With only 218K on the clock, the 5MT in my 96 Legacy took a crap!
If anyone wants pictures of the autopsy, let me know.

While it's out, I'll change the rear crank seal, new clutch disc & pressure plate, and I'm updating it to a hydraulic clutch.

Got the tranny out without much trouble. Removed the old pedal assembly & drilled the firewall for the clutch master cylinder. New pedal assembly bolted right in...after a little persuading.

After spliting the tranny case, it was pretty easy to determine the cause of death. All of the bearings sounded a little rough, but the rear ball bearing on the input shaft was really bad. A lot of spalling on the race and *****. The bearing also wobbled quite a bit on the shaft.

All of the gears looked fine, including the ring & pinion. Syncros & baulk rings are in great shape, even with the many missed shifts I've subjected them to over the last 218K miles.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed by how well this tranny held up. Yes, I understand the EJ22 is no power house, but I also don't try to spin all four wheels while bouncing off the rev limiter.

I'll head off to the dealer for new bearings, syncro rings, & seals and call it done.

Paul