982.5GT Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Hello! First, I want to thank everyone who has posted about the options for a person experiencing torque bind - your information has been invaluable to my search to fix the problem. I recently purchased a 1998 Legacy 2.5GT wagon w/ 119,000 miles on it. I drove it from Iowa (where I bought it) to Boulder, CO two weeks ago. When I got to Boulder, I began noticing a jumping and pushing from the car when I turned it to the most severe angles (both left and right). I looked up the problem on this website and determied that I probably had the dreaded "torque bind." The first thing that I did was check the tires - all fairly new of the same brand and PSI from 35-36. I did not check the circum. of them, but I felt confident that they were not the current source of the problem. Second, I pulled a spare 15 amp fuse from the fuse box in the front and placed it into the fuse spot to put the car into 2wd only (marked "FWD" under the hood, in front of where the passenger would sit). This completely got rid of the jumping on tight turns. Next I called "Super Rupair" of Boulder for them to take a look at the car and tell me what they thought. They charged me $39.95 for the look, had the car all day, test drove it, and told me that it was their opinion that the transfer clutch was wearing out on the car. They quoted me $800-1200 to fix depending on how much wear there was in the system. Needless to say, this freaked me out and I was not happy that the subaru I had bought for its quality and longevity would cost me another grand 2 weeks after purchase. I had heard that flushing the Automatic Transmission Fluid and adding a conditioner might solve the torque bind problem in some cases. Grease Monkey was recommended to do the job. So I tried the Grease Monkey option as it was probably a good idea to change the AT fluid anyway and it might fix the problem. Grease Monkey charged me $84.99 (plus tax) to take samples of the AT fluid (to see if the flush is needed), to pressure flush the system, to add BG conditioner to the AT fluid and the whole process was finished in about an hour. And the Grease Monkey AT flush worked!!!!!! No more torque bind!!! The car turns fine, no jumping or pulling - it was gone immediately following the flush. So, I wanted to pass this along to all of you Subaru drivers: if you are experiencing torque bind, have excluded the tires as the source and havn't changed the AT fluid or added conditioner, then you might want to try it before you pay big bucks to replace whatever the repair place tells you the problem is. I even asked Super Rupair if flushing the AT fluid might stop the binding after they had it the whole day and they said that it would not help the torque bind, only the shifting of the transmission. I am exceedingly upset with Super Rupair for misleading me in an area where they are the experts and I am totally unknowledgable. Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give all the facts of my experience so others going through the same thing might be able to save some money too. Again, thanks for all of your great help here on USMB and I hope this post can give a little back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Thats great news! I have seen it posted on the boards here that that is the last thing to try before going for the big repair. I think that may be the fix for mine. I have noticed after a 30 mile highway drive the torque bind reduces a great deal, if not all together. I just stumbled on that after a long drive .. wasnt expecting it. I also have another odd thing happening 97OBW 178K, when stoped, it feels like you have gotten tapped on the bumper. The car has a little "bump" to it. Its more noticible with the AC on, but I think that may just be a coincidence. COuld it be the AWD unloading or releasing the torque bind? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBrat84 Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Thats great news! I have seen it posted on the boards here that that is the last thing to try before going for the big repair. I think that may be the fix for mine. I have noticed after a 30 mile highway drive the torque bind reduces a great deal, if not all together. I just stumbled on that after a long drive .. wasnt expecting it. I also have another odd thing happening 97OBW 178K, when stoped, it feels like you have gotten tapped on the bumper. The car has a little "bump" to it. Its more noticible with the AC on, but I think that may just be a coincidence. COuld it be the AWD unloading or releasing the torque bind? nipper I got the TB in my 98 2.5 AT also.. I did the fluid change.. but did it myself.. so maybe the power flush would help.. that would be great.. Nipper, that "bump" could be a few things.. my first guess would be you need new fluids.. next after that I would check electrical stuff.. plugs, wires, disty cap/rotor, coil, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 im just hoping it lasts untill either i can do it myself, or my insurance money comes in and debate just replacing the drivetrain (i like my car that much). The bump is really disturbing, especially after getting rear-ended