Transmission Issue. Please any ideas

[bmwpride]

Ok so i took my car to the dealership today and i had them check a leak that had just come up. They tell me that i need to re-seal my entire trans. Now i was like ok, so how much am i looking at, they tell me 1475 or so, and i about shat myself. So what is my best bet. What trans can i swap in and or what would be the best thing that i can do. Any ideas

[hawk61760]

Need to know what type of car you have.

[mike-tracy]

Need to know what type of car you have.
Duh, a Bimmer :smile:

[Huffer]

I call BS. If you are leaking from seals they should be able to tell you which seals need replacing. It's likely if your trans is leaking it's leaking from the pan.

Swapping in a USED trans will cost you just about as much in parts and labor as what they are charging just to reseal your old trans.

[bmwpride]

I would be doing the work, myself just took it into the dealer to see what exactly it was that needed fixing

[bmwpride]

I have a 97 subaru legacy gt

[elislider]

What the quoted you is fairly accurate pricing but only if that's actually the issue. It's very unlikely that it's leaking from the case, it's probably only leaking from a front or rear seal. However, a rear seal is easy to replace, you could do that yourself, but a front seal would take as much work as resealing the case because you have to split the case to replace that seal and then reseal the whole thing

I assume you have a 5spd manual. If you have an automatic then I don't know

[bmwpride]

no its a 5spd

[elislider]

ah ok then what i said applies

[jantzen8895]

Man i replaced my whole transmission for 1500. They're trying to make some money off your ass if you ask me. Never go to the dealership for something big like that.

[bmwpride]

ok here is a question, what would be my best bet for a replacement tranny that can hold power in the future, and not worry about having to change my rear end

[Huffer]

What kind of power? 175hp? 185hp? 220hp? 300hp? 450hp?

[bmwpride]

350 tops, maybe more like lower 300

[mike-tracy]

350 tops, maybe more like lower 300

If that's crank horse power, another non-turbo gt/outback/RS/forester tranny could fit the bill, if you drive it really smoothly. Matter of fact my buddy uses an n/a tranny in his turbo legacy, and he was dynoed at 249whp most recently. You can tell though that a couple of hard launches will be the end of it. It's getting louder by the day, lol, so he's driving it gingerly till he can afford a 6-speed.

Your rear diff is 4.11FD, which means slim pickings for stronger transmissions in the states. I have a japanese EJ20K WRX transmission, which is a 4.11 box, and should have stronger gears than the NA. Short of importing a used turbo tranny (which can be a crapshoot), I'd recommend you consider a US WRX tranny (and rear diff), or one from a Forester XT (also need the diff), with the forester being my choice of the two. I see those transmissions going for $1500 or less all the time on nasioc.

[bmwpride]

would i need axles with both of those, and will that make my stance wider.. ?

[ouch1011]

A newer WRX or turbo Legacy GT 5spd would work with an r160 rear diff and be stronger than the NA trans.

[elislider]

For $800-$1000 you could get a nice JDM 4.11 turbo transmission. For the same price you could get a usdm wrx transmission as well, but it wouldn't be 4.11

[bmwpride]

where would i go to find a jdm turbo trans. Will it work with the stock clutch and such

[elislider]

You should already have the hydraulic pedal setup (GT model) but the clutch kit and flywheel are different between turbo and NA. If you got a JDM turbo transmission youd want to get a new or resurfaced flywheel and a new clutch kit. expect to spend $300-$500 on the clutch and flywheel and another $500-$1000 on the jdm turbo transmission.

look on ebay for jdm transmissions.

[JunkerXL]

my 2 cents on the pricing... they prolly just wanna nuke it with seals for 3 reasons: 1.) they'll KNOW they got the leak 2.) they wont be seeing you again soon *see 1.)* and 3.) they make more $ that way, and in a sense, it's cheaper for you in the long run, if you aren't the do it yourself type.

by that i mean, the logic goes like this: if seal A has failed, it's just a matter of time before seal B fails and seal C, etc etc. so while they have it out, hit em all, so you won't have to pay to drop the trans again and again as your seals keep dieing. this also solves a liability problem, from their point of view, since having seal after seal fail after they "fix it" makes them look bad when really opting to replace one seal while you are paying them to take out the whole freakin transmission is kinda the cheap way out. if your in it for 6-800 might as well do it all or do it your self at that point, or else your going to do it 4 or 5 more times.

this happens alot with cooling systems. "no i dont want to flush it just replace the dang thermostat!" :smt011

*2 months later*

"look i just brought you guys this thing and now my water pump is leaking and you're telling me it's going to take even more money!?" :smt013 "how come you didnt fix it right the first time!" :smt010 and so on and so on. i worked for a repair shop for a while and alot of times they nuke you with huge estimates like that because yes they make more money that way (obviously :roll: ) but also, you the customer will have less trouble and a longer vehicle life if you take care of big vehicle issues when they happen. but saying that, some shops will take you for a ride, so buyer beware, lol. if you can fix it your self and dont mind doing that, then kill it man, save a grand! :grin:




:smt020

[bmwpride]

ok so my Final Drive is 4.11 correct?? Sorry just making sure

[lord flashheart]

its probably 4.11
if it was me, i would get a forester, outback, LGT non turbo, 2.5RS trans. if your not too hard on it, and you get the right clutch, you can run 300HP thru them. and they can be had for around $100.
the WRX and LGT turbo trans are expensive. i assume have a JDM STi trans. they will probably cost the same.

[bmwpride]

all foresters outbacks,lgt non turbo and rs have 4.11 trans? Doesnt matter which one.

[Huffer]

all foresters outbacks,lgt non turbo and rs have 4.11 trans? Doesnt matter which one.

It kinda does. Some trans have a taller or shorter 1st gear, which either is more or less fun depending on how you drive/want to drive.

[elislider]

questions about transmission ratios: http://spda-online.ca/modules/tinyconte ... tc_28.html (http://spda-online.ca/modules/tinycontent/rewrite/tc_28.html)