[KSH60Mechanic]

I’m new to this forum. I’m finally getting very close to be able to devote time and money towards fixing up my forester. I am wanting to take advantage of the various resources I have to fix it up. My transmission is making a whining noise. Sounds like at least one bearing is going out. The CV axles need replaced, along with the center differential. I have been trying to find a rebuild kit. I want a complete rebuild kit if there is one. Because of my lack of experience. I don’t want to inspect gears or other components and assume they’re ok. When I’m reality they should have been replaced.

I considered buying a used transmission but I don’t want to risk it failing on me because of its condition being unknown. I would like to try my hand at rebuilding it myself from scratch. I don’t want to spend the money on a rebuilt one. Unless someone believes that a rebuilt one would be better/cheaper in the end. A complete rebuild kit would be awesome because I also want the challenge and to learn how to do it. Any reference material would be great as well. How-to videos is great. Thanks.

 

[greengoblin68]

Hello KSH60Mechanic, is the transmission still in the vehicle? The bearing you are describing is likely the output shaft bearing. For replacement parts I'm pretty sure subaru is your only source.

 

[KSH60Mechanic]

Yea everything is currently still installed. I’m driving it as little as possible. Lots of things are beginning to fail. I’m at a point where I need to decide whether to tackle replacing parts or starting over. The high price of labor at repair shops and the increased price of used cars has me more inclined to do my own work. My father-in-law works at O’Reilly and I had him quote some prices with family discount. It isn’t consistent for every item. Some thing are 50% off. Oil and other fluids are almost nothing. Like 5-10% off. What he quoted me for CV axles, struts and brake discs and pads, drums and shoes added up to $800-900. I’m trying to keep the subject about the transmission but as you can see I have a sizable project on my hands. If I put work into it. I want it to be a daily driver. I also want to put a 2 inch spacer lift on it. I am working on pricing right now and how much of my time it’ll cost. I learned that the transmission housing also contains the front and center differential. It appears I’m going to have to replace those individually. There doesn’t appear to be a complete kit to rebuild the transmission and both front and center differentials. I’m certain the center differential is shot. There’s binding in the drivetrain. Especially when it’s hot. Which is what happened to my 96’ outback. That was my first Subaru and I learned a lot in that $900 car. This time round on the forester it was my own fault. Negligence on tire rotations and air pressure I suspect. It was at a stage in life where I was driving far more than I was anticipating and weekends were filled with activities that postponed maintenance. Enough postponed maintenance and stuff begins to fail. It’s so far reaching that I don’t want to risk any part of the drivetrain failing. I would rather replace the drivetrain as much as possible to have as much of a clean slate as possible.

I’m trying to explain my situation but I am biting off a lot to chew here and it’s hard to stick to one specific subject.

 

[KSH60Mechanic]

If I’m going through the trouble of fixing this car up. I want it done right. I don’t want to replace a bunch of parts then have the transmission blow up on me. I’ve seen “used, tested” transmissions on eBay for $600-800. I’m curious at what level did they test the transmission? Could there be a bearing going out? Or gears are starting to strip? I essentially want to rebuild my own transmission. I would like to know if it would be better to replace it with a used one or even a rebuilt one than bother with rebuilding my own. I don’t want to be stubborn but I really want the challenge. I have an Outback that requires registration and tags to be legal that I’ll drive while I’m fixing up the forester. So there’s no rush to get this project finished in a weekend or anything silly like that.

 

[greengoblin68]

Well it's likely just a few bearings that are making the noise, so if you are able to do the work yourself then you will save a lot of money. I was looking at YouTube videos this morning and ran across one that should help you. This video shows him replacing 3 bearings. You may not need to replace all 3, that's up to you. The main thing is to get the tailshaft apart and inspect your parts. BTW I ran across another video where the guy used a slide hammer rigged to the tailshaft to get the tailshaft apart. You may need to locate and buy the replacement bearings from Subaru as Subaru is likely the only source for these bearings and then either replace them yourself or find a repair shop locally that rebuilds manual transmissions. Here is the link to the video and if you need help finding the correct part numbers let us know here and we will try to help you locate the correct parts.
How To Replace Center Differential and Bearings Without a Press
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4hO0ndREWU

 

[TMX]

If you want individual bearings, this might be a useful first step
opposedforces. com/

Or, if you can find the sizes of the bearings, they will almost certainly be cheaper via aftermarket from the likes of Koyo, NTN etc

 

[KSH60Mechanic]

Well it's likely just a few bearings that are making the noise, so if you are able to do the work yourself then you will save a lot of money. I was looking at YouTube videos this morning and ran across one that should help you. This video shows him replacing 3 bearings. You may not need to replace all 3, that's up to you. The main thing is to get the tailshaft apart and inspect your parts. BTW I ran across another video where the guy used a slide hammer rigged to the tailshaft to get the tailshaft apart. You may need to locate and buy the replacement bearings from Subaru as Subaru is likely the only source for these bearings and then either replace them yourself or find a repair shop locally that rebuilds manual transmissions. Here is the link to the video and if you need help finding the correct part numbers let us know here and we will try to help you locate the correct parts.
How To Replace Center Differential and Bearings Without a Press
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4hO0ndREWU

