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super cold weather
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 12:46 am
by scrubby
does it affect trannys causing slipping......also brake pedal wont depress at times i talking -20 to -40 temperatures also just had a tranny flush seems 2 slip in second and third
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 5:06 am
by ericem
Well it is possible. I would try a synthetic tranny fluid.
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 5:51 am
by scrubby
I just had the Tranny flushed and that's when the slipping began.
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:23 am
by mexicanzero
was your flush a backflush? those are the worst, i've seen it several times where a car get their high ish mileage tranny flushed and because its old and dirty inside teh dirt and varnish coating is whats keeping the seal between valves and actuators and all other kinds of seals. so by cleaning this off with a flush you're basically causing all these actuators and valves to leak therefore not providing enough fluid pressure to the bands or clutches or shift valves etc... causing slippage and i've even seen it once that the car never made it out of the bay, it just wouldnt move cuz the seals around the valves and actuators for the bands and clutches were just leaking all the fluid right past them.
my old golf would have tranny slippage issues in winter because the cold would cause the fluid level to go down so make sure its as full as it can be and if it is. put some of that reeeeeeeally thick lucas treatment stuff in there, its worked more than once to resolve slippage and leak issues.
as for your brakes i have the same problem when its real cold the brake pedal is rock hard until the car had idles for at least a minute or 2. its the brake booster, theres a valve inside that sticks. from what i've learnt you have to change the whole brake booster.
hope i helped
-Alex
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:25 am
by 93forestpearl
When the motor and tranny are cold, do you put it into drive or reverse and site there for at least 30 seconds? If not, you should. It lets your tanny build pressure before you take off.
not sure what kind of flush they did
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:06 pm
by scrubby
so i probably got the wrong flush.when i brought back to them told him it was slipping he said he added the lucas tranny conditioner
no improvement what so ever.....i visably never seen them put it in
so now what?????do i add more ,add diffrent stuff .or start looking for a tranny shop

..........it started making a noise like something is loose (rattle) its not the engine cause it doesnt do it in park also at decent cruising speed without kicking down a gear it jolts but if i step on it its fine another thing is the tranny fluid is a very light pinckish color not the deep red .like im talkin hardly see it on the dip stick is this normal
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:13 pm
by scrubby
also could it be the torque converter?
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:02 pm
by Legacy777
I'd start looking for a new tranny or looking to have it rebuilt.
I'll second the issue about flushes. Flushes, of any kind on high mileage AT's typically makes things worse.
Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:06 am
by mexicanzero
new fluid is usually alot lighter than old fluid so its probably normal that its hard to see in the dipstick, i'm pretty sure mines like that too.
as for the lucas adding more wouldnt make the problem worse so that what i'd do. my old boss had a dodge dakota with a plow that wouldnt go one day i think he added something like 2 or 3 of the lucas treatments almost using no tranny fluid and it lasted a whole winter of plowing, although it didnt work very well.
but for long term you'll need a rebuild or used tranny in good condition
and i doubt the torque converter is to blame from the problems you are describing unless for some reason its constantly locking and unlocking... bu ti doubt it
-Alex
so what tranny s fit
Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 1:23 am
by scrubby
which years and models
Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 5:47 am
by Saskatoon Subaru
It seems most of you don't get to enjoy the cold weather me and scrubby get. So yes when it's -20, -40 every thing is gonna be stiff. Just hit the brakes a few times before you go anywhere just to get things moving. You tranny is gonna have weird shift points until everything warms up. Don't worry to much about it.
cool
Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 6:36 am
by scrubby
the whole reason why i bought the car is because of our winter wonderland
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 1:00 am
by mexicanzero
yes to a point any car wont work its best until its warmed up in -40 but what he's describing isnt normal. i've had to start and go without warmup before in -40 ish weather and my tranny still felt fine. (although i should mention that when cold the tranny wont shift into 4th gear and wont lock up the torque converter, some cars also have the tcu cause later shift points for decreased warmup time but i dont think subarus do). either way i'd say dont take long trips and just drive your car until the tranny falls out of it. it will probably still run on for a pretty long time and will probably get better with time. oh and never drive aggressively when the eng/tranny are cold. i always keep it off boost until the engine is fully warmed up.
-Alex
Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:08 pm
by scrubby
so if the tranny takes longer to shift would it cause slipping...or what may seem to be slipping . and talked with the mechanic he said he never did a flush just drain and fill??????
Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 8:27 pm
by SILINC3R
ok so ihave 238xxx miles on my 1990 FWD N/A, and this semester i was planning on flushing the tranny and doing that syncromesh cocktail stuff that yall say to do as well as flush my coolant and get a bigger radiator. however if its not going to be good for it of course i dont want to do it. but i feel the car deserves it. it hasnt let me down except once and that was when i bought it. half way into my first semester of college the cv joint broke when me and my roommate were getting McDonalds lol. just want to keep this baby running for a long time cause it still drives like a champ.
Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 9:48 pm
by evolutionmovement
You have an automatic, I'm guessing. No synchromesh. And you don't need a bigger radiator unless you're heavily modding the thing. If you're having overheating issues stock, it's not due to the radiator being small. It's always best to let sleeping dogs lie. If there's no problem, leave it alone. It's cheaper that way, anyway. If the transmission works fine or has a little slip at that mileage, and the fluid is red and about where it should be on the dipstick, you're good.
Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:18 pm
by ericem
Nope he has a stick.
Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:51 pm
by evolutionmovement
On an LS? Then there's no need to flush it.
Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:56 am
by SILINC3R
ericem is correct it is a stick. so why not flush. and no i dont have overheating problems i just want to get the car ready for when/if i get a turbo and since it is the original radiator im sure a new one would do wonders.
Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 1:13 pm
by evolutionmovement
You don't flush a manual gearbox. You can change the fluid if you want. It's like doing an oil change. I wouldn't get bigger radiator until I needed it. There's no need as these cooling systems are pretty efficient to begin with, though in GA, it won't really hurt in the winter like having a bigger radiator would up here.
Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:12 pm
by wtdash
Scrubby...any better up there? It's warmed up quite a bit.
I'd also consider getting the fluid flushed once more but NO Lucas (hasn't helped me on 2 different 4EATs)...maybe try Trans-X additive.
For the Automatics, the '90-91 had a 4.11 diff ratio (turbo was 3.90); '92-94 were all 3.90. In '95 they went back to a 4.11, but not sure they're compatible w/the TCU. Remember to change the rear diff, too, if you change to a different ratio.
Good luck
im so lost with what to do????????
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:33 pm
by scrubby
rebuild the tranny or swap the engine and tranny with jdm depending on costs of course my engine has 245000km so....?????
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:34 pm
by scrubby
wtdash weather is way nicer

thx
tranny rebuilt
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:43 pm
by scrubby
2400 bucks not bad got quotes all the way up to 3800....got told hes very busy so if he had to do it right away 3200 but since it was slow and i waited 2447 with tax
