Buhas

I took the car to a local mechanic for a second opinion. He recommended a transmission fluid flush and refill with synthetic transmission fluid. He claims to have an expensive transmission flush machine (WINS system). He also said the old transmission fluid was dirty and it had lower than expected amount. The torque bind is now 100% fixed. Hopefully it stays that way. This confirms one thing. The dealer I've been to previously is a complete jack-rump roast. Not only did he not do a good job with the transmission fluid replace, but he wanted to install a new valve body to fix the problem. Thanks for all the help. I learned a lot. Dealers like this need to be taken down.

Ok, the information is now starting to make sense. The 2005 Subaru Outback non-turbo automatic has 4EAT The 2005 Subaru Outback turbo (and 6 cyl) automatic has 5EAT. EAT stands for Electronic Automatic Transmission. My 2005 Outback is a 2.5i and it has 4 speeds (4EAT).

I spoke to a transmission repair shop and they think in the '05 Subaru Outback the duty C is not in the transmission clutches box at the back, but it is in the valve body and is not replaceable by itself. Anyone know if this is true ?

I do not know if the dealer changed the ATF filter. I did not see it on the bill. Since I've been having the torque bind problem for many months, should I expect the clutches are doomed by now ? If that would be the case I am thinking to start with the clutches and the duty C replacement. Anyway I will get a second opinion. My feeling is maybe the dealer starts with the most expensive repair and then if the bind problem does not go away they will say, yes the clutches are also worn out and need to be replaced. Anyone can recommend a good mechanic in Boston NW suburbs ?

First of all, thanks for all the replies. It is the valve body as seen here ( ) the dealer is talking about. I spoke with them and they knew about the clutches and the duty C. But they were pretty sure it is the valve body as they measured the fluid pressure. They also mentioned they used to blindly replace the solenoid and the clutches only to find out the valve body was the problem. They claim to have seen quite a few of these issues. My question is about measuring the fluid pressure. I should have asked where and how they did that, but I had to get back to work. Is that something the dealer came up with or it is actually a diagnosis procedure ? I put in the FWD fuse and the problem is gone. I closely inspected the tires (GoodYear TripleThread) and they look fine and evenly worn, plenty of thread left. I also checked the pressure in the tires and it was fine. I am the original owner of the car. It is actually an '05 model. The tires are 3 years old (purchased brand new). The car has 85k miles on it. Other than oil, filter, air filter, brake pads and tire rotations there was no other maintenance done (until the transmission fluid change). The transmission fluid was changed at the dealer. So I am not sure what to do next. I am more inclined to go the "classic" route and to inspect the duty C and the clutches. I am not mechanically inclined so I will have to find another shop for a second opinion. For now I will drive it in FWD. I did not get to read all the information on troubleshooting the torque bind. But is there a sure way to confirm the duty C or clutches are the problem rather than the valve body ?

My 06' Outback has been exhibiting the classic torque bind symptoms for more than 6 months. I replaced the transmission fluids and the problem went away only to return a month later. The dealer informed me today the valve body is the culprit for this issue. I asked how they determined and they said "pressure tests". Is the dealer shooting in the dark or can a bad valve body be responsible for the torque bind ? I plan to do the FWD fuse test and the tire measurement to try and diagnose.