sunny5280 Posted November 14, 2013 Author Share Posted November 14, 2013 Yeah, I really wouldn't worry about it too much. For all the money I'd just look around for an inexpensive replacement for a few hundred dollars and set it to the side in case you ever need it. The only money concern is around how much would I want to put into this car. I paid $3,900 for it and immediately spent another $600 replacing the radiator bringing the total up to $4,500 right from the start. I then spent about $350 having the fluids changed (everything except for the coolant as that was replaced as part of the radiator repair). Then $600 on new tires (good quality tires, not the low cost ones). And within the last month about $750 for a new timing belt / pulleys / water pump. Total cost for the six months of ownership has reached $6,200. Granted a big chunk of the post repair spend has been maintenance (I didn't have to change the fluids and the tires could have made it through another year). I do like to properly maintain my vehicles and I expect to spend some money on a vehicle with this high of mileage. The thought being I'll spend it now and enjoy a trouble free ride for years to come. But if the transmission ended up needing replaced, at least in the short run, I'd have to think long and hard about what to do. The cost to replace a transmission wouldn't be a financial impact to me...I could easily pay for it. It's more a matter of my run around car ultimately costing me a similar amount of money as that of a later model, lower mileage Subaru without as much work required. More a psychological thing as the money I've already put into it is a sunk cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyfvholla Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Trust me, I completely understand where you're coming from. I bought a 98 LGT wagon and withing 8 months I had dumped almost $3k worth of parts in it with no end in sight. I ended up working on it twice a week on average. I went through a motor, head gaskets, suspension parts, chassis, tires, etc... It was ridiculous. If I had kept it, I'd of had to replace the transmission within a few months. I had paid $2k for it. I couldn't imaging how much it all would have cost if I had to pay someone to do it. I ended up buying a 2004 Honda Accord EX V6-6MT coupe this past February for $10k with 97k miles on it. 5 months after ownership the motor took itself out in multiple ways. I've been screwing around with it for over 3 months now, and am now installing another motor. My point is, no matter what you do you can't prepare for everything, and you never know what's going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 I know how that feels- I bought my '98 back in June for $4,100 (mainly for the low 90K miles on it and one owner car) and have since put another $2,000 or more into it, ranging from having a mechanic friend (charged a lot less than the going hourly rate) do the timing belt job and replace the A/C condenser to 4 new Michelin's. Lower dollar improvements I made were a new Kenwood stereo and repainting some of the trim. I mainly bought this car to avoid a car payment over the next 5- 6 years as I save for my son's college fund. Based on the reliability and simplicity of these cars I would think I can go another 100-150K on this car without any major problems, but one never knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny5280 Posted November 14, 2013 Author Share Posted November 14, 2013 Trust me, I completely understand where you're coming from. I bought a 98 LGT wagon and withing 8 months I had dumped almost $3k worth of parts in it with no end in sight. I ended up working on it twice a week on average. I went through a motor, head gaskets, suspension parts, chassis, tires, etc... It was ridiculous. If I had kept it, I'd of had to replace the transmission within a few months. I had paid $2k for it. I couldn't imaging how much it all would have cost if I had to pay someone to do it. I ended up buying a 2004 Honda Accord EX V6-6MT coupe this past February for $10k with 97k miles on it. 5 months after ownership the motor took itself out in multiple ways. I've been screwing around with it for over 3 months now, and am now installing another motor. My point is, no matter what you do you can't prepare for everything, and you never know what's going to happen. I agree. And I realized what I was getting into when I bought it. One thing I want to be clear about...I'm not dissatisfied with the car at all or the work I've put into it. Just voicing some of the thoughts that have bounced around my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Don't worry about the tranny. If the vehicle wasn't treated like shit, it should last you plenty longer. Mine's got 276k. Transmission quite literally hasn't been TOUCHED in around 100k miles since back when I had the center clutch replaced (it had simply worn out). Since then I haven't done anything other than very occasionally check the ATF (have never needed to add any.) Hard shifts from 1 to 2 and a delayed shift from 2 to 3, but it's never caused me any major issues... yet. I realize it's way overdue for something to grenade, but my point is it's not unlikely to get another 100k out of yours... ...and I should mention that while I do take care of the car, the past 100k have included quite a few back road blasts, a few auto-crosses, countless hours drifting around in the snow, mud bogging, and even fording a few flooded roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny5280 Posted November 14, 2013 Author Share Posted November 14, 2013 Don't worry about the tranny. If the vehicle wasn't treated like shit, it should last you plenty longer. Mine's got 276k. Transmission quite literally hasn't been TOUCHED in around 100k miles since back when I had the center clutch replaced (it had simply worn out). Since then I haven't done anything other than very occasionally check the ATF (have never needed to add any.) Hard shifts from 1 to 2 and a delayed shift from 2 to 3, but it's never caused me any major issues... yet. I realize it's way overdue for something to grenade, but my point is it's not unlikely to get another 100k out of yours... ...and I should mention that while I do take care of the car, the past 100k have included quite a few back road blasts, a few auto-crosses, countless hours drifting around in the snow, mud bogging, and even fording a few flooded roads. To be clear...I'm not worried about the transmission. The sole reason I started this thread was to ensure I wasn't making things worse by ignoring a symptom of a problem. I'd rather spend a little now than more down the road. That whole "Ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure" thing. Given the feedback from yourself and others it appears this is normal behavior which will not result in eventual transmission failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Just kidding. IT'S GOING TO EXPLODE. RUN! http://cdn.alltheragefaces.com/img/faces/large/worried-omg-run-male-l.png Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny5280 Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 Update: Last week I had the fuel pump fail in my Outback. After having replaced it the jarring 1-2 shift seems to have become a lot less pronounced. I have no explanation as to why this may be the case. Perhaps something "corrected" itself and it's merely a coincidence (but I find this more difficult to believe than the fuel pump having an impact). I don't have enough time driving the car to reach any definitive conclusion but the change was significant enough for me to notice and warrant posting. Anyone have any thoughts as to why there would be a correlation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Well harder acceleration tends to make the shift lest violent. Was the fuel pump so bad that it's just that you can finally accelerate properly? Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny5280 Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 Well harder acceleration tends to make the shift lest violent. Was the fuel pump so bad that it's just that you can finally accelerate properly? Lol. No, it was not. It failed without warning last Thursday morning. Acceleration doesn't appear to have improved after the fuel pump replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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