crowing hen Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I drive a 91 legacy for my sub-mail route. (It's got a 92 engine in it) It is a POS but I have to have it. The same problem has occurred and my mechanic can't duplicate it. I'm not mechanical at all so please bear with me as I give you the symptoms. While in route when i hit 40 mph (sometimes lower speeds) it shifts hard. If i can even get to top speed the shifting is more of a jerking action. Also if I let off the gas the rpms rev up and go back down. It's hard to describe but all I know is I can't drive over 40 mph and it is a pain. My mechanic says that it just doesn't seem to be the transmission cuz when they have driven it it never duplicates the symptoms and it shifts smoothly for them. It is sporatic at showing the symptoms but this past saturday it misbehaved the whole time I was in route. (He did change out a bad fuel injector but doesn't think that is the problem either.) A friend had the exact same problem with his car (not a subaru) and said it was the transmission module or something like that. Does any of this make sense? I would appreciate any advice. I'm worried I will ruin what maybe left of the transmission if this keeps up. And I have got to have this car since it is a right hand drive. Even if it is a POS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BennnGeee Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Sounds like you are going into limp home mode. Are you having any kind of misfires or anything like that while it happens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Welcome to the forums Is your check engine light on? If so...this: http://legacycentral.org/library/literature/codes.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Top Speed? Can't get over 40 MPH? Why? Is this some Postal Service rule or is it a problem with the car? First try normal stuff. Check the fluid with the car running. Start the car, drive for a bit, then when you stop run it slowly through every gear... P, R, N, D, 3, 2, 1, then back into Neutral with THE E-BRAKE ON. Check the fluid with the engine running. It is the yellow dipstick on the right side of the engine hiding under some hoses. Don't use the yellow dipstick on the left, it's for the front differential, not the transmission. If its low, fill it to the correct level. You can also try running the car in manual mode. To do this, push the button on the shifter. A yellow light labeled will come on in the dashboard next to the "Power" light. Now, drop the gear lever into the "2" or "3" position. The transmission will skip first gear and start in second. If the lever is in 3rd gear, the transmission should shift straight into third at about 15mph. This 2nd to 3rd shift might be a little harsh, but it's OK. If the problem you're experiencing goes away you're probably experiencing a hard 1st to 2nd gear change. A transmission flush will help this, but nothing short of a transmission rebuild will keep it from coming back. Also, if the "Power" light on the dashboard blinks multiple times as soon as you start the car there are transmission trouble codes. In addition to improving performance when illuminated, the "Power" light also acts like a "Check Engine" light for the transmission and its components. Check the link below for a list of transmission trouble codes and how to go about reading them. The duration of the flashes the "Power" light makes when you turn the car on tells you what is wrong with the transmission. http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/trans.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 I wouldn't go for a flush. They shoot solvent backwards through the lines and at high pressure. This causes bits and pieces of contaminants and stuff to break away and go backwards through your system and has the potential to clog the filter, lines...you name it. It doesn't help that most places wont change the filter. Just get it drained fully (torque converter and all) and refill it. There is a lot more in the system than just the pan. And nice, I was looking for the trans one, but I couldn't find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowing hen Posted June 30, 2010 Author Share Posted June 30, 2010 my husband changed the filter etc. a few months back. no change. the check engine light has been on for 6 mos. it only came on after i had a seal changed on the transmission the guy that did this for me is questionable at best he said the light will sometimes come on after doing this but should go off. It never has gone off. But the light doesn't blink it just stays on. there is NO backfire etc when the shift goes nuts. the weird thing is the rpms rev up and go back down when i take my foot off the gas. it acts like it wants to shift when it's not suppose to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 http://legacycentral.org/library/literature/codes.htm Just have him follow these steps. This tells you how to read the check engine light codes for OBD-I. This will give you a general idea of what is wrong. Let us know the codes. OBD-I was a very basic system, but it will at least give you an idea of why your CEL is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 I wouldn't go for a flush. They shoot solvent backwards through the lines and at high pressure. This causes bits and pieces of contaminants and stuff to break away and go backwards through your system and has the potential to clog the filter, lines...you name it. It doesn't help that most places wont change the filter. Just get it drained fully (torque converter and all) and refill it. There is a lot more in the system than just the pan. And nice, I was looking for the trans one, but I couldn't find it. Obviously! When I said flush I didn't mean take the car to Jiffy Lube, I meant drop the pan and do it yourself (With a new filter of course). Those quick flush places just force old dirty ATF through your transmission, most of the time this technique doesn't even reach half of the valve body. Never have a quickie lube&oil change place do any transmission work. I thought that was a given. my husband changed the filter etc. a few months back. no change. the check engine light has been on for 6 mos. it only came on after i had a seal changed on the transmission the guy that did this for me is questionable at best he said the light will sometimes come on after doing this but should go off. It never has gone off. But the light doesn't blink it just stays on. there is NO backfire etc when the shift goes nuts. the weird thing is the rpms rev up and go back down when i take my foot off the gas. it acts like it wants to shift when it's not suppose to. Any mechanic who tells you that a check engine light is normal after he fixes your car is a total hack. He either jerry-rigged something, half-assed something, or messed something up and he's trying to cover his ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowing hen Posted July 1, 2010 Author Share Posted July 1, 2010 I agree about the mechanic(he is not mine). The whole car has been half-ass'd. My hubby tried getting something out of the on board computer thing, but no luck. It's been screwed up and re-rigged like the rest of the car. Fluids etc are fine. My hubby drove it and it didn't mis-behave at all. He had me drive it and him ride with and it didn't even hiccup. I don't know why it won't act up when I'm trying to show someone what's going on. I'm beginning to think that it loves making me look like I'm crazy. But the thing is it is doing all I've said. I just can't get it to duplicate the problem. I'm worried the sporatic symptoms are gonna cause a bigger problem. I told my hubby I guess I'll drive it