Transmission whining? clutch problems as well
 

Sorry about the spam of new threads, but i want to get a couple of problems taken care of asap

Ever since i bought the car the transmission has whined, first it was only 3rd gear and sometimes 4th gear, 5k or some later its happening in 5th and sometimes 2nd. Another problem is trying to fix reverse is hard, i'll shift into R and give out a little clutch and it'll start grinding like crazy. I have to go to 5th and then R allllll the way back.

I'm guessing i'll need a tranny rebuild soon but i don't want to waste the $ if i plan on selling it sometime next year to buy a wrx.

Last time i checked my tranny fluid it was full and still clean. Should i do a flush with some redline or royal purple fluid? I'm thinking my fluid is too thin and not properly lubricating? any help would be great.

About my clutch, sometimes after the car gets hot the clutch gets harder and harder to engage (foot to the floor still have to slightly use force to get 1st) Also, i don't feel any resistance from the clutch pedal until 1/4-1/5 down.

You need a transmission and your clutch slave or master is starting to go bad. My money goes to slave cylinder their notorious for it. But then again this is all just my guess based off the info you listed.

slave/master cylinder has nothing to do with it. If slave/master are bad, you cant shift period. now, give me your money

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Not true. Its never so black and white. There is is plenty of gray area so to speak with the clutch hydraulics. My 90 TII's slave would only leak down once the motor was fully warmed allowing it to soak up heat.

Heh, it takes a year for my clutch master cylinder to run out of fluid since the rear seal leaks so slowly. I'll replace it when it explodes.

bullshit. the clutch hydraulic system has nothing to do with the whinning.

Mine was whining then clutch went completely out pretty sure it ended up being the throwout bearing, either way I'm replacing everything from the flywheel back to the rear end, should fix it :)

So no one has an answer for me? Just.... i need a new transmission?

I can't even do a fluid flush and put some good tranny fluid in? that wouldn't even help?

Grinding is usually indicative of syncros. If it's not liking going into any specific gear... It's indicative of syncros.

I'll give you an example:

I used to be a mechanic at the local Subaru dealership, and found out an interesting little factoid. Subaru INTENTIONALLY builds their transmissions with a flaw. The synch between 2 and 3 is weaker, than the rest. Why? So when little Bobby Jackhole's mommy decides to buy him an STi, and he goes out racing it, we can tell. He'll have mommy bring it into service, under warranty, to have the trans looked at and fixed.

As SOON as I open the housing and see that the 2-3 sync is famangled, but only 'x' amound of damage to the others? I know he's been racing...

Which is not covered by the warrany.

The point here is that the hardest shift, while racing, is from 2 to 3. I went through maybe a dozen transmissions, over the years (between 1/4mi, aggressive driving and Solo2 Autocrossing) due to the same thing.

Summary: have the trans pulled and the syncs checked. I will guarantee that the syncs are bad and that the feeder channels on a couple of the gears are chewed.

What you CAN do, in the mean time is full drain it and pump in some 90w gear lube.

This is what I ran in my '86 GXL that was fully gutted and caged (and properly fitted with a nice little Jackson S/C, from an Integra), for drifting.

That shit not only takes FOREVER to break down, but also quite a while to heat up, so you can't just start her right up and take the fuck off, expecting it to be all lube-y, right away.

You'll know before it's fully warmed up: It'll sound like the straight-cut gears of reverse, going forward. It goes away when the oil's warmed up, though, so no worries.

Thats pretty clever of subaru to do.....

I have no plans of pulling the transmission though :lol: I'll probably just flush it and put in some of that 90w gear lube.

Just be sure you let the transmission rotate for a bit before you drive off. The gears get lube instantly because your intermediate shaft is bathed in oil. Problem is, it takes time for the oil to get into the bearings good.

It's not the synchro's.

He said that it grinds going into reverse, and on S4 n/A transmissions, there's no blocking ring on reverse. Reverse is not synchronized on the S4 N/A's, only the TII transmissions and the S5 N/A's were synchronized on all 6 gears. Engagement occurs only via the face dogs on the gear and their mates on the hub. With a slow shift, grinding will always occur; non-synchronized gear selection should be made fast and firm.

Whining indicates bearings.

Does the whining go away when the clutch is depressed? I would start with a fluid change to a good synthetic at the very least.

I would also try readjusting the clutch pedal freeplay.

When the clutch is depressed or the car is in neutral i can free rev as much as i like without hearing a thing. While car is in gear AND MOVING it whines, the more i give it gas in gear the louder it whines. if i just hold it steady the whining lowers a lot.

How does one adjust that? i need to take it to aamco or some transmission place?

While, usually when the clutch is released, and the car is in gear, the car will be moving, yeah... lol.

Does the whining stop if you hold the clutch depressed while the car is moving? If so, its the throw-out bearing. If the whining remains, its the tranny bearings.

You can adjust the clutch pedal yourself. Climb under the dash and look at the clutch pedal assembly. Use a wrench to loosen off the jamnut, and then turn the rod by hand until you achieve the proper free-play, then re-tighten the jamnut.