Avg. Lifespan of Legacy transmission?

[eteeple]

Hi all,

What a great place to find! This is my first posting. I have a 1994 Legacy, that I'm giving up to parts heaven. Last time I had a lot of work done (front axles), they looked at my transmission, and suggested that I not put too much more money into the car, as the transmission was going to go "soon". They said "soon" could mean two months or two years.

Anyway, that car was at 116,000. I'm addicted to Subarus now, and am looking at 92s with low mileage, or 94-95s, some of which have mileage in the 116 range.

My question is, is there a "general" age at which the transmission dies in a Legacy? I'm afraid of buying a 1995 with 116k, and having my mechanic tell me in a month that I'm going to need a new transmission.

What's the best way to check trans. out before you buy?

Thanks all!

[SubaruCO]

Your question has a few (a lot) of variables. First and formost when considering the life of a transmission is the way it was treated and the amount of maintence it recived over it's lifetime. Given a well cared for and non-abused subaru tranny, 200k is easily reachable. That being said one would expect to see a manual tranny last longer than an automatic if whomever was driving the stick knew what they were doing (less heat generated in a standard + no clutch packs to wear out)

Subaru transmissions have been traditionally quirky (much like the cars themselves). Manual transmissions more so than the autos. I have a 92 with a stick and 117k on the odometer and though my tranny has some notchiness to it it still shifts well. I change the fluid often, more in search of the best frictional vs. lubrication characteristics than anything else. First gear is a bit reluctant, but that is why I learned to double clutch and this has solved all my problems. (if you want an indestructable gear set look for MRT's dogbox www.mrtrally.com.au ) A while back I had my transmission open and everything still looked pretty good.

Lastly, never trust mechanics. Mechanics are salespeople as much as they are repair techs. When looking to buy a car the transmission (manual or auto) should have some demonstrable history of maintence. When driving a manual transmission should not grind while in gear or need to be forced into gear. Pay attention to how the clutch engages and its holding power as the clutch is separate from the trans itself but is commonly confused with a bad transmission. Autos should shift between gears without clunking and accelerate without shuddering or hesitation. With either trans make a good parking lot expedition and turn in tight circles in both directions. The transitions to turning and accelerating should be smooth. Any clunking or shuddering points to issues with the differentials in the AWD system.

Thats about all I can think of right now, and I'm sure the illustrious seinor members of the board will have something valuable to add as well.

NOTE: "a lot of work done (front axels)" - ha ha. I've changed so many subaru halfshafts on both my car and friends cars that I can probably do both fronts in 30 mins.

[Grant]

Excellent reply Marshall! I have seemed to observe a large amount of auto trannies giving up between 100-130K. This is just a personal observation. I know that at least one model, the SVX, was pretty much guaranteed to need a new tranny by 120K. The five speed can be a different story. With the right driver a Subaru transmission can last a long ass time. My Legacy is at 193K on original transmission AND CLUTCH! Now this has alot to do with the fact that the first 140K were all a 5 day a week 60 mile a day commute by the original owner. They only had the car serviced at Dineen Subaru in Cheyenne, WY where they bought the car and gave me all the service records when I bought it. I also checked them through the Subaru database. The only real repair was to CV joints and as Marshall has already pointed out, it is very common. My old 81 wagon had to have at least one replaced a year during the time I had it. Which transmission are you looking for? Which model too?

[Legacy777]

I've got 172k on my auto crap box. Granted the shifting and performance of it are not steller, but it still goes.

[Slick1100]

Almost 179k on the ticker and my auto slushbox is doing fine. I get the fluid flushed and filter changed once a year though.

Two questions though... Are the newer automatics better, and can they be swapped with the old ones?

Rob

[Legacy777]

I think in general yes, they are better. They have fixed/modified some of the internals.

Also I think the control logic is different. I'm not sure if you could swap the TCU over from a newer 95+ into an older OBD1 style.

[Grant]

My observation was mostly from my 7 months working at Subaru. Just seemed to be around there on the auto trannys I saw being replaced. I also saw 5 speeds too but usually with more variable miles. My favorite one was the dad who bought his son a WRX and couldn't understand why the clutch needed replaced at less than 10K miles. Saw three of those.

[ciper]

A 5 speed transmission should outlive every other part of the vehicle if driven correctly. The auto however can be from 100k miles to 250k miles in my opinion.

Ive got three auto legacy with over 150k. I had to replace one, but not because it failed from age but rather letting someone else touch my car ( a 1200 dollar mistake)

[93Leg-c]

My auto trans is almost at 218,000 miles. Sometimes takes a little while to get into reverse the first thing in the morning. But other than that, it works fine!

[greg donovan]

i bought my 95 w/150k on it. it now has 230k and the trans is ok. not pefect but it doesnt need anything done to it. a mechanic friend and i replaced the viscous clutch pack on it around 200k. but that had to be done becaus the previous owner didnt chage the fluid often enough. i am saving up for a used tranny w/less miles on it to put in when this one finally craps out.

[QuickDrive]

My car has started experiencing some torquebind.. Usually only after I do some hard cornering which has made me stop doing that.

Once torquebind starts how long do trannys normally last for?

It still drives near flawlessly under normal to hard straightline accelaration.

[bignose]

My 2 legacies

470,000km's 4EAT - 4th gear is toast, car is in garage.
411,000km's 5MT - tranny is still good, parts car.

Yes, that's right, I have almost a million km's between 2 cars

[mTk]

I had 130ish on my fwd 4eat, it was still running well, i think there wasa problem with the torque convertor though

About one week after the ej22t went in i lost 4th, 3rd, and 1st, week or two after that, 2nd. The fluid was quite black when i drained it.

MK

[mhrallyteam]

192k kms on my 4.111 5mt, and now strapped on a ej22t. No problems whatsoever with synchro or anything. Had to get a better clutch of course!

[fishbone79]

Just flipping through old posts and thought i'd add my info. I have 2 subes, both '92. one was an AT, which blew around 130, so i picked up a junkyard special MT for 20 bucks and threw it in. Its been running for about 10k miles and already had 230k on it. other is an an MT original with ~215k on it, and it runs like a champ (although that tranny does make some kachunking noises in the front end with clutch engaged in N, and some other disturbing noises....and the rear end squawks occasionally like that bearing is about to go). But i did see an MT in the junkyard with 340k on it, which was encoraging.
cheers.