Hello fellow MN Subaru brothers and sisters from the banks on the MN river near the black dog generating plant! I come to you with a question regarding shifting/shifter. I'd like the throw from gear to gear to be a but more subtle with less restriction. Would I need to swap out my shift linkage bushings if I wanted to accomplish this? Obviously a noob questions but no question is a stupid question!
A short shifter will decrease the length of the throw but it will require more force. Bushings will reduce slop and make engagement more positive. Many people like this but I don't know it would be considered "smoother"like you're looking for. If you're willing to change knobs then a very heavy knob would help to smooth things out. That being said, I have a short shifter, bushings, and a heavy knob. I think they work great together.
What kind of tranny fluid are you running? I would suggest putting in some fresh extra s if you don't have that in there or haven't changed it in a long while.
Short shifter, Kartboy front and rear bushings, along with Motul 300 Fluid in the gearbox makes for almost buttery smooth shifts in my car. Well as smooth as the 5sp Manual ever can be, but it really feels so much better than when I first got it. I might try the heavier knob to see if that does anything to make it better....
Tranny fluid was done 5k miles ago. That was at the dealer so I'm not sure what they use. The owner prior did put an STI shift knob on but dont know what the weight difference is from stock. To take care of all the ifs I think in the near future I'll just go with bushings, fluid and a heavier knob for starters. I think I've got a good idea for bushings but what are yours opinions for fluid?
Um, yeah they do. I picked up some for my car a month ago, my sisters a week ago. They just give you it in containers they have sitting around. The containers are clean.
Extra S is very good - I used to run that in the rally car. I've now switched to Motul gear 300 ls as it runs a little better for me
How many miles should I run with what I have in the case now? I had Walser change it last time so Id guess they used the fluid we are talking about.
I would be very surprised if a dealership uses extra s without you asking. A lot of them don't even know what it is.
I know Morries Minnetonka doesn't unless you specifically ask them. I had mine done under the regular maintenance, but I am planning on switching over to extra-s once they get some back in stock.