Diagnose these trans symptoms?

[marke190]

Can anyone help diagnose this problem? My mechanical skills are rooted in old sixties British junk like Triumphs, so I leave the Soob to a local mechanic while I work to pay him.

Stock '91 Legacy turbo, 232K miles. Just had him put in a clutch when the old one was slipping badly. He used a Dakin. Trans never had an issue -- always shifted smooth and quiet -- but 400 miles after the clutch job the trans fails like this:

Grinds shifting from first to second, and can't get it in sometimes despite matching revs. 3rd-5th were OK. After 10 minutes of this, I drove straight to the mechanic, and he noticed that in neutral, it seemed to be binding. Put it on the rack in neutral, and turning both rear wheels, the front wheels AND the engine turn.

I left the car and he said it test drove fine, but just as he got back to his shop it went back to binding. That encouraged me that if it was intermittent, it might not be blown to bits.

He pulled the trans a few days later. No metal on the drain plug, and no metal we could see when he pulled the extension housing. 1st & 2nd, and 5th & reverse shift levers move and sound fine when we operated them with a screwdriver. He says the 3rd & 4th lever doesn't sound quite right and acts like it's not moving far enough. I couldn't tell. But with all three rods in neutral, the input shift now can't be turned. (I think he said initially when he removed it, the input shaft turned the rear drive shaft when in neutral, but after pulling the extension case and operating the levers a few times, the input shaft is now stuck.)

Seems like something's either misaligned, bent or broken. He thinks two gears are partially engaged at once. I don't know enough about modern transmissions to say if that's possible. Any guesses from the experts here?

I've searched the board and chased links. Coincidence with the clutch or did we not break in the new clutch properly and dumped too much torque too quickly into an old trans? The new clutch is real grabby compared to the worn out old one.

Much as my wife loves this car, I'm reluctant to dump a few thousand into a tranny rebuild for a 17-year old car of limited value, despite being clean and having an engine that still doesn't use oil.

Comments?

Thanks,
Mark

[ericem]

Probably best just finding another 5MT transmission. This tranny does have 232k which is plenty. It could even be gear oil causing the syncro's to be a issue. I am sure you can find a decently priced 5MT that is fine.

[marke190]

Getting another 5MT was our first thought, but we couldn't not locate any in the US for a turbo. For the turbo, the gears were shot peened, mainshaft bearings are different, and the case was modified to take a hydraulic clutch release fork. Also understand a WRX trans might fit, but haven't run down how close a match it is.

Mark

[what huh]

search www.car-part.com thats where i found mine

i paid 400 for a tranny with 92,000 miles

[BAC5.2]

Probably has nothing to do with the clutch unless the mechanic forgot to put transmission fluid back in the car.

He realized his folly, took the car in, flushed the trans out as best he could, and then started poking around. You would be surprised how often things like this happen, even with "trusted friends".

It sounds like a classic, no fluid in the transmission syndrome. Not kidding. Did you confirm that there was fluid in the transmission before you took it to him?

Either way, you are going to need a new transmission.

A wrx box works with a few exceptions. You need one that has a 3.90 front diff. You need your stock center diff and rear extension housing. You also need an M12x1.25 tap and bolt to mount the starter properly. That's it really. No big thing.

If you look hard enough, you can get the hookup. I got a BRAND NEW Forester Transmission for $250 shipped on e-bay. Seriously, zero miles. It was the deal of a lifetime. He listed it as a 4-speed and no one would touch it with a 10 foot pole. It came in factory wrapping, in a factory crate, with part numbers and everything.

Oh, and while I can confirm that the Turbo Legacy DID have different gears than the N/A, the bearings are the same.