1999 Subaru Outback I'm not sure!

OUTBACKSEATTLE

MEMBER
1999 SUBARU OUTBACK
4 CYL
AWD
AUTOMATIC
11,000 MILES

My car has been running fine. The other day it suddenly started clunking like I had a tire had blown out or something. I pulled over and everything was fine. I tried driving both forward and backward and got the same "clunking" in both directions. The car was undriveable, so I had it towed to my mechanic. He says I need a new transmission ($3200 - $3500). I have already replace the head gaskets in the car, and after I hit a deer last year, the entire front end is basically brand new. I'm hesitant to put more $ into the car and want to make sure it isn't something other than the transmission. There is no check engine light on. The only other "symptom" was that in the last day or so (before I had it towed), sometimes the rpm would get high enough that I would expect to hear the gear shift, but it wouldn't.

3 Replies

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,395 POSTS

Usually when a transmission goes out, they don't make a sound. They just quit moving or go up in a cloud of smoke. Unless you know AND trust the mechanic, for $3500 i'd sure get a second opinion. What exactly is supposed to be wrong with existing transmission? These all whl drive units are not known for problems. Please advise. In the interum, I'll check for TSBs and recalls on your car.

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Monday, March 16th, 2009 AT 11:06 PM

OUTBACKSEATTLE

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thanks so much for responding! What do you mean by "stops moving"? Does the fact that my car will go both forward and backward mean that the transmission may be okay?

My mechanic didn't say exactly what was wrong. He said they would have to dissemble the transmission to find out, and that the transmission is a complicated enough part that it's better to replace the whole thing.

I know nothing about cars, but I thought it was probably axle related or something because that's what it felt like.

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Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 AT 12:10 AM

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,395 POSTS

By "stops moving" I mean no forward or reverse movement. My thought is; it may be a drive axle/shaft joint and not the trans. Not that this is the case. It's just a possibility. Your mechanic is correct, on these units, it's better to replace than repair IF, it's definately the trans itself. See if you can find out what he "thinks" is wrong. It's your money, he should be able to tell you something for $3500. I'm going to do a little more research on this trans and edit it to this post.
EDIT; I looked again and there are no TSBs or recalls listed for your vehicle. I'm still concerned about, external causes other than the transmission. Also, to reiterate, If your mechanic can' give you a "rough" idea what's wrong, I'd surely get a second opinion. We're on "your" side here and don't want to see you get ripped. Again, please advise.

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Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 AT 12:44 PM