last month.. Engine rpm does not change, sometimes its a double bump. Could it be a week motor mount? Unfortunitly i wont be bale to do anything about it myself for at least another month or two depending upon my knee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBrat84 Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Mine bumps a little too but rarely.. I would suspect a tranny mount more than a motor mount.. but it could be the mounts.. it was bumping real bad before I changed the plug and wires... (one of the wires insulation was bad and was arcing to a ground point and that's what was causing the bump) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 REALLY! thats interesting. i guess im doing a tune up too then . That i can do even with a bad knee. Thanks nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Um, what's BG? is that the conditioner? what is it? Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBrat84 Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Um, what's BG? is that the conditioner? what is it? Carl add BG conditioner to the AT fluid Brand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richierich Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 We do a transmission flush and then add a limited slip additive. Mostly happens in vehicles that have not had the tranmission fluid changed regularly. I would change the fluid again in 10-15k mile depending on discoloration and smell and then add more conditioner at that time. Has been working well for our shop. Richie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
982.5GT Posted August 9, 2005 Author Share Posted August 9, 2005 Brand? Tha't right, the "BG" is the brand of the conditioner that Grease Monkey uses for its limited slip additive. The Grease Monkey guy told me that it is the only kind that Subaru recommends to keep any warranties valid, but that might just be a sales pitch. He also said that the AT fluid flush is recommended by Subaru every 30,000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBrat84 Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 MY TORQUE BIND WENT AWAY!!! I pulled the fwd fuse out this morning for my drive to work and NO torque bind!!! Here in the next few days I'm going to change my AT Fluid again to get it that much cleaner... I guess it just needed time to mix up good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simbey1982 Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Mine went away for about 5 months.....and came back later swinging harder....not trying to rain on your parade...just letting you know. Seems that the usual suspects are 1. Alignment, tire pressure, fluid 2. DUTY SOLENOID C (Its supposed to give you a CEL but mine didnt and that turned out to be the issue) 3. TCU or some short in the wiring Harness, get yourself a TCU pinout and go to town with a multimeter. Though the best solution is to get a 5 speed Have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
982.5GT Posted August 11, 2005 Author Share Posted August 11, 2005 What is a "TCU pinout" and "multimeter"? Mine went away for about 5 months.....and came back later swinging harder....not trying to rain on your parade...just letting you know. Seems that the usual suspects are 1. Alignment, tire pressure, fluid 2. DUTY SOLENOID C (Its supposed to give you a CEL but mine didnt and that turned out to be the issue) 3. TCU or some short in the wiring Harness, get yourself a TCU pinout and go to town with a multimeter. Though the best solution is to get a 5 speed Have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBrat84 Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 What is a "TCU pinout" and "multimeter"? Well a multimeter is like a voltage / current / etc tester.. it's like a voltimeter but with more options... im not sure what a pinout is though.. a method of testing your computer i guess... to make sure all the "pins" are transfering current.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 a pinout is a guide to where all the wires in your car go, ie, a wiring diagram. In this case, it will show where all the connections from the TCU (transmission control unit) go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simbey1982 Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 yeah...what he said:lol: The thing with the "multimeter" and "pinout".....a multimeter like explained, is a device for measuring multiple electical measures....ohms, volts, amps, frequency, etc....voltage is really all you need. Get yourself a pinout for your vehicle.....youll need to look around but here is a example for the early legacies http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/files/swap/3-2_TCU_I-O_page1.jpg http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/files/swap/3-2_TCU_I-O_page2.jpg Youll see that on the second page there are a bunch of solenoids, what pin they report on and what voltage during what situation they should be....you then need to start testing the duty solenoids etc..to see if you get erratic results...if so you may need a new TCU.....blah blah blah... thats about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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