad idea. if money is an issue i'd suggest considering replacing the rear extension housing with a used unit. post in the parts wanted forum and call some yards. if you find a cheap unit that's known to be good then that's an option that would probably run $500.

 

Do yards actually sell this seperate? I would think they would be hesitant to split up a transmission.

If it is a tranny with another problem they will break one up. The real problem in wrecking yards is they often know nothing about a car. If you had a friend that ,say, blew third gear, you might be able to get a deal on a known good extension. Sometimes a Subaru place will take one out for another problem and sell you a good extension, they know extensions are valuable and would save them.

what he just said. yes yards will sell that part if they have a bad trans. i'd post on this forum in the parts wanted forum as a first step, if price was an issue. if not, then dump the grand and be done with it.

Gary,

 

Do you think an indy would charge him a full grand? Seems like a couple of local guys here have gotten that done for closer to $800. That's not at the dealer though.

Can you detail what is Ka-put, as in there are more reasons, or symptoms to be considered. Saying your AWD is broken without the details is not the whole story. Does it achieve FWD with the jumper in place? Has the wiring been checked? Has the transmission been regularly serviced? Error codes?

 

It's easy enough to say:"ok let's throw a tailshaft housing at it" (probably that $1000 you speak of) but has the other stuff been eliminated? Because without eliminating the other stuff you aren't fixing anything, just throwing parts at a situation that may, or may not, fix it.

 

I have not been inside my transmission @300,000 miles, I am not saying that I will not get there, and if there I would be happy to report on the cost of the AWD clutch pack, but I did have a poor connection one time (easily fixed) that caused the dreaded TB.

 

 

Raveeen

What did you mean when you said "but I did have a poor connection one time (easily fixed) that caused the dreaded TB."

Can you explain what happened and what the solution was that you refer to?

thanks