The Subaru Salvation Saga continues.....

[toni1595]

Hey all,

    if you've been following this at all, I have acquired my younger daughter's 1995 Legacy. I figured I'd make this a 3rd vehicle, as a backup.

 

This is what I knew going in: It does have some rust, but I know how to deal with that.  It had a severe oil leak at the rear of the engine....as you may know, I found that the notorious separator plate was leaking. So I pulled the motor and replaced the plate, while in there, I replaced all of the seals that I could find as well , rear main, any covers that were exposed, etc.

 

I also was aware of a buggered up end on the crankshaft/timing gear because I had repaired this a few years back and

I wasn't sure how it would hold up, well it didn't, so I took a TIG welder and rebuilt the woodruff keyway, ground, filed and sandpapered it back to size with a Dremel and also Loctited this on,so now it "should" stay put.  I hope. (This design leaves something to be desired)

 

OK, I knew that I needed to change the rear struts as this was bottoming out on bumps, so I bought struts from Rock Auto, but then I learned that the springs are what really lifts this up. So far I haven't been able to find a viable set of springs, except at the dealer, and at $86.00/ea. prepaid, I'm still looking......  I haven't gotten to this because now the weather has turned too cold and I don't have a garage. I'll get back to it next Spring, but I want to prepare as much as I can prior to that.

 

I also found after test driving that the power steering pump is leaking (this helps explain where some of the oil that was on top of the engine was coming from)  and it also has the infamous "torque bind", at least that's what it acts like to me anyways based on what I've read here.

 

My questions are: 1) Can the power steering pump be removed without disconnecting the hoses, so I can rebuild it where it's warm?

                             2) What is the best route to take when addressing this "torque bind" issue? (I know the tires are all relatively the same size.)

 

Sorry for the long story, but I wanted to let you know what was going on with this project.

 

Thanks, Toni

[Fairtax4me]

You have to disconnect the hoses to get the power steering pump out of the car. But it's easy. Takes all of 5 minutes to get the pump out.

Use a turkey baster to drain the reservoir first.

Use a 17mm socket to loosen the lock nut on the pulley.

Remove the belt. Loosen the hose clamp on the side of the pump, and loosen but dont unthread the large flare nut.

Remove two 10mm bolts holding the line brackets to the intake manifold.

Remove the 3 12mm bolts that secure the pump to the bracket.

Once the pump is loose swing it and the lines off to the side over a small catch pan, then unthread the flare nut, and pull the hose off the side.

 

Part number for the rebuild kit: 34419AA150 lists for about $40 at a dealer but you can get it for $27 through most of the online dealers.

Rockauto has rebuild kits as well, but they don't include 2 of the o-rings you need for the reservoir.

 

Torque bind is often cured with fresh trans fluid. Drain and refill 3 times with short drives in between. You should end up using about a case of fluid.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Fairtax4me

[toni1595]

Thanks Fairtax,

     I didn't realize that the kit that Rock Auto sells was w/o all of the parts, I guess I'll have to remove this from "my cart" and look around more.

 

So drain and refill the tranny 3 times and that's it?   I have read about some solenoid called a "duty C solenoid" that is supposed to cure this,

are you saying that this isn't necessary?  That will be a big help right there....

 

Also I've read about some clutch packs that can be replaced too, sounds very labor intensive to me.

 

I'm not real up on this "torque bind", but I know when I test drove it, it felt like it was binding, like it was trying to go into 4wd or something. And my son in law said that it

was wearing tires, I believe on the front prior to them taking it off the road. Is that one of the symptoms?

 

Toni

[Fairtax4me]

The o rings missing from the rock auto kit can be bought separately but it kinda cuts into the savings.

There is an o-ring between the reservoir and pump, and a washer inside the reservoir that need to be replaced so the reservoir doesn't leak.

The reservoir o-ring is often the cause of steering pump leaks, but sometimes the main case seal leaks as well.

 

You might try cleaning it well first and see if the leak is coming from above the case. Might save you some time and money if just the reservior o-ring is leaking.

 

 

Torque bind has several causes. The two primary causes are a bad duty solenoid, and sticking clutch plates due to old fluid or overheating because of unequal tire sizes and tread wear.

 

If you don't have a blinking AT Temp light, the duty c solenoid is probably OK. Put a fuse in the FWD fuse holder on the passenger strut tower. The FWD light on the dash should turn on, indicating that the AWD has been disabled. With the fuse in place the TCU commands the duty C to block line pressure to the transfer clutch pack so it should be completely unlocked, and any torque bind should go away. If torque bind is gone the duty c is operating properly and the binding problem is due to sticking clutch plates. The first thin to try in this case is new fluid, since it can often clean up the plates and allow them to slip properly again.

If binding does not go away the duty c may not be working, or the transfer drum may be grooved and is not allowing the clutch plates to release. If the transfer drum is grooved it can often be filed smooth and be returned to operation.

 

If the binding goes on for a long period of time it can cause tire wear, but you're talking a minimal amount. Tire wear is typically improper inflation or an alignment issue.

[toni1595]

That's one thing that I failed to mention, the AT temp light is blinking.   IIRC it was blinking 16 times when it's started.

 

I'll try the fuse, I had forgotten about that one.  But I would prefer this to have the 4wd working, if given the choice that is....

 

Not sure how long they ran this with the binding, but I think he might have said a few months. They were running it into the ground I think,

some idiot like me thinks that I can save it from the crusher. Of course I've had such longevity from these that I know it will run for a while yet.

The engine sounds really good to me. If I can get the bugs out of it, should make a good car to fall back on when one of the others is out of commission.

 

I do have another option on the power steering, there's one at the junkyard for $35.00, could go that way.

[Fairtax4me]

If the light is blinking there are codes stored in the TCU. Somewhere here there's a thread that tells how to read the codes.