1997 Legacy Gt 2.5 Transmission problems

[Joenasnj]

I have a 1997 legacy gt 2.5 sedan AWD automatic trans. The car runs(did a whole head rebuild and reseal) and drives great except when i put in reverse. If i push the gas lightly it moves fine, but when i hit the gas hard i get a skipping grinding noise i think fro the front diff. If I hold the brakes the noise is bad and get no motion pressure on the brakes. My question is is the front diff bad and can it be fixed without doing the whole trans or is the whole trans bad? How are the JDM trans listed on E-bay?

 

Thanks Joe

[idosubaru]

if it's only in reverse, then i'm thinking it's not a front diff issue. if it's a front diff you'll have noise and problems forward too.

 

i'd buy a used transmission. subaru automatic transmissions are very reliable which is why they are so inexpensive to buy used (unlike your EJ25 which if you priced you'll see they're rather expensive due to high demand from head gasket failures).

 

i bought a used transmission for my 96 Legacy last year, runs perfectly fine and it was only $150 with 100,000 miles and a 3 month warranty from the yard. i got really lucky to find one that cheap, but look around and see what you can find.

 

keep the old one, or at least the rear extension housing (with the clutches and duty C in it) as a back up.

 

i have an automatic transmission for your car that has a bad front diff. it ran, shifted, and drove fine otherwise. if you wanted it to swap your good front diff onto let me know. i could get it to westminster maryland over the holidays.

[nipper]

i can see how it can be the diff.

 

Drain the diff fluid and see what comes out. Run it through a filter of some kind. If there is metal in it, your done with that tranny. Its not the diff gears itself, but the pinion gear that drives the ring gear on the diff that may have failed.

 

If it was inside the tranny you would have some issues going forward too as reverse uses some common parts with the drive gears.

 

nipper

[Joenasnj]

I checked the fluid and it is full but smells burnt. It does sound like skipping gears when i took a better look at it today.

[nipper]

I checked the fluid and it is full but smells burnt. It does sound like skipping gears when i took a better look at it today.

 

i think we may be spliting hairs here, as either way it sounds like you need a transmission.

 

 

nipper

[idosubaru]

i think we may be spliting hairs here, as either way it sounds like you need a transmission.

 

 

Nipper

+1

[Joenasnj]

Does anyone know about the JDM trans. lisated on e-bay? are they any good?

[keltik]

They dont seem to get the torque bind issues nearly as often as i hear about USDM ones exploding.

 

Most common issue with the JDM ones is crappy shifting caused by old fluid or a badly adjusted band. Dont often get major failures

[nipper]

They dont seem to get the torque bind issues nearly as often as i hear about USDM ones exploding.

 

Most common issue with the JDM ones is crappy shifting caused by old fluid or a badly adjusted band. Dont often get major failures

Huh?

 

Exploding?

 

I just think JDM trannies are a waste of money unless you can't find a used one in the USA.

 

And any tranny will shift hard with dirty old fluid.

 

 

Any AWD tranny will have AWD issues if the tires don't match, JDM or otherwise. We drive alot more and further then is custom for japan. Thats the only reason why wear issues show up here more often.

 

nipper

[idosubaru]

used transmissions are easily found and cheap, i wouldn't dump money into a JDM transmission. subaru 4EAT's are reliable to the extent that used is a great option. that's why they're cheap, low demand - unlike the motor which you've already learned the hard way. you can use up to a 1998 auto trans, just need to make sure the final drive ratio matches.

 

buy used and change the ATF and front diff gear oil.