I was having some pretty bad torque bind on my 96 Impreza L 2.2 4EAT. When I moved up to the bay area, I was recommended Rick at Gear Works in San Lorenzo by the guys at GST motorsports.

I called him and took my car there. He test drove it, and saw the problem I was having. He researched it and I called him back a couple days later. He gave me a couple of things it could be, and gave me a maximum price quote.

I took it in, and 3 days later it was done. He got the parts aftermarket for FAR less than the dealership wanted. For the clutch pack (A series of 5 small gears) SOA wanted around $200 for them. Rick got the set for $30, and they are seriously the exact same thing. Same deal with the Duty C Solenoid.

I would strongly recommend anyone with a transmission problem to go see him. He has great experience with Subaru's, Turbo models in specific. He's not the best with calling people back, so if you don't get a call back keep calling him, but his work is phenomenal. He is worth the money, and my car is good as new.

 

Good reference to have. My old '93 Legacy Turbo wagon had the same torque bind issue. It's gone now, but this is still great info to have.

-Brian

 

nice to know since he's just basically in the town next to me.

 

Yeah this is great info. As I'm sure a lot of members here, need a really good local transmission shop that is definitely fast and dependable and does great quality work.

 

Here's a breakdown of the cost:
Duty C Solenoid: $161 (I don't think he was able to find this one aftermarket)
5 Clutch Pack Gears: $ 35.50 total
Tail housing gasket: $6.12
Solenoid Plate Gaskets: $4.04
Exhaust Packing: $14.42
AT Fluid: $28

Labor: $300.

 

Going there today, will let you guys know how it goes.

 

Rick is amazing, what I expected to be a $900 job was a $100 job.

 

Rick is bad ***, he just took take care of my transmission issues that I was having. Should be like brand new!

 

Nothing but good things to say here as well. He quoted me $400 for a job when Andrewtech wanted $800-$1000 just to crack the tranny open. Good dude, easy going, and knows his ****.