4eat- no 3rd or 4th gear

[scuba steve]

I just bought my third Legacy in a month and this one has no 3rd or 4th gears but otherwise drives fine. I know this is a common problem, but I can't remember what is done to remedy it, short of replacement. I just replaced the 4eat in my other wagon last week. Is there anything that can be replaced in the back of the tranny to fix it like the high clutch or something? I have another tranny that I believe is mostly good to steal parts from. If I can't fix it then it will become a 5 spd. But cheaper is better. Any ideas?

[ericem]

Hmm mine had similar issues if you put the selector in 3 with the manual mode on does it work? Also is your speedometer working?

[scuba steve]

speedometer does work. PO said it did not work in manual. I haven't checked because the tires are shot.

[jdmellor28]

what year is the car ?
we bought my dads car with a bad 4eat ( no 3rd or 4th )
after looking in to it and taking it to a local trans shop , we found out the early 1990 1991 4eat's were just weak and lost 3rd and 4th ... dads car ( a 1991 ) only having 89k miles on it !

so i looked it to it some more finding out that the 1995 and up 4eat's are strong as strong gets !

so we installed a 1995 4eat in to dads 1991 , had to change the flywheel plate ( or whatever its called ) . It has been on the road ever since !

- not 100% sure if there is a easy fix for you but this is what we did .

[scuba steve]

When I put it in manual 3, it goes but when it hits about 15-20 mph, the TC unlocks and the motor just spins until the speed is reduced.

Thanks for the input guys

[scuba steve]

Lost 2nd gear as well. The fluid was black, I mean black. I probably should have changed it and seen if that helped. But I went ahead and made it a 5 spd. That's what I really wanted anyway.

[cj91legss]

if it's a turbo 4eat i have one that's not working... dunno what's wrong with it but i'd sell it for 60 bucks