legacycentral bbs

Hi,
I drive a '92 Subaru Legacy 2.2 and i have a problem with it's automatic transmission. What happens is that when it shifts to 4 gear, after a couple of seconds of driving with constant speed, AT locks up and rpm go down by +/- 500 but then after about 30 seconds it simply unlocks and doesn't lock again. When i stop the car, turn the ignition off, start the car and accelerate it will lock again but again only once. Of course because of that i get very bad mpg on highways. This transmission was put in about a year ago because the old one failed and it was easier to replace it with a used one. It came from a '93 legacy. The problem has been there since the replacement. I change ATF regularly.
Does anyone know what might be the problem?

Thanks
Jarek

Welcome to the forum,
Does your Power light blink 16 times when you start-up the car? If so there are codes stored. Search on here for a 'How to' on getting the codes.

If not, and this shouldn't matter, but you might track down the TCU for a '93 and try that. The '92-'94 should be close enough that it's not needed.

And Subarus seem to be very picky about the fluid level, and it can be a pain to check (IMHO). Follow directions in the Owner's Manual.

GL,
TD

Thanks for your interest!
The power light doesn’t blink and no codes are stored in memory. I’ll try to find a different TCU but I’m afraid it will be difficult.
Checking fluid level is tricky and to tell you the truth I’m never 100% sure if the level is correct. It’s hard to tell what is the fluid temp. What I do is I use an infrared thermometer to check temperature of the oil pan and when it’s close to 80C (176F) I make sure the level is in the middle of the upper half of the hot range. I do it the same way on my Outback and it seems to work with no problems.
I’ll look into that TCU thing and i'll check the fluid level again . Maybe i'll find some answers and post them if I’ll come up with any. My options are very limited because old Legacys are very rare in Poland and so are AT transmissions.
I hoped that the problem is a common one and will be easy to solve...

Regards
Jarek

If you drive for at least 10 miles or so the trans should be up to temp. Park on a level surface and with the engine running slowly cycle the gear selector from P to 1 and back to P. With all the accessories off, and the engine still running check the fluid level between the top marks

The badge under the hood says that the original transmission in my car was a TZ102ZG23A. My TCU is a 31711AB583 (somehow I can't find any of these parts in the '90-'94 Parts Catalog that I have).
My current transmission is a TZ102ZA2AA-MH and according to the catalog it was originally paired with these TCUs:
31711AB353
31711AB354
31711AB355
I wonder how different are these from the one I have.
Unfortunately there is not a single used 90-94 TCU available and chances are very slim that there will ever be any. If any of you guys has one for sale and is willing to ship it to Poland I am interested. That is if the price is right of course

Cheers
Jarek

The parts catalog I have on my site only lists the north American cars and part #'s. If you are running a north American transmission, then finding the matching north American TCU may be fix your issues.

I would suggest posting in the parts shed and see if anyone has a 92 non-turbo TCU they are willing to sell. If they don't want to ship to Poland, I'd be ok if they wanted to ship it to me and then I can ship it to Poland.

I may have one to donate to the cause......let me check tonight.


NOPE - all I have is an HU for a '93 Turbo.

TD

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.

Jarek

Just wanted to let you know that I found the right TCU and it solved the problem. Lockup works again.

Jarek

Glad to hear that fixed your issues.