RSWilson

Hello to all,
I have recently bought a MY99 UK estate turbo and I'm really chuffed with it.
I am learning about the car and I have done loads of searches on these topics.
I would however like to relay my own story in my own words in the hope someone could give me some advice - Cheers.

When I rush the 5 speed box into 4th gear (up or down) it crunches slightly.
A friend of mine had a 2000 classic turbo and I recall teh box being very "acarde game like" but it didn't crunch.

If I take it steady there is no problem, its only if I race-change. Reading on here I understand a change of gearbox oil may well help OR if the box gets low on oil it might crunch 4th - any coments? Does the box have a dip stick? if so where is it?

Also the rear diff makes quite a knock when dropping to 4th to overtake briskly. Ive read on here that quite a lot of folks cars seem to have this and I'm tring to convince myself "they all do it" - any coments?

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to reply.

Regards
Richard

crusher

Hi Richard,
There is a dipstick for gearbox oil,it's found on the drivers side of the gearbox.If you look behind the intercooler it's pretty obvious as its sticking out of the gearbox...You should be cautious about overfilling as subaru recommend an oil level that is level with the lowest mark on the dipstick when the box is cold.
As to oil, many use Castrol Syntrax in these boxes, indeed I had a 1999 turbo with a slightly notchy change , refilled box with Syntrax and all was sweet.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

With the knocking rear diff, this can happen with some poorly fitted aftermarket backboxes.

RSWilson

Hi folks - thanks for the replies,
I checked my gearbox oil this morning when it was level and cold.
The oil was clear and alittle difficult to see but it was on the F mark not the bottom mark.
I checked it a couple of times and sure enough it is on the FULL mark.

I ran the car today and pulled it into the garage, a couple of min's after switching it off I checked the gear oil and it was above the full mark by about 6 or 7mm.

I'd be gratefull if someone could confirm that this oil should be on the LOW mark when cold and the FULL mark when hot?

I will drop and refill the oil with this SYNTRAX oil - I've read plenty of stories on hear about the issues it has solved for people. Its not garanteed but...

Cheers
Richard

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

In all my years of owning imprezas I've always made sure the oil level was on F when cold.

I would have thought Subaru recommend it be *at least* on the minimum mark when cold. It would be ineresting to see what it says in the manual.

RSWilson

Right - I've ordered 4 liters of SYNTRAX Universal oil for the gearbox.
I'll sort job out on saturday and see if still crunches 4th then.
I don't expect it the solve the problem to be honest but at least I'll know and it can't do any harm.

Cheers
Richard

gatecrasher3

Where did you order from at what cost? I could do with changing mine.

RSWilson

Hi Mate,

I bought it from OpieOils.co.uk
Its £9.99 but if you speak to Guy and say your a Subaru owner and you where recomended by these forums you get a discount down to £8.99.

Call them on 01209 215164

Cheers
Richard

crusher

Hi all,
Oil fill level was as recommended by local dealer. In fact what happened was that when I first had tha car(6mths old)..I noticed that the level was "down" and added oil to midway between marks, in my garage on pretty level floor. When the car went in for it's 1 year service the cheif mechanic mentioned that the gearbox oil level was high, and asked if I had topped it up thinking it was low. He then explained that they recommended filling to L mark or perhaps a tad above...and that the gearbox levels were hard to get right due to length of box/amount of oil causing large level changes if not done on dead flat surface...
Anyway I'm sure that there must be some flexibility in level between the 2 marks...but IMHO, like engine oil levels I think midway is better than full...not so much stress on gaskets etc...Subaru also don't fill the engine to F mark as is well documented on these forums....

RSWilson

OK - I put about 3.5L of the Syntrax oil in my gearbox and took it for a spin.

Bad news - it still crunches 4th just as before.
Anybody know how much to fix the syncro's in a 5 speed box? Am I best looking for a recon box?

Cheers
Richard

AC-scoobie

Just a point to mention before you splash out on a new gearbox. I had the same issue with MY98. The place i had it serviced used a full synth silkolene diff oil, all that had been used before was syntrax. I switched it back to syntrax and the crunching stopped. I spoke to a lot of people that had the same issue, and it happens both ways, i.e. a fully synth oil will cure the problem / bringing it on and vice versa.

ReggieMY99

I think its common practice with the older 5 speed boxes to overfill the gearbox abit, this should cover the 3'rd gear completely which is a weakpoint on the 5 speed boxes

Mine is above the F mark, always has been as long as ive had the car