locked transmission

[Al]

Hello,

Right now I am just looking for possible advice on the potential causes
of this problem in my 1998 Subaru Outback. I was recently returning
from a trip to the bay area from Reno and had quite the scare. I was
driving on the freeway when all of a sudden the fifth gear just let
loose. Engine RPM's jumped at which point I slowed down and dropped to
fourth, which was still engaging. So then the check engine light comes
on, and I pulled off the freeway (was going that way anyways). Opened
up the hood to notice that there was transmission oil all over the
place. And as I was headed over to the auto parts store to get more
oil (I was in West Sacramento on a Sunday morning, no place to really
go but there), the transmission locked up on me. All four wheels
locked, me sliding, thanking someone or something that I was not doing
80 on the freeway when this happened. Instead I was just in the middle
lane on a three lane major thoroughfare, and as all four wheels were
locked (in both directions) it wasn't going anywhere.

So, this leads me to my questions. As of now I recent college grad
without meaningful employment (read: broke), and was wondering to what
extent the damage could be to my transmission, or is it the center
differential? It is a manual, 108,000 miles. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.

Alec

 

[Jim Stewart]

Hello,

Right now I am just looking for possible advice on the potential causes
of this problem in my 1998 Subaru Outback. I was recently returning
from a trip to the bay area from Reno and had quite the scare. I was
driving on the freeway when all of a sudden the fifth gear just let
loose. Engine RPM's jumped at which point I slowed down and dropped to
fourth, which was still engaging. So then the check engine light comes
on, and I pulled off the freeway (was going that way anyways). Opened
up the hood to notice that there was transmission oil all over the
place. And as I was headed over to the auto parts store to get more
oil (I was in West Sacramento on a Sunday morning, no place to really
go but there), the transmission locked up on me. All four wheels
locked, me sliding, thanking someone or something that I was not doing
80 on the freeway when this happened. Instead I was just in the middle
lane on a three lane major thoroughfare, and as all four wheels were
locked (in both directions) it wasn't going anywhere.

So, this leads me to my questions. As of now I recent college grad
without meaningful employment (read: broke), and was wondering to what
extent the damage could be to my transmission, or is it the center
differential? It is a manual, 108,000 miles. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.

OK, here's a wild-assed guess...

Something broke inside the transmission, either
creating a hole or destroying a seal when it
jumped out of 5th. That's why you lost your
transmission grease.

Next, the parts of the something that broke flew
around happily inside the transmission until
the second incident, whereupon they found a
way to jam up the works.

I think the technical term for what happend to
your transmission is "grenaded" Time to look
for another one in a junkyard.

BTW, I live in davis and may be interested in
buying the car from you as-is if you decide not
to fix it. Contact me via email if interested.