First let me say I'm a new poster, but I've been reading these forums since my first Subaru, many years ago. Thanks!

 

I'm trying to help my friend with her recently purchased Forester. It is FWD only at the moment, and was probably bought that way. There are no strange sounds, lights or any other symptoms besides no power transfer to the rear wheels. Dealer stated that the transmission had been replaced. FWD fuse is not in place.

 

Today she was quoted $600 to replace the duty solenoid. I was under the impression that it's failure resulted in the opposite effect... Is this reasonable? Maybe a clutch pack thing? I'd hate to see biggish $ blown, and my arguments against slapping big snow tires on just the front wheels are becoming increasingly disregarded. Please help avert that travesty!

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited February 24, 201214 yr by BridgedToMono
added info

Ah, one other thing... if is indeed the solenoid, is it replacable by dropping the pan as opposed to pulling the whole tranny? I would absolutely love that...

Ah, one other thing... if is indeed the solenoid, is it replacable by dropping the pan as opposed to pulling the whole tranny? I would absolutely love that...

 

Sadly no. You have to remove the extension housing in order to gain access to the Duty C Solenoid. Lack of power to the rear wheels can be anything from a bad TCU or worn out clutch pack. If you unplug the TCU then the rear wheels should spin. If they don't then it's likely an internal issue.

Much appreciated, I'll give that experiment a go tomorrow.

 

My first "ding ding!" thought was with the tranny replacement and a bad TCU connection. That just would have been too easy...

first things first, what year are we talking about. they moved the duty c some time after the 04 year. i'm not sure when .

 

no power to the rear is not the duty c unless you have a short in the system. and then it is the short, not the duty c. grounding out a specific pin on the TCU will cause no rear power. this is EXACTLY what the fuse does by design. (does the FWD light come on if you put the fuse in?)

EDIT: it maybe could be the duty c IF it were stuck in the open position. but then it would probably be gunk related not electrically related.

 

is the rear section of the drive shaft in place??? if no, it was probably removed to eliminate ''torque bind'' in the ''new trans''. if yes, the problem is probably inside the rear extension housing.

 

the transfer clutch drum could be busted, or the clutch discs could be worn out. (my bet is on no drive shaft.)

 

as mentioned, unplugging the tcu SHOULD give you binding on dry pavement in tight turns. it will also limit you to R and 3. you will be in ''limp'' mode, designed so you can limp home. if you have binding then the mechanical part are there and in good working order.

 

hoe long has she had this problem?

how long has the trans been in?

how old id the ATF?

have you tried doing a drain and fill 3 times with driving in between to replace the fluid.?

have you tested it with the gear selector in 1?

Edited February 24, 201214 yr by johnceggleston

The trans was installed in the fall, and the problem has been noticeably present since the snow started flying.

 

The fluid has not been changed recently. Looks and smells okay, but I cannot vouch for it's age.

 

I did give the car a friendly look-see when it was purchased / showed-off, I do think (hope) I'd have noticed the missing driveshaft, but I am getting older!

 

I will be checking into the others this afternoon / evening.

Edited February 24, 201214 yr by BridgedToMono
additional info

Okay, Driveshaft is in place and visibly a-okay.

 

Having the FWD fuse in place Does illuminate the dash indicator.

 

Driving with the gear selector in "1" makes no difference.

 

Transmission fluid changed 1x.

 

Problem persists.