Shift Bushing Tore-Free from Sheet Metal !!

Ok. I need advice and help on my situation.

05 LGT- less than 50K

There's a bracket / shifter bushing that guides the shift linkage and one side tore free from the sheet metal off the bottom of the car. See pic 1.

The resulting offset created "unbalanced use" of the shifter and rattled the screw off the bracket on the other side. See pic 2.

I'm pretty sure it's part E in the below link.

http://turninconcepts.com/instructions/subaru/shifter_info/

The result of the above is the whole shift linkage assembly is dropping down and nicking the drive-train. You can see the black paint scrapped off on the 2nd pic.

The dealer partner body shop has recommended the following fix.

They'll do a make-shift weld to put the bolt back on the car. The sheet metal around the whole has fatigued (like a tin can that's been crumpled) so they'll have to reinforce it somehow. Unfortunately, they need to go from the top down and remove all the seats, carpet, etc., so that they don't burn anything. And that means big labor costs. They've quoted me $2000.

I'm going back and forth with Subaru and they sent their regional factory inspector to come look at the car.

He said that there's no way this could have been done through normal wear and tear and it's not a factory default.

He's saying somebody driving this ran into something (like drove up on a curb) and the energy absorbed through the under-body at impact would've caused pressure to break the bolt free.

Or, it was towed improperly (i.e. the car was in gear).

The regional inspector says they'll cover 40% of the repair or $1500 off another car.

If I choose the repair, if there are any problems after this. I'm on my own.

I'm the 3rd owner (I bought the car off a friend)

Any thoughts to share?

Thanks in advance.

jesus christ.

no idea how this happened? what were the symptoms? not able to shift into gear?

jesus christ.

 

no idea how this happened? what were the symptoms? not able to shift into gear?

Don't get excited. This isn't webMD, you don't have to worry that this kind of thing will happen to you. I've been around manual transmission Subarus for years and seen thousands. This is the very first time I have ever seen something like this happen.

I'd go to a body shop and see what they think. They might just weld a plate in place and call it good.

I'm still curious about my questions

One day I was driving and heard a rattling sound coming from my gear box.

I noticed when I moved the shift through the gate for 1st and 2nd gear, there was some "give" of the left side. As if a bolt securing the shift linkage was loose.

If I physically lifted the gear shift up and held it there while driving, the rattle went away. This makes sense now as the linkage assembly was nicking/hitting the drive -train.

I took it in for an oil change to the dealership and asked the them to take a look.

The tech said he's never seen anything like this before and he couldn't fix this. I went to the dealership's "recommended" body shop (i.e. they send them all their warranty work) and they diagnosed the problem.

I like my car - the engine, the interior, size, but I've had several annoying problems pop-up and now this.

I'm thinking maybe it's time to get rid of this car and start fresh. I think the new Legacy is too big and Camry-ish but I haven't test-drove the Limited.

I like the 2011 WRX but I think it may be too small and it's interior is not as nice as the 4th gen LGT...

Thanks jton. That's smart thinking about doing as much of the tear-down myself.

I'll search the forums for some walkthrus.

It's actually super easy. 4 bolts and like 8 harnesses in the front seats. the back seats only need the bottom cushion removed. The center console you may need a walkthru but the rest is pretty easy.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_A5_B3ei2liE/TMXYaf5n_LI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/Z5t6SHE-8JY/41015_1579172720672_1276285961_31619260_6435354_n.jpg

This is my car when I was redoing the audio. All the things you see missing are things that need to be removed to take out the carpet, except for the glove compartment and the steering column stuff.

jton.

Wow. This is impressive. How did you figure this out? Just tinkering yourself?

How do you plan on getting rid of the car with that torn off? The dealer probably won't even take it on a trade, and if they do you won't get squat for it.

This repair isn't too complicated, it doesn't have to be perfect.

How do you plan on getting rid of the car with that torn off? The dealer probably won't even take it on a trade, and if they do you won't get squat for it.

 

This repair isn't too complicated, it doesn't have to be perfect.

read the post. he said it in the VERY first post

"The regional inspector says they'll cover 40% of the repair or $1500 off another car."

Doesn't say anything about the trade, just that they'll give him a deal on a newer car.... and the $1500 could probably be haggled under normal circumstances anyway so it isn't that big of a deal for Subaru to do.

UPDATE-

I took my car to a couple independent shops to get their opinion. Both places said this is something Subaru of America should be covering. They inspected for damage caused from accidents etc., and here is no way this should have happened.

Any one have advice on how to negotiate with SOA?

I would continue talking to soa and see if they'll do more for you. As for what the inspector said about how it could be damage, I don't see how towing could cause this...unless someone was dragging it in gear with all wheels on the ground....if that was the case, there would prob be much more damage than that....as for wrecks, doubtful. Curbing the car, there should be signs elsewhere....Is the bushing in there aftermarket or stock?

If it is stock, I can't see anything causing that to tear from the metal like that.

As for the $1500 on a new car....that is designed to cover the costs of a repair the dealership would incur should you trade it in...so your car shouldn't see a hit in value because of the damage greater than $1500....from there work your car deal like normal.

The 2 independent shops that looked at the car said they didn't see any damage that looked like the car was in accident.

SOA communicated back that since the car is not on warranty it won't be covered under warranty repair.

I have never seen this on any subaru (based on probably ~100 that I have been underneath).

I have personally yanked out the shifter from the pivot bushing and can only see that as the weakest link from a driver input.

This would have had to be from some other force input directly on the drivetrain. The bushing that hold the back of the shifter in that place is fairly supple so even if there was a large drivetrain movement it would be surprising for this to happen.

SOA communicated back to you or back to the dealership? Seems like it would fit under the rust perforation warranty possible which is good for 5 years (unlimited miles).