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Well i have only had my gen2 gx awd (manual) for a couple months now and have noticed some strange things about the driveline.

1) it is often very notchy to shift from 1st to second (warm or cold) and feels like it is lightly crunching (feedback through the shifter, there isnt any crunching sound at all). The funny thing is sometimes it will be super smooth but quite often it isnt. I dont get this problem when down shifting however and have noticed that when at higher revs it doesnt seem to happen either ( above 2.8k or so).

2) Here is another wierd thing, when at higher revs in gears (say shifting from 3rd to 4th at 80k/hr, so around 3.9k revs) i hear a rattling or even crunching sort of sound (much more evident with windows down), but i dont get any crunch feeling from the shifter. Shifting is perfectly smooth and i get no bad feedback through the shifter.
Could this be the transfer case?

Any idea what these things might be? are they normal?

Mechanic recently changed the gearbox oil to VMX80 (what subaru use) and i also put in some nulon G70 gearbox treatment. The geabox (and car for that matter) have low k's (not much over 100k).

Sounds terminal,synchros and bearings?Also check the uni's as well.

when your Mechanic changed the gearbox oil did he say if there was metal on the drain plug ?

Don't jump to conclusions just yet...

Was it notchy at all before changing oil? Subaru gearboxes seem to be hyper-sensitive as to what oil is in them. Perhaps the synchros are worn a little...Usually with notchiness using a thinner oil can help and get heaps more life out of it.
I've also heard of clutch problems causing this.

The second point really could be anything under the car rattling. Perhaps exhaust heat shields, they can work loose sometimes. I'd say get under there and spend a while pushing and prodding everything to try and track it down, it may be something simple.

hrmm well i have determined the second problem is not any of the driveline. seems to be something else.

Still annoyed with the hard to engage gear.
is there anything else i can do short of a rebuild or replacement? i mean every other gear is perfect other than the 1-2 shift. its really annoying so i just cant justify a gearbox recondition which i would assume would be around the 2k mark.

what does seem to help is when the car is not moving i push the clutch in and move the shifter several times between 1st and 2nd. but this is sorta annoying.
I take it the problem will be less noticeable if i match the revs when shifting. what rev should i be matching at?

also what oils would be good if i wanted to change?
i know there is the redline shockproof lightweight, is there anything else?

i am using 80W90 with the nulon G70 additive.

how much free play do u have in your clutch .
as i think u mite have to much free play and it will not change gears .

u can try to put ATF oil in your gear box as that what we put in front weel drive cars all the time as it makes them run better .
Buy the way ATF is about SAE 30

i am not a clutch expert by no means however it seems like free play (if you mean pedal travel) is normal. i wouldnt deem it really short or long.
also my car is an awd, and wont atf possibly damage the box?

Also with the rattling noise. It will happen when in gear or not (so i dont beleive it is the tranny). THe rattling will occur when i rev it to higher revs (4k) and the noise will occur as the revs drop naturally (so if i push the accelerator then let go). Sorta scary as afew places on the net suggest this may be a stuffed camshaft bearing!

I took a video of the rattling noise. you can hear it when just after i rev the engine when the revs go down (after 7 seconds). car was not in gear. this is from inside the car and as you can tell it sorta sounds like crunching gears.
its only really prominent when you give it a quick squirt and let go at higher revs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxUEUTGsao0

that rattling sound like a cat rattle or a loss baffle in the engine gas out pipe.
but hard to tell from all the noise around with the cam .

I dont think it is the box - it could be a multitude of other things though. I had a rattle in mine that I thought was a bearing about to depart this plane. Found out it was the oil filler cap that was loose...

Look at the simple things first as it is usually the simple things that are causing it.

I would get it looked at none the less

thanks for the input. i have tried tapping the headers from under the car and the exhaust around that area with my palm (when cold) and could get any rattle. i will certainly have another look for anything else loose but will take it to the mech when i get a chance. it is sorta worrying. i just sincerely hope its nothing serious, however the previous owner took excellent care of the car so hopefully it just something silly.

I know I am fussy with my Subaru, I use the gearbox oil what subaru uses - Castrol Multi... something I forgot, give that oil a go and see what happens, I dont like the feel of using different oils as I do get a feedback that it doesnt like it so I stick with Castrol..
Cheers
AP

hrmm i know the mech put in 80w90 which is the same weight as the castrol stuff (its castrol multitrax, subaru told me) although i dont know if he used the castrol stuff.
i am guessing it must have something to do with the oil as it was never crunching before (not even when cold) and the gearbox overall is in good nick with very low km's.
if he did use the multitrax would it be better to switch to the other oil recommended in the cars user manual , 75w90 or is that likely to make things worse?