dmorrow

The final word - first my sincere thanks to those who responded. You saved me $700. The dealer that could not diagnose the problem had in fact diagnosed the problem correctly. There had been a small communication problem between the mechanic and the guy in front. I took the car to an independent mechanic who correctly diagnosed the viscous coupler as the problem. However he incorrectly told me it was in the tranny, that the tranny had to be taken apart, and it would cost $1800. Knowing what I knew from this blog, I knew he was wrong. In the meantime, the Subaru dealer had called me back to apology for the miscommunciation, that the problem was the viscous coupler, that cost would be $1000 plus tax. Very reasonable for this part of the world. I took it to Subaru to fix. Car is now fixed!! And running beautifully! Tx all!

I want to thank all for their responses. Been very helpful!! I'll post the final outcome here after I see the dealer next week. Cheers!

Good points! I have another appointment with the dealer next week. Will be interesting to see their response particularly on the transfer clutch. I'll ask more questions next time. Tx for the advice!

Yes, all four backwards. But I don't think this could have caused the "long slow death" of my VC could it?? Certainly understand that it was not safe to drive as you point out.

Hi grossgary: I asked about the transfer clutch because the dealer said my transfer clutch was going bad. I looked it up and just like you said, that's only on A/T, hence my question and confusion. I mentioned in an earlier post that my tires have always been matched up. I forgot to mention that the tires had been put on after a tire rotation with the tread the wrong direction, ie with the rotation arrow pointing in the wrong direction. I noticed this, but didn't think it was important. It was recently remedied. Is there any possibility that the tires with the tread in the wrong direction could over time (1 year) cause this? I did just check the tires and they are all spot on accurate with respect to diameter. Tx! D

Another question or two if I may. Does my '03 GT, 5 spd manual have a transfer clutch? And if it does, what does it do, and is it possible that is the problem? Tx again all! D

Hi all: thanks for the very useful info. Car has always been well maintained and I bought the car new. I think the best thing is to call around and see if I can get another quote. The dealer has always been very good to me, frequently not charging me for things they do, so I wonder if the mechanic had a bad day that day. I will call them back. PS: live in West Chester, PA, so can't take you up on the offer "grossgary."

Hi edrach: Thanks for the story about your Forester. And no, never had the car towed. I guess I just got unlucky with this one. I will push back on the dealer and call other dealers to see what they would charge. Tx!

Thanks for the quick replies so far. I have always had four matched tires (Michelin Exalto Pilot A/S) and keep them in great shape and properly inflatted. Do you think it's bad to drive the car like this? Or best to get it repaired quickly? Tx! D

Dear all: I have a 2003 Legacy GT, 5 spd manual, with 86,000 miles. About a month ago I started noticing that my car was not smooth making sharp right or left turns like into a parking spot; it was almost lurching, like something was grabbing the wheels. It seems to be coming from the rear. I went to do the dealer and they said it was the transfer clutch. They put in a special lubricant and told me to do figure 8's to try to get the lubricant into the appropriate areas. I did that and it's not getting better. When I do figure 8's or after I have been driving (ie engine hot) the rear wheels seem to seize up and actual skid on tight turns. I've stopped doing figure 8's because it's not working and seems to be getting worse. I have tried reading about this, but it's very confusing. I don't think my car has a transfer clutch (does it?), but does have a viscous coupling system. I don't really understand the difference. I also read that you can inactivate the 4WD and put into FWD with a fuse. I did that and the problem does not go away. So a few questions: 1. The dealer said it would be around $1800 to fix this. Seems very high. What do you think? 2. Is it bad for me to drive the car like this? 3. Is there any way to positively diagnose this problem? 4. Any other info would be most appreciated. Thanks much for your time!! Really appreciated!! D