Stevo F Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 This morning when my 17 year old son was driving to school, he attempted to avoid a large turtle in the middle of the road and ended up driving up and embankment and back down onto the road. It was only about a mile from the house so when i went to retrieve the car , I noticed that the transmission is struggling to upshift unless you rev it to 4- 5K RPM. Back at home I also noticed the right rear wheel now has a lot more positive camber than before. Other issues are a wrinkle in the passengers side of the rear bumper and damage to the lower front bumper and driving lights (one of them is still back there in the grass somewhere). Also, I noticed the hood is more difficult to open and close all the way, so i suspect some movement in the radiator core support (the front sheet metal looks unscathed. I plan to go under the car tomorrow to get a better look at the bottom of the transmission, as that's the biggest issue. From what I could tell today, the transmission pan doesn't look damaged, nor is it leaking any fluid. Just wondering what I'm in for as far as expense to fix the car and is it worth it? (not concerned about the bumpers as I have a spare bumper assembly in the garage). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 I have a body shop manual with all of the measurements for the engine bay if you want to compare your car to them to see if the body is tweaked slightly. It kind of sounds like it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted September 15, 2018 Author Share Posted September 15, 2018 I have a body shop manual with all of the measurements for the engine bay if you want to compare your car to them to see if the body is tweaked slightly. It kind of sounds like it is. Thank you, that might be helpful. I think my first priority is to figure out what is up with the transmission. No visible issues looking from the top. I'm thinking if there are any electrical connection on the bottom side, that could be damaged. Someone also suggested checking the lines to the transmission cooler/ radiator as if any of these was crushed it could cause issues as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted September 15, 2018 Author Share Posted September 15, 2018 So I went underneath and looked around. Still clumps of mud and grass. No obvious damage from what i can see. I believe the transmission pan, which also had mud on it, may be pushed in under 1/4" in the center, but no more than that. I'm not sure if anything behind it could have been damaged or restricted with that small amount pushed it. For all I know , the pan may have been that way before the incident yesterday and the mud likely was sprayed up on it vs. actual ground contact as the exhaust next it sits lower (and the whole car was splattered with mud so it was everywhere). I guess next step is to have it towed to my mechanic (too far to drive it with no assurance of getting it over 25 MPH). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted September 15, 2018 Author Share Posted September 15, 2018 I just road tested it again. Starts out OK then the next shift point happens at 4500 RPM where it shifts into... 3rd gear. Took it out on the highway and never finds 4th either so I am dealing with a 2EAT here with no even numbered gears. The good news it does handle fine at 55 MPH, so maybe not much else wrong from the "crash" except the excessive camber on thew rear rear wheel. Also, ATF looks good and at the correct lvel. No CELs from either ECU or TPU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted September 29, 2018 Author Share Posted September 29, 2018 Update- pulled the transmission pan and everything looks fine. Banged out the pan a little to make sure it was flat again. Put it all back together and still no second gear. I decided to turn it over to my mechanic so i had it towed over there. He hasn't been able to put a lot of time into it yet (and is likely doesn't want to run up a big bill until we know what we are dealing with to straighten everything out). He said he did find one of the front axles was excessively loose where it goes into the transaxle (like something inside the transaction got damaged), but that still doesn't have anything to do with shifting. I believe he was going to look for any stored TPU codes as well. So if he does conclude it may not be worth fixing- not sure what I want to do next. Try to fin somebody to sell it to to either fix it themselves ort part it? If I'm going to continue driving more second gens- a '95 EJ22 with 100K is a gem and worth keeping on hand, so maybe parting it would be the best thing. Ideally finding an Outback Limited with bad headgaskets close by, for cheap would be a cool find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Sorry for taking so long. Here's the factory dimensions, I assume they're in mm http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/t637/96Brighton/DSC_0025_zpswwzizbg6.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted October 28, 2018 Author Share Posted October 28, 2018 I finally got an update on the transmission. My mechanic said electrically everything was fine and then went in and found the 2nd gear band was loose/ damaged. I figures the car had downshifted into second as my son was slowing down and was somehow damaged traveled through the drive train. Seems crazy that it would suffer internal damage that way. He saw some other wear on it and I'm wondering if it hasn't suffered some damage over time as this is one of the 4EAT's that's had a stiff 1st for 2nd shift for quite some time. He said if I knew of a good used one he could install it for around $400 (I'm guessing that's about 6 hours labor for him). That's the problem because a decent used Phase 1 4EAT is running around $500 locally on car-part.com, so nearly $1,000 to replace it and if the junkyard transmission has issues, then I guess I would need to pay for the labor to replace it a second time. As for body damage, he did discover a dented in floor pan (some separation for the rocker panel) and the obvious excessive camber. He said he could pull that damage out for me to get it close, at least, bu he assume the body torqued quite a bit and probably will other issues down the road. At this point, I'd like to sell it of to someone else who either wants a 2nd gen project to fix up, or a good EJ22 and some GT parts if nothing else. In the meantime, I found a high mileaged, but solid 2003 Forester I've been messing with, and my youngest son has been driving the beloved '98 wagon (as his older brother did when he was a senior in high school). