bdecriscio Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Hi All, Trying to diagnose intermintent transmission problems. 1999 Outback wagon 4eat tranny. The transmission has been rebuilt after missing the fact that all my prior problems were caused by a loose wire inside the dropping resistor. Anyway, all was fine for awhile, then the same problem of tranny going into limp mode returned ,only sporadically. When I looked at the smaller wires that are external to the resistor, they were pretty nicked up from probings etc. I taped them up and the tranny ran fine for about six months. Recently it has started to shift extremly hard, up and down on occassions. If I shut the engine off and restart, it goes away. Now however there are no flashing at or check engine lights and nothing shows up in memory when I get it to the tranny shop. I shoud mention that the dropping resistor in the car is not new, it was picked up from a salvage yard during my prior frustrations. Obvious question is should I replace it or as some suggest, disconnect it. Also, if I'm missing any other potential causes of this behavior I welcome any input P.S. Any good places to get one online? Thanks Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdecriscio Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 Hi all, 1999 Outback, 2.5 with 4eat, 100000 miles. I'm trying to diagnose an intermintent problem. The transmission was rebuilt last summer after failure to diagnose a loose wire inside the dropping resistor. It was replaced with a used one (the resistor)and all was fine for awhile. When the transmission started to go into limp mode again, I checked the small wires that are external coming out of the resistor and found them pretty nicked up from all the probes etc. When I taped them up, the problem went away for about 4 months. Now I have different problems, slamming hard up and down shifts w/o any codes, flashing or check engine lights. If I shut the engine off and restart, all is fine for a day or so. The tranny guy always goes to the effort to find any stored codes and diagnostics for other potential reasons but it gets confusing as to whether it might be tps or maf sensor or moisture etc. I'm thinking It probably is the dropping resistor but I'm asking for any input before replacing it. Also, some members recommend disconnecting it permanantly. Any opinions on that? Will it hurt anything to do that? If I do disconnect and the problem goes away is that a logical conclusion? ( I'm sure I would have to keep it disconnected for awhile to confirm that) Thanks in advance, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Woooooooooooooooh why oh why was the transmission rebuilt? A dropping resistopr will not cause a transmission failure. In fact some people disconnect them because they want quicker shifts. Subarus shift hard sometimes, sometimes they don't. What exaclty was wrong with previous transmission? I know 99 has delayed engagement issues, but that is not caused by a resistor issue. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdecriscio Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 Thanks for the reply Nipper. The issue that caused the rebuild was long and convuluted, basically it wasn't needed, The engine had been removed for a head gasket job, no tranny problems before. After being put back together, the tranny would only run in the limp mode. I took it to 3 trans. shops and an auto electric shop to determine if it was electrical or trans related. I also told all mechanics involved about the possibilty that the dropping resistor was the problem. Two shops put in a complete valve body with all new solenoids since the codes were showing a line pressure fault. When the problems remained, the last mechanic rebuilt it, still no success, then opened the dropping resistor to find it had been bent and separated one of the internal wires. This caused the frying of the solenoid and the continuing problem. A replacement dropping resistor and one more new solenoid finally corrected the issue. Anyway, from then(July) to now, it has been as mentioned, different and intermintent problems. I would love to find the solution w/o putting any more replacement problems than neccessary. Thanks again for any help. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdecriscio Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 I ment replacement parts, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 And this is why I hate transmission shops. They rank right up there with the Taliban in my book. There comes a time to go to the dealer, which is the first place you should have gone. Dealers don't want to sell transmissions, but they have the skills and expertise to properly diagnose a tranny. I am still not convinced that you have any real problems, especially for a 19998. Hard shifting at times is normal for 4eat's. Did anyone ever put pressure gauges on the car and take it for a test drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdecriscio Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 I agree 100% about transmission repair shops versus the dealer for these issues. However, The shift problems before and after the repairs are very real, sudden extreme shifts from I assume 4th down to 2nd for no reason and then extreme violent shifts upward till I restart or try to get to a scan tool to diagnose. Sometimes when it was the limp mode problem it would go away within a few miles of driving. I know the rebuild was unneccessary but in fairness to the tranny guys, I was dealing with a mechanic who had pulled and reinstalled the engine, damaged the pan(wouldn't admit it up front) so that led us on a goose chase for internal damage-there was none. Sorry for all the extra info being metered out but as I said, a long sad process to get where I am today. Bear with me, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I agree 100% about transmission repair shops versus the dealer for these issues. However, The shift problems before and after the repairs are very real, sudden extreme shifts from I assume 4th down to 2nd for no reason and then extreme violent shifts upward till I restart or try to get to a scan tool to diagnose. Sometimes when it was the limp mode problem it would go away within a few miles of driving. I know the rebuild was unneccessary but in fairness to the tranny guys, I was dealing with a mechanic who had pulled and reinstalled the engine, damaged the pan(wouldn't admit it up front) so that led us on a goose chase for internal damage-there was none. Sorry for all the extra info being metered out but as I said, a long sad process to get where I am today. Bear with me, Bob Wee need all the info. Alot of tranny issues are not tranny issues at all but actually engine issues. Has anyone scanned the ECU for codes? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdecriscio Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 Yes, The tranny guy who ultimatly rebuilt and then (fixed?) the dropping resistor issue has been as helpful as I could expect, hooking up his scanner and searching for stored codes when I get there. Unfortunatly, I can't recreate the problem when he has the car and no codes show up on the memory. His software suggests some potential isues such as the throttle posistion sensor or the maf sensor etc. but that takes me back to square one. I know that there is some electrical issue versus an internal tran. problem but in the meantime I have a decent vehicle with a good engine and new subaru head gaskets and a rebuilt tranny but not a dependable vehicle. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 MAF sensor doesnt feed back to the transmission, but the TPS does. The TPS may be dirty or have a weak spot in it. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdecriscio Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 Good info, I'll go in that direction first. Two more questions though, Do you think the small knicks in the external wires of the dropping resistor are ok? I did tape them up and w.D.40 them and also how do you clean a TPS? I'm more than willing to buy a new one if that makes more sense. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 small nicks are ok. IM thinking the TPS has an issue that may not be reproduceable, but first just remove the connector clean it and put it back on. See what happens. Very few things will put the transmission in limp mode. One of them is a loss of both VSS sensors. Check that harness and plugs too. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdecriscio Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 I'll follow up and report back, on a lighter note, we are getting our first significant snow of the season here in central Pa. I'm not real happy but I swear my Subaru is smiling! Thanks for all the info Nipper, I do appreciate it. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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