Has anyone had trouble with the 2000 Forester's Transmission Mine just doesn't engage sometimes?

Answer 1

I have a '99 that does the same thing. I posed this question elsewhere and finally found someone who had managed to have theirs fixed. Here is their answer (I haven't done it yet): "They diagnosed a worn or undersized lip seal in the forward clutch/gear. The reason it is intermittent is because the seal may have some spots worst than others. The reason it pops into gear is because enough back pressure eventually builds (fluid in chamber) to overcome the pressure on the leak. Bang. They tore it apart, put it together and found it still had the problem. Took it apart again and discovered that the tech had replaced the first lip seal, which actually controls reverse. They had to go further to get to the forward seal and replace same. No problems since. $1380. Yippee."