My 1997 Subaru Outback Legacy Limited started jerking when in Drive- between first and 2nd gears. I then started driving in 2nd / 3rd, then drive. When in traffic very long time, would not engage at all except in Reverse. After cooled down, engages again. Need advise! Has over 200,000 miles. Otherwise great car!

Question edited for clarity.
Question moved to model category.

That is pretty crazy. It would be cheaper to get an auto electrician for an hour than to keep buying alternators. If a fuse melts, you have to find the reason why before replacing it. Jimmy rigging electrics just passes the problem along to another component. A Professional Grade Scan tool computer can diagnose in 20 minutes. They cost $3.5k to $5k!

https://www.google.com/search?q=mobile+auto+electrician+near+me

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the only way you can do this is if you can identify the gear ratios from both cars with the transmission codes found on the strut tower plate.
see this list to check for matches, read it carefully its a ton of info
subarugears narod ru

the biggest draw back that you will have to check first is the ratio of the diffs you want to change. If they are not the same but will fit then you will destroy the 3rd diff in the transmission from excessive use.

Sounds like the clutches for 3rd Gear are worn out. Need to rebuild or replace the transmission.

sounds like a fork problem, it won't budge probably

First off before adjusting anything change your tranny fluid and filter that usualy helps the tranny

It is on the left side hard to spot. Look below the heater hoses. Good luck, take your time and have a great day.

does it click while reversing straight or while turning? Sounds like a stick shift. Lunging probably due to e-brake needing adjustment(if stick shift). If your car only clicks while turning in reverse you need new front axles and can probably drive that way for a while

After a good deal of research and several shops suggesting a rebuild of the transmission, I decided to have the trans fluid and filters changed before doing anything. It was a tough call because it could have been a waste of $125. As soon as the spin off filter was removed you could see it was blocked. So the hydraulic pressure in the system was way down, still enough to engage reverse and enough to work all the shifts, but not enough to engage forward without a slight tap on the accelerator.

My Subaru has 240 000 km on it and I suppose the clutch pack rebuild wouldn't hurt, but as it is now it engages quickly and shifts up are noticeably smoother.

May not be the solution for every case, but it solved my situation.

Did you know that there is a fuse under hood on Passenger side that I have seen people put the fuse in the missing spot. Problem is it is only for towing the car. Remove if fuse is present and see if it fixes your problem.