legacycentral bbs

hey everybody,

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I have a 93 subaru legacy wagon with 221,000 miles on her. I have been getting a loud howl/whine from the trans under load in both fourth and fifth gear. It goes away if I take my foot off the gas and or coast in neutral. Its mostly noticeable at around 40 to 55mph. thats when its the loudest, and boy is it loud! anybody have any ideas as to what it could be?

How's the condition/fill level of your transmission and diff (one and the same on manuals) oil? Could be your tranny is running on the original 1993 oil. I'd recommend just draining it and refilling it with the fresh stuff. Search around for what people like, eg. redline, motul, amsoil, etc. It's the cheapest thing to try first.

When my rear diff was on its way out I thought at first it was the trans. After a couple of days though it became apparent it was not. I was happy and sad at the same time.

But yeah it was definitely much louder at certain speeds, around 35-60 mph was the worst.

FWIW

I changed the trans oil about a year ago and the rear diff a few months back. both levels are right where they need to be. I could try changing it again and use some different stuff. It would be nice if it turned out to be the rear diff instead of the trans. I to would be happy and sad at the same time lol

My FWD automatic does the same thing, but much worse.

Check the gear oil in the front diff for metal.