Dismantle more carefully..

Just found out it's the hi/low shift mechanism that's causing the issues. It's in a bind somehow. Ran it through the gears to be sure everything was working properly but couldn't get it into high. 🤦🏼‍♂️ I'll pull it back apart this week and get it figured out 🤙. I did find a rogue washer when I picked it up off the blocks...🤦🏼‍♂️ Learning the hard way!!!😬🤣 I'll let ya know what I find

If the book and the parts diagrams say there's meant to be a washer then there will be meant to be a washer and it must be something else wrong in there if it is the washer causing the cover not to fit right down. Can you check the shaft for end float/movement ? If you loosen the bolts does the cover try to spring out ?

I try to keep my wife in a new car, i say new car but shes been driving this one for 12 years, i buy new and drive it usually 100,000 miles, although this one is approaching 150000, and get another new one, we need one newer one to not be afraid of break downs on long trips. I have never bought a new one for myself, i usually just take the old one. I actually like the newest Subaru, the Ascent, its more like what shes driving now. Its been getting some bad complaints and i dont really like the turbo matched with CVT, a recipe for disaster. The outback also has a CVT but it has good ratings. I dont particularly like the idea of a CVT in a car, but they are all going in that direction so i guess they have improved the technology over the years, plus better fuel milege. I just like gears, i guess im showing my age by making that statement. Still leaning toward the Honda Pilot, and may even look at another jeep but its going to be about 10000 more. They are getting good ratings but im not so shure the quality is still there and changing ownership so many times.

Yeah good engines shouldn't use any oil, well shouldn't need a top up anyway, between oil changes. All my subs were non-turbo. They were a bit gutless for sure, but I'm never in a hurry. I used to go to the city with people to help them buy a car and my suggestion was we'll look at a few candidates and choose the model you like best, then we'll look at as many of them as we can in a couple of days and compare their conditions and what they will need to make them good for a few years, and then choose the best one based on that. These were always second hand cars of course. We'd buy something that was the right price for us to do what was needed to make it good again, then take it home and do the work and people have always been happy with their/our choice. I've talked people into buying cars that had over heated, or that barely moved because the clutch was worn out, but were absolute bargains because every thing else about them was in excellent condition, and better than some other things that were running good but were worn out all over or had rust, and sometimes rust hidden under a new paint job. We'd get them cheap, I'd nurse them the two-hundred miles home and then do the work and they would be good for years. They were all cars with a few miles and years on them though, which used to be the norm here in N.Z... Especially for families in the country. All modern cars are pretty good though, except for the occasional recognised fault some models have, so choose something you are comfortable in and like the look of I reckon. About the only thing that would deter me from a model I liked would be those horrible CVT, which seem prone to faults, and seem awful to drive as well. I don't know about there but here we can nearly always get a manual version of things. Some have manual, auto/twin-clutch and CVT options. It's always a worry though buying the next car I think, so good luck with it.. haha Oh.. And I'm sure you don't need to be told.. Make sure wife likes it.. haha