That looks like an awesome video. As my name says. I’m an H-60 Blackhawk mechanic. This primary experience with doing maintenance has been in aviation. I find myself trying to apply aviation standards to vehicles maintenance. So our general rule is replace a part. Either condition-based maintenance or time-based maintenance. Condition-based we take a component and us specialized equipment to test for microfractures and stuff. Time-based is replacing parts after X number of hours. Even if it’s working fine or not. So as I’m trying to tackle this project I’m wanting to gut the transmission and assume it’s all faulty and replace almost everything. I just don’t have any method to determine what’s faulty other than visual. Would a visual inspection be good enough? Visually inspecting what moves freely and what doesn’t? Check for metal shavings or other parts? Is that good enough for this type of maintenance? I mean the main point of this project is to save money. I wouldn’t be doing so if I replaced every part unnecessarily. Thanks!

 

[greengoblin68]

KSH60Mechanic, first have a look at car-part website and see if there is a salvage yard near you that has a replacement transmission for you car. They normally come with a 60 day warranty and it may be less trouble than rebuilding what you have. If you decide to rebuild your transmission and replace the failed parts, you should locate a shop locally that rebuilds manual transmissions. Have them take apart your transmission and they will know to clean it thoroughly and inspect the parts. Then if everything looks good it would probably be just a few bearings that need replacing.
Here is a link for car-part website: www.car-part.com/

 

[KSH60Mechanic]

KSH60Mechanic, first have a look at car-part website and see if there is a salvage yard near you that has a replacement transmission for you car. They normally come with a 60 day warranty and it may be less trouble than rebuilding what you have. If you decide to rebuild your transmission and replace the failed parts, you should locate a shop locally that rebuilds manual transmissions. Have them take apart your transmission and they will know to clean it thoroughly and inspect the parts. Then if everything looks good it would probably be just a few bearings that need replacing.
Here is a link for car-part website: www.car-part.com/

Thank you so much! I have an LKQ in town that might have a transmission. Time is money. If I spent a fortune rebuilding the whole transmission. It wouldn’t be worth it. If I spent 6 months rebuilding it. I can’t get that time back. Thank you so much!

 

[greengoblin68]

KSH60Mechanic, if you replace the transmission you should hang on to the old one. You never know when you may have time to tear it down and fix it. If it's just a few bearings it wouldn't cost much in parts. This way you have a spare transmission.

Here are some video's I found on tearing the entire transmission down, inspecting each piece and replacing the worn parts.

Subaru 5 Speed (2012) Bearing Replacement Pt. 1 : Opening The Case
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaR1LkGsIfg
Subaru 5 Speed (2012) Bearing Replacement Pt. 2 : Figuring Out What Failed
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAvQo0Xh3ug
Subaru 5-Speed Final Assembly After Bearing Replacement - Part 3
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkPwrOFD8zg

 

[KSH60Mechanic]

KSH60Mechanic, if you replace the transmission you should hang on to the old one. You never know when you may have time to tear it down and fix it. If it's just a few bearings it wouldn't cost much in parts. This way you have a spare transmission.

Here are some video's I found on tearing the entire transmission down, inspecting each piece and replacing the worn parts.

Subaru 5 Speed (2012) Bearing Replacement Pt. 1 : Opening The Case
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaR1LkGsIfg
Subaru 5 Speed (2012) Bearing Replacement Pt. 2 : Figuring Out What Failed
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAvQo0Xh3ug
Subaru 5-Speed Final Assembly After Bearing Replacement - Part 3
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkPwrOFD8zg

That actually was my plan. Buy a second transmission to have a spare. I have an 01’ outback. Are the transmissions interchangeable?

 

[greengoblin68]

I'm not sure what transmissions are interchangeable. If you look at car-part website you can copy and paste your car's VIN number into it and then it will tell you what engines or transmissions are compatible with your car. My guess is if you are doing a Forester then only an engine or transmission from another Forester will work.
My son has a 2008 WRX 5 speed manual transmission. A few years ago his transmission started making a loud whining noise. At the time there were only a few transmission shops that had the knowledge to work on it, but they could not get parts for it. From my research you can only get replacement parts from Subaru or buy a used donor transmission. We ended up buying a used transmission from a local salvage yard. We spent 1,800.00 . I kept the old transmission. I'm pretty sure it's just a few bearings. One of these days I will tear it down and see about fixing it.

That actually was my plan. Buy a second transmission to have a spare. I have an 01’ outback. Are the transmissions interchangeable?