Possible tranny issue

[jdes]

Hey noob here. I just bought a '95 N/A auto Legacy L as a family hauler. I have an MR2 turbo for happy time:p. Anyway my GF put the car in reverse out of my parking space, stopped to put it in drive and heard a horrible metallic, grinding noise. Then she tried reverse again being that it worked right before. Same horrible grinding noise. The car was then pushed into the parking space where the sound was still there just slower grinding and more feint.

 

A shadetree mechanic here looked under the car and noticed the left CV joint was busted.

 

I'm thinking this maybe a common Subaru auto tranny/CV joint issue being this happened all of a sudden.

 

I'll be checking out the rest of the forum waiting for input. Thanks guys.

[qikslvr]

Nope, just a worn C/V joint. They don't last forever and that initial slam from shifting from park into reverse and then changing the direction of the torque shifting into drive just finished it off. Be glad it happened in the parking lot and not on the highway where the C/V shaft would be beating the crap out of everything within it's reach and possibly even cause an accident. This happens on all cars that have CV joints. It's a normal wear item that fails on every car that has them eventually.

The part that needs to be replaced (Half-Shaft/Axle/C/V) can be found for between $60-$100 at about any parts store. I have no idea what shops charge to do the install. I would imagine that it's at least a 2 hour job for a mechanic. So you are probably looking at a couple hundred buck for parts and labor. Well worth fixing if the car is still otherwise running well. You might even be able to get one of the members to help you do it or do the install at a reduced rate if you post you location.

[jdes]

So not a tranny issue at all? Does this happen to Subaru's often?

[spect2k]

like he said, it is a normal wear and tear item. It happens on Subaru's just as often as it happens on mazdas, toyotas, hondas, volvos, etc. That is like asking if Subaru's need new brake pads very often. All cars need new brake pads as they wear out and all cars need new c/v axles when they wear out.

[qikslvr]

It happens to EVERY Subaru eventually but usually after 100,000 miles(or some serious abuse). Actually it happens to EVERY car that has CV joints. They are the part that transfers power from the transmission to the wheels. Like every other part on the car they wear out eventually. It's pretty standard for them to break on just about any car that's got more than 100K miles on it.

Was it making a clucking or knocking sound when turning before it broke? That knocking is usually a good indicator that the CV's are bad and need to be replaced.