My 2002 legacy 5-speed has that thing where the shift lever jumps back and forth on acceleration and deceleration, respectively. This is only in 3, 4, and 5. Mostly in 3 and 4. One and two are solid. It doesn't jump out of gear, and seems to roll down the road just fine.

 

I know something is loose somewhere in there...is this a fix-it emergency? As in, will this leave me walking all of a sudden?

 

Or maybe I should just wait until the HG goes bad and get it all done at once?

Sounds like your return spring is broken,missing try this thread:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42174&highlight=shift+return+spring

I disagree, sounds more like sloppy mounts to me. A broken return spring is pretty obvious.

 

Sounds to me like the shifter is moving about with the change in torque of the motor between acceleration and decel.

 

Biggest problem this causes is if it gets really bad your car may jump out of gear. Ive also heard somewhere it puts extra wear on the synchros.

 

If you hold your hand on the shifter and floor the thottle - do you feel the shifter move significantly?

i had that exact same problem.....i finally realized the shifter bushings have never been done in the life of the car (190,000 miles) and i had no return spring......i ended up getting a new trans though becuase of other internal problems........but at least for me the return spring did the trick.......

I disagree, sounds more like sloppy mounts to me. A broken return spring is pretty obvious.

 

Sounds to me like the shifter is moving about with the change in torque of the motor between acceleration and decel.

 

Biggest problem this causes is if it gets really bad your car may jump out of gear. Ive also heard somewhere it puts extra wear on the synchros.

 

If you hold your hand on the shifter and floor the thottle - do you feel the shifter move significantly?

 

Right, exactly as you describe. The shifter moves toward the rear of the car on acceleration, forward on deleceration.

 

First and second gears do not have this problem. I know that this is a clue but I don't know what it means.

 

I guess...is this an internal or external transmission problem? I'm hoping external, but I doubt that's it.

 

Also, will this fail totally catastrophically or will it eventually just start popping out of gear?

....its the exact same symptoms i had......do you notice anything wrong with the trans.....does it go smooth into every gear?..is it popping out?...etc...... if you dont have a haynes manual for your car may i recommend getting one......it is extremely helpful.....read through it and you will find diagrams of the shift linkage.....those little springs are exposed to the elements so they do corrode and rust and they do break....and when they do you will feel your shifter have some excessive play.......if you are able to take a look under the vehicle (as keltik said check the mounts and check to see if that little spring is there (it connects the shift rod and the stay rod).....

....its the exact same symptoms i had......do you notice anything wrong with the trans.....does it go smooth into every gear?..is it popping out?...etc...... if you dont have a haynes manual for your car may i recommend getting one......it is extremely helpful.....read through it and you will find diagrams of the shift linkage.....those little springs are exposed to the elements so they do corrode and rust and they do break....and when they do you will feel your shifter have some excessive play.......if you are able to take a look under the vehicle (as keltik said check the mounts and check to see if that little spring is there (it connects the shift rod and the stay rod).....

 

Thanks EVO. It shifts about as good as I would expect (as in, it's no Honda, but it's fine). It's not popping out. Really no drivability issues yet.

Yup my old Legacy had totally shot engine mounts. As the motor shifts slighty on acceleration it pushes on the shift lever.

 

If it were actually slipping out of gear or shifting into 2 and 5 sloppy, id suggest looking at the shifter bushes. But if all gears are engaging fine and your just getting a bit of movement - my theory is engine or trans mounts. Is this a 2WD soob by any chance?

Is this a 2WD soob by any chance?

After 1997, all Subarus sold in America were AWD.

Yup my old Legacy had totally shot engine mounts. As the motor shifts slighty on acceleration it pushes on the shift lever.

 

If it were actually slipping out of gear or shifting into 2 and 5 sloppy, id suggest looking at the shifter bushes. But if all gears are engaging fine and your just getting a bit of movement - my theory is engine or trans mounts. Is this a 2WD soob by any chance?

 

Hmmm....if it were engine or trans mounts, why would it not affect 1 & 2?

In my case it affected 2nd gear but not as bad, or at least it wasnt as noticeable - reverse was easily the worst.

 

Im open to other theories however - ive just never seen this caused by a bad transmission - usually the gears dont engage nicely in an old tired box.

I didn't have another theory, I just don't understand, likely a failing on my part...I'll keep poking around.

 

Thanks for the advice.