Sticky shifting - wrong or old fluid, tranny bad, or shifter linkage?

'92 Subaru Legacy L wagon automatic

142K miles

I've noticed for a few years now that sometimes when I drive this old car to go to work that the shifting feels raspy. The best way I can describe is by thinking about the brake cable on a bicycle. You have a vinyl-covered metal tube through which the twisted cable slides. When you pull on the brake or release it and the spring spreads the brake at the wheel, the cable slides up and down inside the metal sheath. If someone uses spray lube (that drips out or washes away) or the cable or sheath get rusty then you can feel the increased resistance of the cable to move inside the sheath. This is what it feels like when I first start shifting when the car has been unused for awhile.

If the car has sat for several days unused (parked in the car port), I start to feel the grainy shifting. Once the car has been driven around 20 miles, or more, or after a couple days of repeated use, the graininess or stickiness goes away and the shifting feels normal. The stickiness doesn't return unless the car has sat unused for several days. Well, this car often sits for weeks or months unused so, in those cases, the shifter always feels sticky until it's been driven awhile.

That the rusty stickiness goes away would seem to indicate it isn't a problem with the tranny. If there was excessive wear or defect in the tranny's mechanicals, I would think this grainy shifting would exist all the time and not go away.

The parts that might be causing the stickiness would be:

- Tranny - but then why does the the sticky shifting go away with use?

- Shifter linkage from console to tranny - but what would it stop being sticky since it's not like it's getting more lube?

- Fluid - could it be burnt or the wrong viscosity?

I had a fluid flush 6 years ago (after owning it for 13 years starting in '94 when I bought it 2 years old). It was a simple flush because the cost was only $50 which is too cheap for a fluid exchange. Since the car sits for months unused (I just run it once a month to recharge the battery), my recollection is that this stickiness started maybe a year or two after the flush. Could the shop have put in the wrong fluid? If it was too thin for viscosity, maybe it drains aways so shifting starts out sticky but after the pump moves the fluid around then the stickiness goes away? Or is this typical of automatics that sit around unused for a long time that the fluid has to get pumped back into the tranny for the stickiness to go away?

The shop's worksheet doesn't say what type and viscosity of tranny fluid they used. I hear if it is too thin that the bands won't grip (they'll slip) and you burn them up. I don't feel any lurching or snugging down after changing gears (manually or automatically).

I've read the varying and often opposing views regarding tranny flushes. For manuals, a flush is okay. For automatics, a flush is only partial as dirty fluid is left behind in the tranny's valves, torque converter, and cooling lines. There's the argument that crud gets dislodged and can lodge elsewhere but I would think a complete fluid *exchange* would get rid of the crud. I'd also check with the shop if they drop the pan to clean out the crud that sits down there along with the filter screen in the transaxle.

So I'm wondering if a complete fluid *exchange* with the right type of fluid and viscosity would eliminate the sticky shifter. Or if that's just something I have to deal with in a car that sits mostly unused. The shifting can be so hard after sitting a long time that I get worried I'm going to snap something apart when forcing the shifter lever to and fro.

Reply to
VanguardLH
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Sounds to me like an external ;linkage problem - most likely the pivot bolt in the shifter assembly itself (the shift handle)

Reply to
clare

But why would it stop being sticky after shifting several times when I start driving around the car after it's been sitting stored for awhile? I figured if the shifter linkage was mis-adjusted that it would stay that way until re-adjusted. I don't see how driving around would re-adjust the shifter linkage.

The odd thing is the stickiness goes away after moving the shifter back and forth a few times. I can't do this while parked but have to be rolling on the road and do the superfluous shifting to "free up" whatever is causing the sand paper like feel.

Reply to
VanguardLH

I've had a somewhat-similar problem with the clutch on my five-speed WRX. A drive through a decent car wash with an underbody wash option clears things up. I suspect most of the problem is due to the magnesum chloride appplied to Colorado roads in the winter.

Reply to
Ben Jammin

We get a lot of road salt here in Minnesota. So you're thinking there is some rust on the linkage that breaks free when I shift several times so it gets smoother but then rusts up again when left sitting idle for weeks?

