eulogious

No it's a different system. The dealer one is a complete stand alone system that can be installed really on any car... It just uses the brain, peddle actuator, and thats about it. The problem I had with mine is that it was vacuum controlled on a turbo car Gee I wonder why it wouldn't hold going up a hill, the engine doesn't produce vacuum under boost. I installed a vacuum pump and a relay and it was working great Apparently the system was installed by the dealer when they bought they car in 1990, it's on the invoice, so I would say that it's reliable. When I got it, it "worked" but it just wouldn't hold speed up hills, but it still tired. Once I get my steering wheel controls wired in, I will be much happier with it. I hate the stupid dash mount controls, but at least it works

Get a used "dealer" kit, not a factory installed version. It has the brain, peddle actuator, and everything else you need to install it on any older subaru. I have even adapted the steering wheel controls to mine, or at least I will when my parts show up next week I got an entire dealer system off here for $50, and it included everything to make it work. I used it for parts to make mine work properly and to add the steering wheel controls. It is possible, shouldn't be THAT hard to install yourself, the only problem is finding a system... Good luck. I will help you where I can!

Then I would swap out the TCU and see what happens... I hope that it's "just" an electrical problem... at least an easy TCU swap to fix it. Electrical problems can be more of a pain than mechanical ones sometimes. Got love computers in our cars

Sorry I didn't respond to this early, I didn't notice it! So it's all good I am getting a 4.11 diff that is that is the non-stub style with the trans, and that was my next option converting it, but I would honestly rather just pick one up with the stubs and be done with it. Scott offered me one off of a 91 legacy so it worked out , but thanks for getting back to me! I do believe I read something about a highguys lift? I am correct on this? That and swapping springs and other tidbits can get you more lift, I do believe as well. Either way, it will be good to have more than one person/business producing the lifts. That just means that if I do get a legacy at some point, it will be even easier, and hopefully cheaper due to competition, to lift it! Keep up the good work guys!

Ok, that makes sense. I have never had a car with ABS, so I have never looked into all the different types of ABS there are, or really ABS in general since I have not had a need. Maybe it's time for some help from google to learn about ABS... So it makes sense that different manufactures have different system (DUH!) Thanks for the response nipper! Also good to know that you don't have to vac bleed a subaru. Hijack done ...

Did the FWD light come on on the dash with the fuse in? Just to verify that the actual fuse worked and was making the connection...

That's sad :-\ Well at least you narrowed it down a little. Obviously something mechanical is going on with it, since software can't help. That really sucks. There are some super smart folks on here, so don't give up quite yet though! If I think of anything else I will chime in! Good luck!

I don't really know, but I do that that their "nephew" pulled the engine and resealed it, so I am guessing he just wasn't familiar with the soob, so after he put it together, he saw two "vacuum lines", and then attached them where there was nothing. Or something like that. I also think that's part of the reason I got it for fairly cheap Fililng it is such a PITA. I had to go buy a funnel, and then fill it 1/4 quart at a time, or else I would overfill it. Took me about 5 times to get it correct Luckily, at the time, it was squirting the fluid right back out, so I didn't damage it by overfilling it!

Good to know! Sorry for the hijack, but do you know why this doesn't apply to subarus? I am just curious on exactly what I read, and why it affects some cars, and not others. Thanks!

I believe any fuse should work, it just needs to close the connection, so just use any size fuse.

Something that I just thought of relating to the putting in the FWD fuse... You should make sure that the FWD fuse actual works the way it should, ie when you instert the FWD fuse, it's only turns the front wheels. The reason I bring this up is since you are already having problems it's possible that putting in the FWD fuse might not help you out at all. For instance, the physical wire that goes to the duty c solenoid is physically grounded out somewhere, so even if the FWD fuse is in, it will be locked in 4WD because the TCU doesn't actually control the solenoid at this point, since it's physically ground somewhere in the trans or on the car itself. So I would test it to make sure it functions the way it should before you go on a long drive. I just thought of that...

This is something that I have heard MIGHT affect a car with ABS, but since I don't have ABS I can't confirm this but here it is... I have heard that if you don't use a vacuum type brake bleeder for ABS cars, you can't bleed the brakes completely, still leaving a little bit of air in the lines. This has something to do with the ABS pump and the vacuum it produces. Here's a pic of the bleeder that I was told to get if I had ABS brakes: http://shop.oreillyauto.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=MTV&MfrPartNumber=MV8000&CategoryCode=3378 Don't know if what I said is true, but it might be something to consider. Also if I am completely off base, please correct me on this. I would like to know if this is true or not myself... Just a thought...

