classact2575 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 And by 'that time,' I mean when the transmission finally kicks the bucket. If it ever does. :-p I love this car to pieces and it owes me nothing... right now it's on 169K, I bought it when it had 132K about 3+ years ago. The couple that had it before me took meticulous care of it -- I wish I could say the same, the only things I've had replaced out of necessity were the water pump, timing belt ("while we're in there"), rear catalytic converter & muffler, and front tires. However, I know that auto tranny is not going to last forever (I freak out that it's going to happen very randomly, since that's what the '85 family Volvo did with me -- started to hesitate when accelerating and it quit about 5 miles later :-p) and that at some point, it's not worth replacing. However... a Subaru guru told me that this particular model lasts a long, long time, and if you need to replace the tranny, it's an easy job and [relatively] cheap. The body is in generally good shape, although I swear I have to wash it daily whenever it snows here in N.Va - they pile the salt on the roads like crazy. There's a little rust spot above one of the wheel wells that I've treated with Permatex & will try to "patch over" with some bondo/paint so it doesn't look THAT obvious, ha. So - if it were up to you, and the car's tranny gave out tomorrow, would you can it? Or stick a new tranny in and drive around for another 150K? Just thought I'd get your valued opinions before I do anything drastic. :cool: [And, if you've read my other total newbie threads mainly on the torque converter not locking up -- still haven't had time to bring it to Andrewtech to see if one of the solenoids is on the fritz or the TCU is acting up. Which makes me curious as to whether the slightly excessive RPMs is going to kill the transmission that much faster or not.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screwbaru2 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Take care of the tranny. Get the converter issue checked /repaired. Change it's filter and fluid. If it goes and you like the car replace it, cheaper than another car. Thats part of the beauty of the soobs they last a long time with a little care and aren't very hard to work on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Any trnasmission from 1985 is a very differnt creature from a 1993. You have a computer controlled transmission with several davantages over anything pre 1990. -1 less moving parts then an older transmission -2 Better engine integration with the transmission operation -3 Faster shifts The older trannies would use accumulators and other forms fo hydraulic buffeing to smooth out shifts. They would not cut back engine power during upshifts, so there is alot of heat generated and wear. Computer controlled engines reduce engine torque momentarily to take the strain off the transmission while shifting. This is a huge wear saver. Also with a computer controleed they can engage two gears at once during an upshift as opposed to the older ones which could not (due to valve body limitations). This also saves alot of wear on the tranny. You can see over 200,000, possibly 300,000 miles on a subaru tranny as long as you regularly change the lubricant, and dont ignore any tranny warning lights. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 The thing about subaru transmissions is that they put a pair of drainplugs in the bottom. Changing the transmission oil and the front diff oil is as easy as changing the engine's oil. It's so easy to do, it's stupid not to. Do it every 15k miles, and the transmission will last fine. Not like the american POS's that you have to drop the pan and make a mess with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classact2575 Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 Excellent. So far no warning lights have gone on, ever, which is good. Or maybe bad if there really IS something wrong and it's not showing up. But yeah, nothing has ever light up on my dash. The only complaint I do have is that the gas mileage really varies - and not just that huge jump you see with city versus highway driving. I've gotten up to 36 mpg in the summer doing mostly highway, to 24 :eek: last week doing mixed w/about 75% highway. (Winter usually is lower, though, just not *that* much. 28-30 mpg is considered average in winter.) The thing about subaru transmissions is that they put a pair of drainplugs in the bottom. Changing the transmission oil and the front diff oil is as easy as changing the engine's oil. It's so easy to do, it's stupid not to. Do it every 15k miles, and the transmission will last fine. Not like the american POS's that you have to drop the pan and make a mess with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 The only complaint I do have is that the gas mileage really varies - and not just that huge jump you see with city versus highway driving. I've gotten up to 36 mpg in the summer doing mostly highway, to 24 :eek: last week doing mixed w/about 75% highway. (Winter usually is lower, though, just not *that* much. 28-30 mpg is considered average in winter.) awwwww poor baby. Blu gets 19/26 nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towel Rail Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 With a paid-for car, 24 MPG isn't going to break the bank. :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapdaddytatum Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 well if you do kill it, remember me im in charlottesville and buy and rebuild subaru's blown up, dead tranny, wraped around a tree, im interested thats my 2 cents, also i have transmissions rebuilt and ready to go scrapdaddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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