legacycentral bbs

I know, just put a 5MT or 6MT in and drive. Not going to happen, the I-405 commute would kill me.

My son has had my 94 Touring wagon for some time and this started two days ago. It would feel like it started in 1st and upshift to 2nd till about 30 MPH and the RPM's go to 5500. Then it shifts to 3rd, slips a little and then into 4th and all is OK. That was two days ago and he limped it to my house. Today I took it around my big (3 mile) block and it was fine untill I stopped. Then nothing. No forward or backward gears. I let it cool off for 5 miuits and it would move but was slipping. Being 1 mile from home and no way to tow it myself I had to call AMA roadside services and have it towed. Two hours later I wanted to move it to behind my gate and it moves both forward and backwards OK. It will spool up the turbo and the car will move off line till 30 MPH and it does it again. It does this if you are soft or hard on the gas.

Added: The fluid is not burnt smelling and looks clean. When drained into a clean container it had no chunks. I have not pulled the pan to look at the filter.

And I have ordered the ATSG Subaru 4 speed 4EAT repair book. I have the Chiltons manual, wiring diagrams are about worthless. I am a telephone repair tech and can work thru a wiring diagram if its worth anything. The Chiltons is missing the transmission and TCU wiring diagrams.

Does this sound like electrical controls or phiscial damage inside the trans?

Do you get the "Power" light on your dash flashing 16 times when you first start the car? If so, your TCU is storing an error code and can be retrieved by this procedure: http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/trans.html

It sounds to me like you have some internal mechanical damage on that transmission.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it has had the flashing "16" Power light from day 1 when I bought it earler this year. I will try to pull the codes.

Just more info I left out, it does have 191,000 miles on it.

Thats what I'm afrad of. If it were just a solenoid problem I could deal with that right now. Yanking a 4EAT trans from Pick-a-Part and then having to yank my bad one is a bit more than this busted up body can do, fast. I may bid on a 99 Legacy Brighton thats on Coparts in the North Seattle yard (50 miles North of Seattle ) . Then I'll have a spare 2.2 to build with a 2.5 crank and rods. Plus a whole bunch of other parts I don't need.

Yeah, it sounds like you've got some internal issues to the trans. I really doubt anything short of a rebuild is going to fix it. Unfortunately, until you dig into it, there's no way to know for sure.

Thanks Josh .

RockAuto has a rebuild kit for $249 USD. But if I go that route I will be mod'ing it some. I have rebuilt GM Turbo 350's and Mopar TorqueFlight 904/727's but I now these 4EAT's may require special tools. I will know more when my ATSG book arrives.

I may post a "WTB" for a used core to rebuild.

If you decide to rebuild it, I'd suggest getting the shift/rebuild kit from transgo. It fixes some of the issues with these transmissions that cause them to fail. It only has parts for the valve body and few other odds and ends. It wouldn't contain new friction discs or any of that.

Yeah, that was one of the mods on my mind. I just ordered a TransGo unit for my sons 93 Dodge Mini Van. That and the resistor on the "A" solenoid to up the apply pressure. A deeper sump pan with cooling fins or tubes is also a thought. I have made deep pans for TF904's with fins on the inside and outside that dropped internal temps by 30+ degrees. Then add an external cooler with a fan and an external filter if mine does not have one.

Yeah, cooling is probably one of the biggest issues with these transmissions, so adding fins and/or an external cooler should help. There is a cooler that goes through the radiator, but that may not be sufficient. I'd run the line from the trans to the aftermarket cooler, and then back into the stock radiator cooler to help bring the temp back up for cold days and startup. This will help bring the ATF temps up more quickly and stay at the proper temperature.

WOW!!! I called around and AAMCO wanted $2400+ any hard parts. Another shop in Kent WA wants $1800+ hard parts. These are for removal, rebuild and replace but still . I am in the wrong business.

Yup....honestly....you're probably better off picking up a lower mileage phase 1 4EAT from a junkyard. Even if you go through two of them, you're still probably cheaper than doing the rebuild.

The turbo Legacy 4EAT is slightly different and I could have sworn I read something about the their TCU's being different, but I can't recall what, if any issues there were with it.

Here it is a year later and still have not fixed it yet.

My question now is will a 4EAT from a 99 Legacy Outback work in my 94?

What mods would need to be done?

If I would need the TCU can it be wired to work?

If its just the plugs at the trans, I can cut and splice the correct connectors on.

OK, a family friend that is a retired ASE Master transmission tech, he worked at a Subaru and Nissan dealer for a time, was over and after asking if he would rebuild it, he said he could not do it as his hands are buggered up. He asked what it was doing when it broke, and the symptoms that we explained to him was a VERY common issue. The front pump and or Torqueconverter are bad. He had to replace many out of Impresa RS's and a few Legacy Turbo cars due to the power level. He said it was a common thing for the dealer to charge for a whole rebuild but only change the pump and converter.

Well that's good info to know. Is that something he could walk you through how to do? If not, you're kind of back to where you started.

As for using a 99 Outback trans, no that wouldn't work. It's a phase 2 4EAT and has different electrical plugs. Also the final drive ratio would be different (you'd have to swap the rear diff to match the final drive ratio in the trans).

i have a 4eat and a TC up for grabs. 100 for both and you arrange shipping. was mudded and felt fine when i moved it around the yard and the oil smelt fine. scrapping it within the next 4 days if you don't want it need the parts care gone asap. email goes direct to my phone

Someperson wrote:i have a 4eat and a TC up for grabs. 100 for both and you arrange shipping.<<<SNIP>>>

Thanks but shipping would kill the deal. 3000 miles is a long way. Again, thanks.

Trying to help, if u find out its ur TC gimme a holler cause that's separated from the trans and i'd take $20