My 4EAT in my loyale turbo was doing the same thing when I got it. The PO had piped the vent tubes for the trans directly onto the intake, so when I hit boost and created positive pressure in the intake, so therefore it squirted fluid out, but that was when I hit boost, not when it was just idling. I would check the vent hoses to see if they are clogged. There should be two of them, located on top of the trans, and they should just vent air. This is also assuming that the trans wasn't overfilled to begin with so make sure you check that first... Oh, and you do know that you need to have the trans warmed up (drive 10+ miles) and engine idling when you check it, and that there are two marks on the stick? A cold level and a hot level. If it's squirting stuff out, it sounds like you have it running, but since it wasn't stated in your post, I just want to make sure the basics are covered and we aren't missing something simple

The easiest way I found is using a '*' at the end of the word, so to search for 'PVC' you would search for 'PVC*' This has always worked for me! Just thought I would throw that tip in there...

^^^Nice pics, thanks for that!

If you just need to drive the car around on dry pavement, you can just throw a fuse in the FWD fuse holder and drive it around in FWD, and then if you need AWD, just pull over and remove the fuse and you will have AWD again. I know it's alittle bit of a pain, but you could still drive the car around. Just an idea. Good luck!

I should be marked on the back of the LSD. There should be a silver label on it that tells what the ratio is, at least it's that way with the ea82 body series, so unless it changed...

Oh, I should add that this is fantastic! I LOVE the look of a lifted legacy, and if a lift kit becomes available that you can just buy and not have to fab up yourself, I would LOVE to get a legacy Looks like this is going to be a good build, I look forward to seeing the final product! Keep up the good work!

Ya, presslab is a smart guy when it comes to that stuff. I got a cool project that I am in the middle of right now and presslab has helped me out ALOT in understanding the code to make it work, so thats the only reason why I kinda get it It's because I have recently been working with the TCU's that I thought to chime in as well, so I hope that some of this info helps the OP out!

If you are willing to separate the diff, I might be interested in it. Is the diff open or LSD? Oh and I guess the year of the car would be good as well. I need an early 90's diff because I am going to be putting an EJ 4EAT in my loyale and I need a diff that has the stubs. So ya dibs on the diff

I guess the better to question to ask would be, how else would the TCU detect if the rear needed power? By slippage, or the difference between the speed of the front wheels versus the back wheels. The back wheels are connected to the drive shaft, which is then turning inside the trans via the rear output shaft, so VSS1 i believe is reading shaft speed out the back, but that is essentially how fast the back tires are turning. With that being said, having a 3.7 rear diff compared to a 4.11 is a 6% difference in how fast the wheels are turning, therefore possibly throwing out a error and disabling the TCU. The actual TCU code (yes I have seen it, out of a legacy anyways, and they didn't change the code that much across product lines or years for that matter, still same CPU and memory) is expecting a certain tire size (actually a certain number of tire revolutions per min to be exact) and diff ratio to calculate the speed differences between the two. It has to determine how fast the front wheels are turning, then compare it to how fast the rear should be turning. If either one of those numbers are not what the TCU is expecting, it COULD mess it up and disable the AWD because it thinks one of the VSS' is off/broke because it's expecting a different number than it is getting. Not saying it will always, but just saying it could. The reason why this comes up is when presslab installed his paddle shifters for his 4eat into his loyale, the TCU he was using was expecting a 4.11 (it was out of a legacy) and his loyale had a 3.7, and the AWD would not work for him until he figured out the difference (6%) and change the value in the TCU rom code itself, then the AWD started working again. Again I only really bring this up because he is trouble shooting his trans, so it would be wise to use a TCU with the same diff ratio just to be on the safe side and not add anymore problems to the ones he already has. I am not disagreeing with you at all, just pointing out what could POSSIBLY happen

^^^ Very good explanation! But I think you forgot one thing, the diff ratio should be the same, ie if you have a 4.11 diff, get a tcu out of another car with a 4.11 diff. Don't get me wrong, it will work even if the diff ratios aren't the same, but the AWD COULD get messed up if the ratio's aren't close enough together, so if you are trouble shooting, just get the same diff ratio TCU just to make sure you aren't causing any more problems.

I just found this article talking about rewiring the lights with relays and it explains the high beam indicator problem. It's a good read if you want some more info on rewiring all the stock lights. http://offroadingsubarus.com/headlight_relaymod.html

This should help you out, it shows how to complete rewire the lights using new relays, and it shows both the quad setup and the dual setup. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out! http://offroadingsubarus.com/headlight_relaymod.html Edit: After a quick read, it also explains the high beam indicator problem as well, if that applies of course

You should try to host the file on a file host service, megaupload, rapidshare, something like that. I would gladly help if I could see the docs, or at least a jpg of the schematic. I would like to help ya, but I can't send PM's to you yet...