Ok, let me start by saying that I'm new here and I'm trying to fix my girlfriends car. I've been reading a lot of threads here and other places about the subject. But I'm not making much headway.

 

I've tried a few things including:

Checking fluid level (was a little low the first time this happened)

Making sure coolant level was good and that the transmission was not actually overheating.

The "TCU Secret Handshake". Got trouble code 79 which doesn't exist (that I know of). 7 long flashes 9 short. Makes a grand total of 16 (seems to be a magic number meaning something's wrong). I only get 16 flashes when I try to retrieve the trouble code.

Tried turning a tight radius in the parking lot. Slight but noticeable torque bind.

Put a fuse in FWD. Light stops flashing and no torque bind all of a sudden. Pulled fuse back out. Light flashes again and the bind is back.

Please note: The light flashes continuously any time the engine is warmed up and driven about ten miles. If I let the engine cool, I get no flashes at all until I drive for a while. It's been fairly consistent for about a week (driving has been kept to a minimum).

 

This car has over heated in the past (about six months ago). And gone into a ditch (when a bird flew in her window). These incidents are unrelated but there is a nice dent in the oil pan and catalytic converter.

 

 

The car in question is a 1999 Outback

183,000 miles

Third owner, but she has all maintenance records since new.

 

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I would definitely replace your transfer clutch solenoid. Its in the tail-shaft of the transmission and it should come with a small-valve body too.

it does sound like the duty c is bad, but there could be other issues.

 

is the trans oil pan dented? a dented trans oil pan could have pinched a wire or maybe worse.

 

it sounds like the AT Temp light DOES NOT flash 16 times at start up. this is unusual if you have a bad duty c.

 

you need to get the code, it maybe worth it to take to a subie shop / dealer. i hate saying it, but if you do not know the code it will hard to fix.

Nice job doing some research and trying some things, great work! The trans codes are REALLY hard to get to flash sometimes.

 

A dent in the engine oil pan or transmission pan? Check the trans pan...if the engine oil pan is dented the trans pan may be as well but maybe it wasn't noticed yet?

 

A dented trans pan will restrict fluid flow to the sump which hands really low in the transmission, not much clearance. Check that first.

 

If it drives fine with the fuse in, then leave the fuse in, they can run indefinitely like this - it's a very simple system.

 

If snow is a concern, just get a set of dedicated studded snow tires. I hate to say it but studded snow tires are far better than 4WD anyway.

Thanks everyone for the great info. I was kind of leaning towards solenoid c based on what I've learned so far. Thanks for affirming my opinion. I will have it scanned at my friends shop after this weekend to know for sure.

 

One thing I forgot to mention though, is that it doesn't seem to down shift while going downhill and I tap the breaks.

 

I lifted the car today and there are no dents on the transmission. I did, however find that there is a torn CV boot on the right side. I'll fix that next. And some of the dents under there are VERY fresh (like within a few weeks). I will interrogate her little sister to whom she lent the car about a week ago.

 

I test drove the car today with the fuse in FWD. Seems fine. This, however is not a real fix and I will address it as soon as possible. I agree with you Grossgary about tires being more important than 4wd (I wont put my Jeep in 4wd unless there is at least half a foot of snow, just too boring lol). My girlfriend works at a ski resort though and I expect her to need it very soon.

 

Thanks again for the help and keep me posted of any more thoughts you may have.

if the duty c fails, the most common condition is binding which means your cars is locked in 4wd. so drive with the fuse in untill it snows and then pull it. when the snow is gone, put it back in.