voodoochylde

Heh, actually I had no idea what was required on top of just the friction plates. Thanks for the info. That el-cheapo tranny I found locally is sounding pretty good. Even if most of the internals are bad, if the tail housing is in pretty good shape it's worth $100 bucks. I simply don't have to moolah to get this car fixed by a dealership.

Thanks for the replies all. Anyone know if http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=2&Product_Code=23118A is the right friction plates to use to rebuild the clutch pack?

I'm having the same syptoms. Front tires spin like mad on hard launches (or too much throttle in a tight turn with gravel) but the rears just sit there and follow the car around. No rear-driven motivation whatsoever. That's why I'm leaning more towards a bad clutch pack. Thanks for the quick and very informative reply. I've read your awesome write-up in the USRM. Any ideas on part numbers? Also looking for an estimated cost on the duty c solenoid if anyone knows... Thanks again

OK guys, I've got a 1990 Legacy L AWD with 197K miles. Abso-frigging-lutely love this car. It's my first Subaru and it's the best daggone car I've ever owned. Anywho, AWD recently went buh-bye. Dunno if it's a failed Duty C solenoid, bad wiring, naughty TCU, or burnt-out clutchpack but only the front wheels are moving on hard throttle launches. I NEED my AWD to work here in WV. I drive 93 miles each way 5 days a week for college and I see every type of weather you can imagine. My problem is...my mechanic. My father does all my mech. work for me as I'm not really well-versed in the art of turning a wrench. I know enough to do electrical things and can do most basic maintenance but the items that need to be torn down are his area. Dad doesn't know jack about Subarus and...well...I don't have any actual knowledge myself. I have been obsessively reading, however, since my troubles started and I think I have a good idea of how the 4eat works. He thinks it's a wiring problem. I'm nearly certain it's a burnt-out clutch pack. It could also be a bad Duty C solenoid though I dunno how as it's not locking the rear (meaning 100% voltage to the solenoid). How hard is it to correctly rip out the tail-housing and replace the clutch pack bits (friction plates and such) if that turns out to be the problem? I can get the plates for around $3.50/ea. so that's a nice, cheap fix...just very labor-intensive. If it turns out to be a faulty Duty C solenoid, which'll be a while before I can get a multimeter in there to test it, where can I find one and approximately how much is it? This seems like a relatively simple fix but if it's too costly, I'll take my chances on the $100-been-sitting-for-a-year-owner-doesn't-know-what-condition-it's-in tranny I found locally. Simply put, what would y'all do? My sincere apologies for the length of this post...

I will have to get a large piece of cardboard from work and let it sit under the car overnight this week. Thanks for the idea! As far as figuring out visually where the oil's coming from, it's impossible. Oil is literally on almost every surface under the engine. The subframe, the exhaust, the suspension. It's quite unnerving. I will check the PCV valve as soon as I figure out where it is ...and don't worry, I'll search the boards for more information regarding that one. Also, yes, I rectified the tire situation. Found an awesome tire place in Ronceverte, WV that I definitely will be going back to. No more Sam's or K&G's for me!

OK, it's been a really busy past two weeks for me and my 1990 Legacy L. Developed a massive brake leak from a nonfunctioning rear caliper so I installed two new rear calipers, rear rotors, and pads all the way around. Then, the daggone balljoint was found to be the source of my clunking/vibration that I was thinking was a U-Joint so that had to be fixed as well. THEN (lol), while replacing the balljoint, I found that the outer CV boot on the same side had been ripped all the way around so now I get to put a new axle in this weekend (it's been ticking since I got the car, now it's really complaining quite a bit). My question for you guys is regarding an oil leak I have. Sometimes it'll go through a quart of oil between my house and school (1.5 hr drive each way), sometimes it won't go through anything. I was curious as to some simple suggestions for a starting point on figuring this one out. What gaskets should I try and replace or at least check on? I think I may be burning oil as the tailpipe on the muffler has a bit of black soot all the way around it - there is no soot on the body of the car in that location though. Where do I start on this one? Thanks in advance guys! Side-story: Changed the transmission fluid last week and my mileage has had a very noticeable increase. Don't think the ATF had ever been changed and where I was getting around 20 - 22 MPG, I'm now getting closer to 25-27MPG on the interstate. May also be the new tires as Sam's Club installed a 185/70/r14 on one side and a 185/65/r14 on the other. That was the cause of my leftward pull...thanks, Sam's.

Thanks for the reply. I'll search the forums and chase some wires tomorrow after work for more information on recommended DMM-probing points. Wish me luck...