till it dies. Then maybe someone will believe me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 "I don't know why it won't act up when I'm trying to show someone what's going on." It's always like this unfortunately :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cz4aLaura Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I wouldn't go for a flush. They shoot solvent backwards through the lines and at high pressure. This causes bits and pieces of contaminants and stuff to break away and go backwards through your system and has the potential to clog the filter, lines...you name it. It doesn't help that most places wont change the filter. Just get it drained fully (torque converter and all) and refill it. There is a lot more in the system than just the pan. I thought this was interesting. I need to do a flush on mine, and I thought that taking it to a place to have a flush done was the only way to do that. I mean you can't FLUSH it yourself unless you have the machine to do it with, so you're saying just drain it? Does that get all the crud and buildup out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 The important thing to know is that those machines use high pressure lines attached to the transmission cooler lines. They force high pressure transmission fluid through the transmission backwards. Any crud and buildup it removes will most likely get stuck in the valve body of the transmission, or the transmission oil filter. When they do this, they don't change the filter either. They just flush a bunch of fluid through the transmission for a little while and throw the hoses on before giving you back the keys. A simple drain and flush won't get All[/b] the crud out, nor will it fully drain the torque converter, but it will get all the fluid out of the transmission itself. Removing the pan to do this job gives you access to the transmission filter as well. Some of the crud in the transmission is important to shifting in an older car. Most of that crud is actually worn away friction material from the clutch packs. Sometimes, completely flushing this crud from the transmission can actually make the transmission shift harder than it did before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowing hen Posted July 5, 2010 Author Share Posted July 5, 2010 this is crowing hens' hubby. the car is several cars put together. 91 body...92 engine...and a different steering column from who knows what. i read or was told that under the column there is 2 black single wire connectors that go together. i got under there and i saw 2 white single wire and 2 green T looking connectors. all of this was to be able to get codes. generally when you turn the key on(not start ) the dash lights stay on a few seconds, and then go out. this car they stay on. the only light that goes away is the seat belt. tranny has vaccumn lines...right? would that cause the problem or have something to do with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowing hen Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 would the TPS cause the problems? i understand that the TPS controls the shifting and other things. it gets really hot under the hood, so if the sensor was going out the extreme heat would cause it to falter at times. yesterday we ran it hard for a little bit,and it never acted up. took it to my wife to run the route and within 30 min. it started doing it again. i've got another used TPS i'm going to change out and see if it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqc151 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 loosen the 2 screws that hold it in place. but do not remove. start car, then rotate back and forth until the idle smooths out and is around 700rpm. then retighten screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowing hen Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 it does idle rough and it shifts rough(at times). so doing that might help both problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqc151 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 yes, i would highly recommend checking the coil too. ud be suprised how much the car smooths out with a good coil. a bad coil can make ur car run like crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqc151 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 ok, i just read thru this entire thread AGAIN... did u end up getting the codes? alot of things can give u the symtoms u posted. but to narrow it down we need the codes. if u havent already: do the normal routine tune up: spark plugs, wires, fuel filter, fuel pump, air filter, oil change, check trans fluid for a burnt smell, add if needed. check the coil, check ur knock sensor, make sure its not cracked. also check the crank and camshaft sensors. make sure all the wires going to these sensors are not cut, burnt, or frayed. also check the o2 sensors... if u get the codes, i can narrow ur problem down a little easier. but start with the above and keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowing hen Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 hens' hubby again. i put another TPS on the car and tried to adjust. i got it to idle around 700 rpms and drove it, and it still wanted to shift weird. i got it where it shifted smooth in all gears. it was in 4th gear by 40 mph. you get about 55 to 60 mph and it(at times) wanted to shift back to 3rd gear. so i adjusted some more, and it was ok in all gears. when i got to 50 mph and let off the gas, it immediatly(sp) down shifted hard. we use a toggle switch to the battery because the batt. kept running down. the last few adjustments i did, i would pull the toggle and clear power. i started the car and idle was around 2000rpms. i backed the idle screw off a whole turn, and drove again. it drove fine, shifted fine and didn't try to down shift. my wife drove to the post office,she said was fine. until about 2 hours into the route and it acted up again. several people that i talked to doesn't think it's the tranny, but just got everyone stumped. the shop that looked at it once put a machine on it, and couldn't pull any codes. nothing came up. but the check eng. light stays on. the steering column is not the original and ever since they changed that, the check eng. light has been on. the mech. said it would go away. there are 2 sets of 1 wire connectors under the dash. white and green(T type). i connected the 2 white ones and tried it... nothing. the green ones(i think) are for more indepth scan. changed the plugs,wires,air filter,fuel filter,oil&filter,1 fuel injector,tranny filter and fluid.( the problems was already there before i changed the tranny filter and fluid. just thought i couldn't get any worse) my wife has been driving the car this week and she says she doesn't get over 40 to 45 mph. she doesn't want to go faster and the car act up, and get ticked off. she is content with the speed as long as it's smooth driving. a brand new TPS is 300.00 dollars. 91 car with a 92 engine and it's that much money. i would hate to see what the other sensors would cost. sorry sooooo long, but we are pulling our hair out trying to figure this out. it runs ok one minute,and runs like crap the next. don't know,don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Wagon Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Dang...got me stumped. Dont forget...junk yard parts are your friend. They're nice because you can get them for $10 and if they dont work you just go pull another for $10...repeat the process til you find one that works. Chances are if it works it'll work for at least a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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