[futurehermit]

1999 legacy outback manual, new to me, unknown miles, some known quirks/issues.

Why when I put it in reverse do I rocketship backwards even though I barely give it enough gas to keep from stalling?

 

[97Legowagn]

Possibly a long shot, maybe one of the other more educated member can chime in here, but perhaps is a TPS issue? From my understanding, our transmissions rely on TPS input signal, which tends to cause a lot of issues.

Other than that, I can't say. Best of luck with your issue though, hope you resolve it soon

 

[Euchre]

You do realize the reverse gear is normally much lower ratio (higher numerically) than 1st (forward) gear, right? This is why in some cases you can get up a hill in reverse that you can't in 1st.

 

[Latigo]

To boldly back away from where no Subaru has gone before

 

[futurehermit]

Haha, Thanks for the replies. The car is mostly a plaything and is not something I plan on fixing. I am adjusting to it and learning how to back up quickly well (as of yet not hitting house, garage, or other parked cars.)

 

[dunavan]

Haha, doing better then my first Subaru. I bought a 95 legacy L wagon cheep due to my Mazda 3 being repo'ed after my fiance and I both got let go from the same company. Loved that car but after 7 months my reverse went out completely. I drove it that way for over 3 years every day and only just junked it a few months ago after buying a 98 outback. I would have been grateful for it to have reverse, too fast or not. Thought I would give perspective, as long as it moves forward it is still a Subaru and will go though just about anything lol

 

[airlia101]

For reference the '99 manual Outback gear ratios are (1/2/3/4/5//R):
3.545/2.111/1.448/1.088/0.871//3.333
Thus, I'd expect it to only be a bit more touchy in reverse than forward/1st. Might just feel faster since you're used to seeing things go the other way :-D

(I like having a service manual around)