Update: Talked to the owner and although there is some 'gray area' due to the fact that the tech says he didn't drain the oil and I say that all the fluid levels were good when I brought the car in, the shop is still taking responsibility for the incident since they removed the transmission last and failed to check the fluids after reinstalling it. The shop is currently looking for a matching transmission for the current drivetrain that is in my car (4.11 final drive ratio). I believe they may have found one in Ohio and the owner has asked me to search locally to see if I can find one from a private party. I have posted up in the WTB Parts section of the forum. I am open to the idea of completely swapping the trans and rear diff back to 3.90 if a matching set were available. Please contact me if you have any information leading to a possible replacement. Thanks. I am relieved that none of the financial burden will be put on me but I am still very stressed out about the situation. I think I will feel much better once I get my car back in good working order.
wow, this is a good read if not a frustrating one. kudos to keeping a level head. **** happens and has to be frustrating for both parties. hope it works out well in the end and that you continue to use their shop despite the latest round of problems especially if it is an isolated incident.
It has been a little tough at times to keep a level head with all that has happened. They had my car for almost 2 weeks before Christmas and then I had it a total of 6 days before returning it to the shop with a toasted transmission. Only 2 of those days the car was working with all the gears and I wasn't driving it much. At this point I just want my car back in working condition. I have a rental car right now but will be picking up my grandfather's '91 Caprice Classic on Sunday. It is what it is and I can't do anything to change what happened so there is no reason to be mad. The shop is under enough pressure so I will help them in any way I can to make things go more quickly.
patience will get a better end result too so you are doing it the right way. just think how much fun you will have when you have it back though. you'll appreciate it so much more.
I'm a little worried I will just end up being paranoid that something else will go wrong right away. LOL The last 3 months have been rough on me because I have dealt with too many car issues.
ahh, you can't worry about that something failing it'll drive you nuts. you should see the nuts on swedespeed worry when their car reaches the end of the 100k mile warranty. you can see their melt down coming... many sell. one would swear when it hits 100,000 the car blows up. i hear ya though on expecting something to go wrong. i FINALLY fixed my alarm from going off after it sits for more than 60 seconds. it would arm but not lock the doors, i was always setting it off. i'm just now getting over it and it's been over 2 weeks. i was cringing when opening the door for a while waiting for it to go off...
heh, works for me... apparently though, it seems i start drooling for mods/parts, usually wheels/tires... picking up 4th set of wheels soon
Do what I do, buy the wife a pair of shoes for every pair of wheels you buy yourself. If you don't tell her what you're doing, I bet you can get 3-4 more sets of wheels before she catches on. Lucky for me the gf prefers Puma to Christian Louboutin Not to completely derail this thread but I'm the same way with the mustang. The previous owner shaved the keyholes and installed an alarm that auto locks the doors 10 seconds after the door lock is popped (regardless of whether the door is opened, the motor is running, etc...). The keys have been locked in the car twice in my 3 weeks of ownership, the second time required several hours across 2 days including a failed call to a locksmith to resolve. All thanks to the door cards being off the car and the previous owner swapping trunks without swapping lock cylinders... you couldn't pull on the inner handle because it's secured by the doorcard... couldn't get a slim jim to work thanks to where and how the auto door popper was installed... eventually had to break the trunk hatch lock after pricing out the cost of new windows since I was ready to bash one in. Anyway, the auto door lock makes a horrible and very loud mechanical sound. Lucky for me one of the machines in my office (a large stack cutter) makes a very similar noise... I'm currently seeking ptsd home remedies if you have any to share lol
UPDATE: The shop seems to have found a replacement transmission(Grade A) in Ohio. They are double checking that it is a match and if so, it should be shipped up by the end of the week. Hopefully I get my car back early next week. I am not sure what they are paying for the replacement. I asked about just having my current one rebuilt and the answer was that they wouldn't know until they cracked it open... but it would probably cost $2000-$2500. For some reason that sounded a little steep to me. Thoughts?
Well, apparently they had two transmissions in mind and both ended up being 3.90 final drive so I am out of luck! I am getting extremely impatient now. Would it really cost upwards of $2500 to have the current transmission rebuilt if they only replaced the trashed gears and part???
I've seen anywhere from $1500 to $3k for a rebuild depending on what's wrong. Most people opt for the used route. Are you able to source a 3.9 rear end?
I have not found a 3.90 rear diff from anyone on here... I don't think I am the only one looking for one either. The shop was willing to do the full swap again if I could find a matching pair. I just sent them an email asking if it might be easier to find a matching 3.90 pair than finding the 4.11 5MT.
