jsspice

You guys are giving me too many ideas. I took a stock '91 Loyale wagon into the woods on a 4X4 road with the small 13" wheels. Since this is our main source of transportation I turned around about the time we to the point where the body and oil pan were in danger. As I exited the road and got to a main intersection of 4 dirt roads, I saw a couple of guys standing next to their "lifted" 4X trucks reading the sign about the different roads. One turns and stares as we get closer. By the time we pass him he's facing us squarely with his hands on his hips, eyes wide with amazement. That was priceless as I had a car full of people and my arm hanging out the window just taking it easy. Two years later I went all the way down that road in a Jeep. It was a much rougher road past where we turned around and it had some steep downhill sections. Now I know why the guy had his hands on his hips and a look of disbelief!

Thanks for this information. I was able to replace the axle with those instructions.

Looks like it might be the cv joint as it put it in neutral, started the engine and began hearing a grinding sound. The axle was turning from the tranny to the boot and had torn the boot closest to the tire. Are those hard to change out?

Did you notice any play in the steering wheel prior to cv joint going out? I noticed that while driving at 10-15MPH that when I held the steering wheel with one finger, the steering wheel would dance back and forth. It then began pulling right, so I checked the right front for a flat tire. It was fine. Then it began pulling left, so I stopped and checked the left front tire. It too was fine. I drove it another 1/2 mile before pulling it out of 4WD and noticed that the front axle was not engaging.

I will check that this evening. I'm glad the weather is warming as that sure makes working outdoors much more tolerable. I appreciate the advice.

I have heard a little ticking sound when turning corners so could be cv joint related. Thanks.

The only noise I heard was a grinding noise when attempting to put it into 4WD from what I can remember of 05:00 in the snow like the transmission was not synchronized any longer. Thanks for the input.

When I put my Subaru back into 2WD and started accelerating, the RPMs climbed but no power transferred to the front wheels in any gear. Put it back in 4WD and drove back to the house. It felt much smoother shifting than normal in 2WD. Fluid level in tranny is full. Has anyone else seen this problem before? Thanks for any advise so I can look into the problem this evening.