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 Update- the GT is still sitting at my mechanic's shop. I have had some interest in it, but nothing solid. Alternatively, I would love to put that EJ22 in something else, since it's a great engine. My ultimate goal would be a '97- '99 Outback Limited. I've really enjoyed driving the 2003 Forester and love the extra ride height and enjoy having the large sunroof- neither of which I had in my Legacy wagon. I saw an ad (actually the guy has been trying to sell it for a while) for a '98 Outback Limited- looks super clean, but typical bad headgasket car. Asking for more details from the buyer, but looks well maintained at 204K miles. Likely, I'd need to have it towed the 60 miles to the shop where the GT is and my mechanic could swap the '95 EJ22 into the Outback. Then I could part out the GT since I really don't have the room to bring it back here. Just thinking it through at this point- but could end up with a solid car with a solid motor (although a bit underpowered) for cheap. Here's the ad: https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/d/1998-subaru-legacy-outback-wagon-or/6782704684.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Update- the GT is still sitting at my mechanic's shop. I have had some interest in it, but nothing solid. Alternatively, I would love to put that EJ22 in something else, since it's a great engine. My ultimate goal would be a '97- '99 Outback Limited. I've really enjoyed driving the 2003 Forester and love the extra ride height and enjoy having the large sunroof- neither of which I had in my Legacy wagon. I saw an ad (actually the guy has been trying to sell it for a while) for a '98 Outback Limited- looks super clean, but typical bad headgasket car. Asking for more details from the buyer, but looks well maintained at 204K miles. Likely, I'd need to have it towed the 60 miles to the shop where the GT is and my mechanic could swap the '95 EJ22 into the Outback. Then I could part out the GT since I really don't have the room to bring it back here. Just thinking it through at this point- but could end up with a solid car with a solid motor (although a bit underpowered) for cheap. Here's the ad: https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/d/1998-subaru-legacy-outback-wagon-or/6782704684.html I was reading their CL listing and everything seemed familiar about it, then I realized it was in the same area as me haha. That thing has been for sale for at least 6 months and I was thinking about buying it and fixing it a long while back, but too many projects currently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Yes, that's the weird thing about it- I think he has been trying to sell on and off for the better part of 2 years. I inquired about it previously and never got a response, but I got at least an initial response this time. Actually, we would need to get rid of something to bring this one in. I'm trying to convince my son who starts a new job in Luray (over the mountain from us) to swap his Honda Accord for my Forester for that trip. If that happens I can either A. Try to do this EJ22 Outback project and keep it and sell the Honda or B. Not do it, and give my oldest the Forester, then give the Honda to my youngest son and get my Legacy wagon back for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted January 19, 2019 Author Share Posted January 19, 2019 Since my mechanic's shop was sold out from under him, he (and my '97 GT) will need to be out of there in he next few weeks. Given the bad transmission, as well as obvious (and maybe not as obvious) damage to the suspension and undercarriage, I'm wondering if I should just part it out and find a new recipient for the EJ22. Ideally I would love to get my hands on a clean Outback Limited that needs headgaskets or an engine, but so far the ones I've found that need an engine also are in pretty poor shape overall. I did find another LGT where the motor is toast. It's about 40 miles and over a mountain from me so having it towed would be a must. The guy originally wanted $900 for it, which was way too much IMO, but says he will take $400 to get rid of it. So would this car be worth parting my '97 to fix? My one main concern is the rust and how likely has it spread to the strut towers. Here's a link to the ad below: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/303662747046407?surface=product_details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setnev Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 That sedan is a big no from me. I don't know if it is a common thing up there or not, but out here, I'd walk away in a heartbeat. I would hold off for a better looking specimen, or head a little bit south to get one. Second gens are a dime a dozen. If you were on this side of the country, I'd sell you my 99 Limited shell for next to nothing. Clean and rust free and all the electronics work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 So my mechanic has got to move out of his shop so he pulled the motor, so inow I have a '95 EJ22 that needs a home. Looks like I'll be going over there on Friday or Saturday to pull what else I might need before it goes to scrap. So far I'm getting: -Snowflake wheels with decent tires- (although one is not holding air long since the accident). I'm going to bring my '98 wagon and swap the 14" steelies with mostly worn tires onto the GT so he can still roll it out of the shop so the wagon will get the last of the planned GT mods -Scooped hood -All of the rotors and calipers (rotors all have 4K miles on them and one front caliper was only on the car for a month) -Most of the interior. Door panels, gauge cluster, center console, sunvisors. Thinking of the seats too, but sot sure where I have room for them- cloth GT seats in good condition (and height adjustment). -Radiator- likely need for my '98 GT which apparently has a leak - Grille (thought about headlights but already have a spare set of one piece lights from a '96, and all my remaining 2nd gens are two piece). - Rear spoiler and power antenna (the '98 GT antenna is bent) Is there anything else I should grab or is anyone looking for any pieces? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Front fenders? They only take a second to get off, and they get damaged often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Front fenders? They only take a second to get off, and they get damaged often. I could, but I have a set already from a '96 Outback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 So on Friday, the mechanic had already pulled all of the rotors and brake calipers (since most of it only has 4K miles on it). I basically stripped the interior down to the carpet as the seats are all in great shape (cloth version). I also pulled all of the door panels so i have the matching door cards. I took the wheels home and put them on my Legacy L wagon, replacing the almost worn 14" tires. The problem is one tire has a fairly significant air leak since the accident (it's the one had excessive camber so it took some sort of hit). My guess is either the tire bead was dislodged from the accident or the rim is bent, so I'll send it down to the tire place along with a couple of the rims I had bought for the car previously and see if they can fix it up. I test drove it and felt a slight shimmy in the steering wheel (the offending wheel is in the back) When I go back tomorrow, I hope to pull the spoiler, maybe the A/C condenser, and I'd like to get the skirts, but I couldn't access them with the way the car was sitting on the lift. Maybe when we put my old 14" wheels on it, I can get them then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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