Hey guys. Fixed my rear passenger door lock today thanks to this forum (would lock everytime it was opened from the inside) and now I'm trying to fix my rear driver's side window. Simply put, my problem is the window won't roll down. The other three work fine but this one won't click, whir, growl...nothing. Acts like no power is being sent to the window motor. Haven't checked the switches or done anything else as I'm not sure what all to check. Would anyone be able to offer any insight on this topic? Any and all suggestions are, as always, much appreciated.

Howdy guys! Forgive me for being excited over something so small but I did my first actual work on my 1990 Legacy L today A few days ago, I went up to my girlfriend's grandparent's house to see her on my 30min lunch break. While up there, we went goofin' off on some easy ATV trails in my subie and I just *barely* scraped something underneath the car. I didn't think anything about it until I was on my way back to work when the exhaust note changed from relatively quiet to "OMFG Colin McRae WRC!!!" I finished work and went to bed, got up the next morning and found the exhaust leak. Donut gasket behind the catalytic converter which looked like it'd been there longer than the car finally gave up. I guess I flexed the pipe at that point a wee bit when I scraped it and the decrepit gasket gave it up. Just got done fighting and fighting and fighting with old, rusted out, brittle bolts and putting the new gasket in. Somehow, I actually did it correctly and my accidental rally car is now back to my quiet cruiser. Tips for those who might find themselves in the same boat (IOW, don't know what in the world you're doing): 1.) PB Blaster helps...a LOT. So does waiting 15 or 20 mins, tapping the offending bolt with a hammer, more PB Blaster, and maybe a small bit of heat. 2.) Take your time! You really don't wanna get in a hurry and round off a bolt or nut only to find that now you either have to cut the bolt out or drill it out. Trust me, it's a headache. Sometimes, however, it is unavoidable. 3.) Taking the heat shield off is recommended but also can be troublesome. A few of the ears through which bolts are run broke in two pieces. Again, take your time and use whatever rust-remover/lubricant you prefer. 4.) If you can find someone with a lift - DO IT!!! I had nothing but a pair of rickety ramps and a few 6x6's to block it up with and crikey that wasn't fun. Take care everyone!

I don't know if anyone would be interested in it...nor can I vouch for the quality of this piece but it looks just like the resistor in my '90 Legacy L. It costs a little under $30 before shipping and can be found at RockAuto.com Here's a pic for those interested

Just used a good ol' garden hose. Thanks for the reassurance. Thought I killed my favorite car.

Thanks for the reply. I suspected that I may have hit something that didn't like being wet but wasn't sure...any tips on how to figure out if I did - and what to do about it? I was going to put some Seafoam through the intake, crankcase, and fuel tank when I change the oil next time. Plugs and new wires will be at the same time. Lexus quiet? LOL I've never had a quiet car. Just wasn't sure if I should worry or not. Thanks again! DJ3Stripes - CEL = Check Engine Light. The only reason I know that is because my last car (my infamous Crapalier) had the CEL on for a good 3 years The way I figured out how to get my codes from the ECU was searching this forum. I've been reading here and over at LegacyCentral for about two months now so I've had a chance to dig into a whole lot. To be honest, though, I'm far from mechanically-inclined and have never done my own work. God help my Legacy

Update: I guess whatever was moistened by my overzealous cleaning has finally dried out. The CEL has gone out! Yay! Thanks to everyone for the advice. Got to messin' around with my 1990 Subaru Legacy L (N/A 2.2L 4EAT auto-trans 4WD) - just checked all my fluids, sprayed out the engine bay with a hose, checked the air filter, and pulled a spark plug to check it. Reinstalled everything and then proceeded to install a second 12v socket in my center console. After I finished up, I just went inside. Went to the Legacy this morning to drive to the post office and, when I started her, she hits me with the CEL. I queried the ECU for fault-codes earlier today and only found two black plugs and one green plug instead of what's seems to be normally two of each. All the same, the codes my ECU returned were ------------------ 22 Knock Sensor 24 Air Control Valve 32 Oxygen Sensor 35 Canister Purge Solenoid Valve 12 Starter Switch (Huh?!) ------------------ I tried leaving the two black plugs connected, started the car and let it run for a few mins, then turned it off. After I disconnected the black plugs and restarted the car, CEL still was on. Forgive the stupid question but am I going about re-setting the ECU incorrectly? This is my first subaru (last car was a cavalier) and I'm not used to all the little nuances but damn I love her... Another question I have: If these codes still show once I've managed to reset my ECU, do any of you awesome people have any suggestions on where I might start? Right now money is EXTREMELY tight and if this sucker will run about 3 weeks without any danger, I'm going to have to put off even buying a spark plug for that long. Also, I have an odd noise coming from my engine. I initially thought it was an exhaust leak but after further inspection, I suspect the valve train. The noise/tick is NOT loud at all but is noticeable with the window down. It also is too fast for me to count at idle and increases with engine speed. Thanks for any help you Subarites may offer!