Jim Landreth Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Has anyone done a test to see if a 2002 forester with a 2.5 with an auto trans can be driven without the rear drive shaft. I would like to see if the gas mileage is better without the rear wheels driving. Has anybody ever heard of locking hubs for a Subaru/? I am concerned that if I take out the rear drive shaft that the front drive line is not stout enough to drive the car. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felipe01forester Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Look in the fusebox under the hood. There is a fuse in there marked "FWD" that when inserted, disables the AWD system and puts the car in front wheel drive only. An amber light in the instrument panel will illuminate to show you that the AWD system is disengaged. However, it won't make much of a difference in the gas mileage because the driveshaft is still connected and will just drag things down. If anything, your car will have to work harder because the power is only going to two wheels, and you never know when you might lose traction on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 You can drive without the driveshaft, but you would stil need to put in the AWD fuse. The amount of rotational mass being removed will give you only a fractional increase in gas mileage. If your going to do that migh as well sell the car and get a 2wd car. Your really not going to increase the mileage all that much, its more a matter of driving habits as opposed to what you can do mechanically. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 wont removing the driveshaft toast the transfer clutch? not to mention leak fluid everywhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 The awd fuse under the hood disables the all wehel drive. The tranfer case is bolted to the rear of the transmission and sealed. The output yoke, if i recall correctly is part of the transfer case and cannot fall out. Personally, i think you will either gain about .5mpg, or get less mpg. There is still alot of drag from the live rear axle and the differential. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 You can drive without the driveshaft, but you would stil need to put in the AWD fuse. The amount of rotational mass being removed will give you only a fractional increase in gas mileage. If your going to do that migh as well sell the car and get a 2wd car. Your really not going to increase the mileage all that much, its more a matter of driving habits as opposed to what you can do mechanically. nipper MPG is base on vehicle weight, drag, gearing more than the AWD system. This is why a 91 2wd legacy/ and a 91 AWD legacy only differ 1-2mpg tops. You are not dealing with an old school 4wd system that is part-time. And even these vehicles differed little in MPG when you were in 2wd or 4wd. The loss of MPG had more to do with the weight, gearing, raised height, etc. Even if you put the fuse in you will see little or no gains in mpg. If this is such a big deal then sell you car and get a 2wd car or get a Subaru that is big more aerodynamic than the Forester. I get 28-30 mpg with my legacy outback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Oh I agree, but usually the easiest thing to do to increase gas mialage is look at your driving habits. The forester does tend to be a bit of a brick as far as drag, but its still better then the other rolling bricks out there. In my 98 Legacy, I would get 21 city with ac on, 24 the norm, and highway between 27 and 35 (hehehe see top speed posts as to why). I had a freind drive it on the highway, and in two tanks of gas he got 38 (he was an amputee driving with his left leg so he had a really light touch on the gas pedal). My "new" 97 OBW is getting 18.5 in the city with ac always on, and in need of a tuneup. Personally i can live with that. I rented for 2 weeks a ford escape with the v-6, which got a resounding 13mpg in the city. I have yet to take the OBW on a pure highway run, as i cant sit that long in the car yet. I am sure once I get used to the 2.5L as oppo0sed to the 2.2L (read lead foot) ill get 21 in the city. I would suggest before going through the hassel of removing the driveshaft, to get an engine vacume gauge. The higher up you can keep the needle on the gauge, the better the gas mileage. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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