I hope you guys can help me out. I was informed that possibly the auto-tranny was replaced in our 96 legacy wgn. Since we bought it, the AT OIL TEMP light flashes at start up. I've taken it in to Subaru (not a lot of knowledge there) they said it could possibly be the clutch pack. We had them do a tranny service and we still get the flashing light and a slight torque bind when cold. My bro-in-law who works on Subs and the guy that owns Aaron's in Seattle (Subie wrecking yard) both believe that another tranny or rear end was put into the car with a different gear ratio. I was told that most legacys have 4.10:1 with the exeption of a couple of earlier years. How would I identify those trannies with a different gear ratio? If I do have a mismatched ratio and the clutch pack is shot, what would be a good year for a used tranny to go into a 96? I heard 95,96,97 were prone to clutch pak problems. I won't be paying Subaru $1400 for a clutch pack rebuild when it will go out again if my bro-in-law is right. Thanks.

 

p.s. IT"S SNOWING IN SEATTLE! can't wait to drive my wife's car around just to see how it handles.

these are for the first gen legacy, may be of help.....

 

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/motor_trans_combo_spec.html

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/trans_spec.html

 

If you post the trans number, I can try and decipher what the ratio is from my books.

 

Also, the rear diff should say what ratio it is on it. Should be a label.

Thanks but those sites aren't much help. I first one didn't show any combos with a 2.2L? And the second I think was for manual trans (1 through 5 speed?) Besides, the car was made in Indiana and those sites were based from Japan. I will try and get a number for the trans. Is this number part of the VIN or is it tagged on the trans itself? I will also get the number for the rearend as well. It will be a few days, though since we have 4" of slush and ice on the gound and I don't have a garage. I appreciate any help.

ps. Is this a common occurance to install the wrong ratio trans or rearend in these cars? If those websites you provided are any indicator then Subaru used 4.11 and 3.90 ratios. This would wreac havoc on a clutchpack.

Get the number off the trans, it should be like a tz or something starting with that. I'll look it up in my parts books.

 

I wouldn't think it would be a common thing to get incorrect ratios installed. However it's possible. But I would expect fairly major problems/noises if they were wrong.