2nd and 5th gears are out and I have been looking for a replacment tranny, but everyone wants $700-$1000 for a used '99 unit. They say it is rare and only fits the 99 Forester.
My question is this: Can I make another model and/or year work on my 99 Forester. I never find a 99 Forester at the pull and pay yards here in Denver, but pleny of 99 Legacys, 98 and 2000 Foretsers, etc.
I already know that "technically" only a 99 tranny will work according to all the parts books.
I guess I am just wondering what really makes a 99 different than say the 98 or 2000. Is it a minor change that can be worked around, or is it something that won't even physically let a 98 or 2000 bolt up.
Any 98-02 Transmission will work.
We just swapped a MY98 Forester 5MT into a MY03 Baja 5MT.
The only difference was that the MY98 transmission used two more dowels than the MY03 transmission which used bolts in their place. Other than that it bolted right into place without any issues.
You should also be able to use some of the Outback 4.111 gearboxes, but they have a shorter 5th gear than the Foresters which will likely mean a slight drop in fuel mileage on the highway.
The Forester gearbox in the Baja netted a 2-4mpg increase versus the old Baja/Outback gearbox.
I'm not too concerned about fuel mileage, I just need to know for sure that if I go to the salvage yard and spend a day pulling a transmission out of something other than a 99 that it will work when I get it home. This is a daily driver for my son and we will have to do this on the weekend. If I pull his out and the one I bought doesn't work, we're screwed. Again the '99's are very expensive and hard to find. I'm hoping for some other options.
Here is a transmission chart for you.
The Model Year (MY)97-02 Foresters are listed as using internally identical 5-speed transmissions.
If you can confirm whether or not your son's MY99 has the correct transmission code you'll know where to start. It should be TY755VC1AA.
Subaru didn't switch from female axles to male axles until MY04 across nearly the entire model lineup. Whatever transmission you find, just be sure to double check the code to ensure that it uses the proper final drive ratio to match your existing setup.
Here is a PDF of the transmissions, I will also email you a copy in a moment.
ignore the ones highlighted in yellow, those are merely the ones I have in the garage at the moment. Also, like I previously mentioned, we swapped a MY98 transmission into a MY03 car last week.
The ID chart I linked to is the most recent version by RalliSpec. It is hosted on NASIOC, which you may have to register for to be able to download it. Works fine for me when logger in on NASIOC. Transmission ID Chart - NASIOC
^with Subaru transmissions it is really easy to cross check the codes to establish which one is which, and the 98-02 MT's all came with 4.111 final drive ratios in North America.
There is no point in buying parts you won't need...
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