That seems pretty high for a rebuild. I just had one done for quite a bit less than that. Mine was only new 2,3,and 4 gears and syncros along with the associated parts. Yours was run while dry though and may have damaged the front diff increasing the cost. Call Mike Wray at David Wray Automotive (listed in vendor section) and see what he thinks. The first shop is right though, no way to judge the carnage without opening it up.
Contacted Wray Automotive. Hopefully I can talk with Mike tomorrow and see what he says. Thanks for the info.
This is not so hard really. There are plenty of trannys available.it's just of you want to keep the shorter 5th gear our want a longer 5th for hiway. Sigh.....
Looks like theres plenty on car-part. It wont let me link to the search results, but car-part.com has a nationwide database of salvage yards. Looks like Transmissions can be had anywhere from $850-$1500.
I didn't think it would be that difficult to find a matching transmission either! It has been very frustrating. The shop knows what they should be looking for so I don't see what the problem is.
The shop said they have been using Car-parts.com to search and also checking MN salvage yards. On car-parts.com, I wish they listed the final drive ratios... that would be handy. I am basically looking for a transmission that came out of a 03-04 Legacy L.
You have an outback. You need them to find you an Outback tranny. Other trannys are such as forester or impreza 2.5rs w ith a 4.111
Yes, I have an Outback... but as I mentioned, it does not have the original transmission in it. In September, due to a locked up gearbox, I did a complete swap of the tranny and rear diff. The one that is currently in there is from a 03/04 Legacy L and according to the transmission code it is a 4.11. In the chart below, the top is my car and what the original transmission was. The one below it is what is currently in the car. The current transmission and rear diff. came from a member on here...PHATsuby. US Legacy Outback MY01-02 TY754VCBCA 3.454 2.062 1.448 1.088 0.871 N/A 3.333 1.000 3.900 Viscous (4kgf) Open US Legacy L MY03-04 TY754VCDAA 3.454 2.062 1.448 1.088 0.780 N/A 3.333 1.000 4.111 Viscous (4kgf) Open
Then that shouldn't be hard at all to locate one... Of course these subarus keep on going so you have to wait for a donor
UPDATE: I found an exact match(identical tranny codes)... located in Seattle at a salvage yard. Grade A used part with only 45k miles. It has been ordered but the timeline is a little less than desirable. It is still in a car and according to the salvage yard, they won't have it out for a week and then they will ship it to MN. Oh well, at least it is a perfect match.
By the way... anyone have a recommendation for a good repair shop... preferably in the south/southwest metro? I am not looking to burn any bridges with the shop that is doing the work on my car but I am not sure I will continue bringing my car to them if I have anymore issues. Thanks!
Subaru specific (or at least well versed in Subaru)? For regular maintenance? General repairs? Everything in between? Basically, are you looking for a one-stop shop? You'll probably hear a lot of the same, but these recommendations are based on personal experience and compared against experience with other shops in the area. General: Morries Minnetonka employs several MNSubaru members who are not only very competent at their jobs, but also well versed with aftermarket and non-original modifications (like your transmission). You'll want to seek out specific techs/employees there. A little more specialized: RSMotors in Burnsville has some of the best Subaru (and all around) mechanics in the area. They're knowledge and experience is expansive. Like the folks above, they're also great contributors to this site. Jeff the Alignment Guy in Richfield is my top choice for anything suspension and steering related. It's way the hell out of my way but I'll continue to go to him as long as he'll have me. His knowledge is excellent, service is personal while staying professional, and prices are beyond reasonable.
Just got the call from the shop that my car is done and ready to be picked up. I plan to check the fluids myself but not in the presence of the owner or the tech. I would not want to disrespect them because they have acted with a lot of professionalism in regards to the whole situation. I figure the only thing I really want to say to them when I pick it up is: "Thank you. I really appreciate how professional you have been in dealing with this whole situation". To put is all into perspective... since Dec. 9th, I have only had my car a total of 6 days. That makes 36 days that I have not been able to drive my car because it was sitting at the shop. I am hoping that I won't have to deal with any car issues for a long time!!!
Sounds like a win win! You sound like a respectable person and I bet the shop will appreciate that and hopefully your return buisness.
Thanks! Picked up the car and everything was good to go. Spoke with the owner and all is good... although I'm sure they don't want to see me (or my car) in there for a long time. HA! It was definitely nice to have my car back just in time for this crappy weather! I have no problem continuing to give business to John and Autopia Bloomington. They acted very professional during the entire situation and I thank them for it. I don't know of many shops that would step up and take responsibility when they have doubt that they did anything wrong. Kudos to them! Well, looks like that's the end of this story! Can't complain about a happy ending.
