hey, i have a 1986 subaru gl with the D/R 5 speed tranny. whenever i accelerate fairly hard, the 4wd indicator lights up on my dashboard. is this a transmission problem? or is it just some kind of faulty fuse?

The 4WD switch is attached to the linkage inside the cabin. It's just a little reed switch that is hit by the linkage when you pull up on the lever. Pull the console out and see what's up with it. Might just need to be bent a little.

 

GD

The 4WD switch is attached to the linkage inside the cabin. It's just a little reed switch that is hit by the linkage when you pull up on the lever. Pull the console out and see what's up with it. Might just need to be bent a little.

 

GD

 

That's the 4wd low switch, the 4wd switch is on the transfer housing. I'd say either the engine or transmission mounts are torn, or some one bent the lever so it's too far down and touching the console. If someone was getting agressive trying to get it out of 4wd when it was bound up it could happen.

 

Check the mounts, and try removing the shifter surround. You need to unthread the 5spd shift knob but I think it's just plastic clips that hold the base into the console.

 

I had the same problem with my loyale, I had to shave off some of the rubber padding on the shift lever where it was touching the console. There's like a 1/4" of padding before you get to the actual rod.

I can never remember which is which - the EA81/EA82 switch's got reversed when they changed from 4 to 5 speed

 

If that's the case, then 91Loyale's sugestion is good - it's probably not in 4WD, but the rod is closer to 4WD than it is to 2WD so it's bumping the switch in the transfer case.

 

If it's the lifted wagon in your avatar - that's probably your problem - someone has lowered the transmission and not properly redone the linkage to match the new location of the body.

 

GD