If it is the linkage, can I get to it by removing the center console and the floor plate for the shifter? Hopefully I wouldn't screw up any adjustments, like the neutral switch, by taking this stuff apart from the top to look underneath and lube the linkage. When I was under the car, I couldn't see how to reach any of this stuff from the bottom; however, I can only put it up on ramps and jacks so I have little manuevering room underneath. Can the linkage be reached from underneath if the car were on a hyrdraulic lift?

Reply to
VanguardLH

VanguardLH:

Since you a) apparently don't know what is wrong and b) apparently don't know how to fix it if you did know what was wrong, why not take it to a dealer, whose service department will find out what is wrong and fix it for you? Just sayin'.

Reply to
Davoud

First, take your car to a carwash with an underbody wash option and see if that helps. If it doesn't, move on. I would think a local independent or dealer Subaru service department would be familiar with this problem. There are some things I am happy to do on my car and other things I'd rather hand over to an experienced technician who knows local roads and conditions.

Reply to
Ben Jammin

I work for a lot cheaper than a dealer's shop. I was digging for opinions here on where I should start looking. I'm not a car enthusiast with a garage full of car repair gear. My car is just a tool but I fix my own tools if doable. Just sayin'.

Reply to
VanguardLH

The shifter can be totally removed without affecting any adjustments

- There is likely a rusted bolt/sleave and a worn bushing involved. Likely not a SIMPLE repair, but not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination.. Likely need to remove it from below. Not familliar with that particular car.

Reply to
clare

VanguardLH:

Davoud:

VanguardLH:

Be my guest. Remember that you may get just what you pay for. Ever see one of those humorous signs? "Repairs $50, $100 if you worked on it first." That bit of humor is experience-based.

Reply to
Davoud

I don't know if the neutral safety switch is on the shifter or in the transaxle on this old car. The Chilton's book shows it two places. So unscrewing the floor plate to lift the shifter up so I can get underneath won't affect the neutral switch if it's on the shifter?

Hmm, if it's the bushing and has to be done from below, there are a couple of car shops that I trust that shouldn't be too expensive to hoist on their hydraulic floor lift to do the work. Hopefully it wouldn't be more than an $80 job (assuming Subaru doesn't charge some ridiculously high price for the bushing on an over 20-year old model).

Alas the old Chilton book I have that covers this old model doesn't go into the details of how to access the shifter linkage. There's lots that book doesn't tell you about.

Reply to
VanguardLH

Who replaces (so as not to throw money away when repairs are easy):

Wipers? Me. Windshield washer fluid? Me. Alternator? Me. Fan belts? Me. Coolant back flush? Sometimes me. Oil pressure sensor? Me. Air filter? Me. Spark plugs? Me. Spark plug harness? Me. PCV? Me. Door lock cylinders? Me. Door and rear speakers? Me. Replace smashed door windows? Me. Rusty whole doors (with salavaged ones)? Me. Radio? Me. Seat belts? Me. Rusted rear gate door latch? Me. Brake pads? Me.

Engine oil and filter? Used to me under prices for quarts of oil and filter got so high that I can get specials for almost the same price.

And even older adage is "A fool and his money are soon parted." There's no point in throwing away money on a repair that I could do myself. There's no point in throwing away money on something that might be what needs repairing because I find it's okay.

If I can take a peek at the shifter linkage to see if that's where the problem remains, and if it looks like something I can do from above then I'll go for it. If it's something that has to be repaired from underneath then, yep, that's when I pay someone with a floor hoist to lift the car and work on it. I don't like being under a car elevated by ramps and jacks.

So if and when I can focus on what needs to be repaired and how to do it then decides if it's me that does it or I pay someone else. If you have absolutely no mechanical ability then, sure, always pay someone else to do what you feel you can't. I used to have a marine shop do the carb job on my lawn mower for $60 until I saw how easy it was to do: buy a carb kit, put it in, nothing super complicatd. Now I don't have to waste money to pay someone for expertise that isn't beyond my ability.

Reply to
VanguardLH

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