HELP!!
01 Impreza 2.5RS 101,000 miles.

Last night im driving home and my CEL comes on. There is no noise, temps etc look normal, OK no prob I’ll get the code pulled tomorrow. Fast forward to this morning. I go out and start my car like normal to give it a minute to warm up, while im walking to the mail box it suddenly dies. That’s weird, its never done that before. I get back to the car and fire it back up. I put the shifter in neutral (manual) and let off the clutch, PUUUT it dies again. *** is going on here? It’s like it wont come out of gear. Even though the shifter is out of gear if you let off on the clutch slowly its like trying to take off in 5th gear. Lugs very badly. IT seems like something let loose in my tranny, not good. Not good at all. I have a huge knot in my gut right now.

I hope its not your tranny... But if it is; welcome to the world of Subaru's "The beauty of all wheel drive with very poorly designed transmition". Mine ate its 5th gear and synchros; They have a service report that states the 5th geat hub nut losens by itself, but it still cost me $960 to repair. Now my car sits in the garage with a stripped 2nd gear. Estimated repair costs; $1300... Hope you are luckier than I am with yours.

They have a service report that states the 5th geat hub nut losens by itself

really? that is interesting. can I find that written down anywhere? seems weird that it seems like it is stuck in 5th gear.

Well the way the 5th gear went was like this: It was extremely difficult to put the car in reverse; I literally had to jam it to get it to go. Once the car was in reverse, pulling it out required even more jamming and pulling. After 4 cycles of that the car went into neutral and wouldn't go into any gear again. Here is the thread where I discussed it: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=566544

mine is similar, but not the same. It doesnt want to go into any gear at all. If I partially engage the clutch and make the car lurch it will slip into gear, but it feels like an automatic in park when you apply clutch. I didnt want to push it becasue it felt like something would pop.

Called Jack Miller subaru, they guessed it might be the pressure plate and clutch damaged and not engagingand disengaging correctly. estimated cost: 1100 dollars.

car needs timing belt and water pump also, that I want to do while its in. total looks to be 2K or so. somehow im sure they will try to stick me for more.

how the hell am I going to pay for this....

Ouch. That's rough, but T-belt, water pump, etc are things you can probably do yourself. Get a service manual - its not that hard.

The subaru transmissions aren't that horrible if you don't abuse them :rolleyes: you'll be fine. It does sound like you're clutch has given out on you - if that's the case, then you can buy a new clutch for around $300, and probably find a place that'll install it for around the same amount. Call everywhere close to you and get the best price.

HTH,
James

mine is similar, but not the same. It doesnt want to go into any gear at all. If I partially engage the clutch and make the car lurch it will slip into gear, but it feels like an automatic in park when you apply clutch. I didnt want to push it becasue it felt like something would pop.

Called Jack Miller subaru, they guessed it might be the pressure plate and clutch damaged and not engagingand disengaging correctly. estimated cost: 1100 dollars.

car needs timing belt and water pump also, that I want to do while its in. total looks to be 2K or so. somehow im sure they will try to stick me for more.

how the hell am I going to pay for this....

DO you have other transportation? Do you have tools? How about a cherry picker? If you answered yes to all three or can get the third then you can save yourself all but the cost of parts. Relax and do it yourself. Need help? just ask.

I hope its not your tranny... But if it is; welcome to the world of Subaru's "The beauty of all wheel drive with very poorly designed transmition".

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=602108

:rolleyes:
c'mon be fair and dont blame it on the tranny :alien:


Diety...
your best bet is to buy the parts from an online source
allsubaru.com
subaruwrxparts.com
etc

than pay only for labor
that will save probably 1/3rd of your costs.

or...
get with some local Subaru types and learn to do this on your own
it is difficult for a beginner, so get some that are experienced.

timing belt/water pump = normal wear items
good idea to do them while you're 'in there'

and from what you're describing here, i'd say definately you have a dead/slipping clutch...

hope this helps and best of luck!
Jamie
www.subiegal.com

So this whole 5th gear issue some of you guys have been having, is there a service bulletin from subaru about this?? is this warrantied at all or is it just a design flaw that we're stuck with...

reason being, lately, my tranny will grind ever so slightly going into 5th, usually at higher speeds, usually about 4500rpm's or more in 4th, going to 5th.
I've been meticulous as hell about maintenence, since i can do it for free at work, but i've been considering using some higher friction gear oil to see if that'll do anything.. but seeing this thread makes me wonder if doom is iminent or not..

Called Jack Miller subaru, they guessed it might be the pressure plate and clutch damaged and not engagingand disengaging correctly. estimated cost: 1100 dollars.

car needs timing belt and water pump also, that I want to do while its in. total looks to be 2K or so. somehow im sure they will try to stick me for more.

Good God almighty $1100 to replace a clutch?!??! I'll do it for $700, if you can get it to Tampa.

I just replaced my clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing, pilot bearing and slave cylinder last week. Did all the work myself and paid $265 for parts/gear oil. It took three evenings (after dinner) in the garage.

Timing belt and water pump should be a lot less too, more like $450 or so. It think you ought to find another mechanic.