Gbrown Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Hello all, I just went out and drove the car with the fuse in the FWD slot (light came on, on the dash) I couldn't tell any difference in the car. I stopped in the snow, looked out the window and still only the front right tire spun, I tried it in all gear positions with the same results. I pulled the fuse to put the car back in AWD, and still same results in all gear positions, in fact I was almost stuck on flat ground in the snow, had to really work it to get out, and I'm talking snowpack, not multiple inches of snow. I am getting a slight clicking when turning, I think it's coming from the right side, like the CV axle is wearing out, could that cause the AWD to drop out? Question: is there a fuse somewhere that could be blown or missing? The transimission was rebuilt less than 20,000mi ago. Could they have taken out a fuse and forgot to put it back in? I can't find anything in the Haynes of Chilton manuals, or the owners manual for that matter. Thanks Gbrown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Installing a fuse in that FWD is only for diagnostic purposes only. It isn't for turning it into a front wheel drive only trans for daily driving. Imo it sounds like the viscous coupler is bad and they didn't do a good rebuild or probably didn't even replace any of the parts in the viscous coupler for the rear drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Have you looked for broken cv boots? Once the grease gets whipped out the cv joint dries out and the axle is no good. The joints can also fail even with boots still intact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 If the CV joint had completely failed, it would be pretty damned obvious. Open diffs don't play well with completely separated axles... ...I would know. Trust me. It was terrible. Both times. Lol. I'm voting more for either a poor rebuild which is causing the center clutch to not engage, or an incomplete rebuild (if that is even possible) which was perhaps done to save on cost. Not to point out the obvious, but have you checked underneath the vehicle to ensure there is even a driveshaft? I suppose it's possible they went with a FWD setup after the trans went bad the first time, though I dunno how that would work without reprogramming the ECU since you make it sound as though the car wasn't initially being driven with the FWD fuse installed. I would imagine the ECU would freak out if the rear wheels weren't there - unless it just assumes the rear is slipping and just sends power to the front. /no-clue-what-I'm-talking-about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 FYI, if you have the FWD fuse holder, you do not have a viscous coupler. and vice versa. the manual trans has a viscous coupler to send power to the rear. the auto trans has an electronically controlled transfer clutch, completely different. but the transfer clutch could be bad, disks worn out, grooves in the clutch drum, or parts missing. the more common failure is binding, but no AWD also happens. unplug the large electrical connector to the trans on the rear of the engine and see if you have power to the rear. this should put you in ''limp'' mode, R and 3 only, and torque bind in turns on dry pavement, or 4wd lock in the snow. since you start out in 3, it will be really hard to spin the wheels. this should test to see if the mechanical pieces are in place and connected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 FYI if you don't want to mess with the harness in the engine bay, you can also unplug the harness to the TCU under the dash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 do you have a CEL on the dash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I've always thought they were called viscous couplers in auto oh well same thing. Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbrown Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 FYI, if you have the FWD fuse holder, you do not have a viscous coupler. and vice versa. the manual trans has a viscous coupler to send power to the rear. the auto trans has an electronically controlled transfer clutch, completely different. but the transfer clutch could be bad, disks worn out, grooves in the clutch drum, or parts missing. the more common failure is binding, but no AWD also happens. unplug the large electrical connector to the trans on the rear of the engine and see if you have power to the rear. this should put you in ''limp'' mode, R and 3 only, and torque bind in turns on dry pavement, or 4wd lock in the snow. since you start out in 3, it will be really hard to spin the wheels. this should test to see if the mechanical pieces are in place and connected. Those are good suggestions. I unplugged the TCU, still only power to front. May detected a bit of torque bind. I jacked up the front with both wheels off the ground, put it in drive (wouldn't recommend it!) and had O power to rear wheels. I jacked up the rear wheels and turned the rear wheel and could see that both drive shafts were turning. So it must be the transfer case. I've already had the transmission rebuilt to the tune of $3,000 less that 25,000miles ago. The car has been a money pit every since we bought it. I'm not putting another dime into it.. Any body want to buy a 95 legacy? Ha. It's only got 201,000 mi. on it. Thanks for all the input. I am done. Gbrown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 How long ago was the trans rebuilt and what warranty did it come with. I would take it back and force them to fix it. Just say you had it looked at by another shop like a Subaru dealer and they said it is the rear drive clutch assembly. Also ask them if they replaced anything for the rear drive? It's got to at least have a 3 yr 30 k warranty. That's the minimum warranty around here for rebuilt transmissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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