FR-S / BRZ specialists near King of Prussia PA
 

So I just bought a pre-owned 2013 FR-S w/manual transmission with 14,500 miles and I'm looking for a mechanic / speed shop that specializes in the FR-S and BRZ. The gearbox seems really loose and before I take it to Scion and have them tell me "those noises are normal" I'd prefer to have an unbiased third-party give me their expert opinion on the condition of this gearbox. So do you all know if there are any shops in the King of Prussia, PA / Southeastern PA vicinity that specialize in these?

If you're a little mechanically inclined take a look at the linkage. It could just need a bolt tightened.

If the Lehigh Valley isn't too far for you, Moto East is in Easton. They frequently post on here.

Moto-East in Easton is ~70 miles from King of Prussia and highly recommended. R/T Tuning in Montgomeryville is ~15 miles from King of Prussia and also highly recommended. Either place you go, you'll be taken care of and both have extensive FRS/BRZ experience.

I have no personal experience with them, but I've had RT Tuning recommended to me as well.

Yup they've done my exhaust, wheels, brakes, suspension, alignment, and lots of maintenance work. Done perfectly every single time, I don't have any complaints. They also have 2 dynos (2wd Dynojet and 4wd Mustang) and extensive FRS/BRZ Ecutek tuning experience. My turbocharger was installed and tuned at Moto-East though, also with no complaints/issues.

rt tuning is great, but they charge way to much for what they do.... theyre labor rates are as high as the dealership i work at.... honestly, in my personal opinion... labor rates shouldnt be stupid high at a shop, thats all about getting their name out. plus... im not spending up to $400 on a damn alignment... thats fucking stupid. ill take my shit to Onemotion Garage in Philadelphia

Thank you!
 

Thanks gang... yeah, I happened to stumble across the R/T website before reading your responses. I work in Hatfield so R/T is certainly convenient. The Lehigh Valley area is a possibility, too. Great suggestions! Thank you!

My biggest concern is that I just bought it a few weeks ago with 14,500 miles. I've put on about 700 miles and in that time I've noticed the gearbox seems to be showing wear, even with such low miles. After it warms up the gearbox produces what I can only describe as a "slushy" sound when the rpms are below 2200. It's totally silent when it's cold... but once it's warm it sounds troubling. It's more pronounced when the the drivetrain is under a load, such as accelerating or climbing a hill. At coasting speed it's not noticeable. There also seems to be a lot of slack in the gears, if that makes any sense... it just seems more "loose" than it should be.

I want this thing to last but I'm worried that the previous owner may have beat the hell out of this gearbox. I need the ears of an expert to tell me what they think before I take it to the dealer and fight them on a warranty issue.

Your thoughts? Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again.

If you are ever up in CNJ we can help you out.

Mikey over at Moto-East is a stand up guy so I wouldn't hesitate to go there either.

-mike

u could try gearoneperformance. theyre located in west chester

I'll take a look at it if you'd like. I'm a certified Subaru tech in Plymouth Meeting.

I also live in KoP. Have you driven another 86 before this one? There are multiple threads of people complaining about the shifting feel and noised based on experiences with other cars that turn out to be normal with this transmission.

We can meet some afternoon and you can drive my car to do a better comparison.

As for a service location +1 for Mike at Moto-East. He tuned my car and has a BRZ himself so I am sure he will be able to find a problem right away.

I only have moto-east to reference and I'd recommend them from my experiences to date. I also daily quakertown through KOP to exton so Im glad to hear some Montgomey County love up in here.

I also bought a used 86 and I have had the same questions about my gearbox but I've changed the oil to motoul (from moto-east ;) and its feeling a little better now. Not tremendously but good enough that I don't worry anymore. I was thinking about changing the bushings too since I've seen it a bunch of times working on the exhaust.