January 31, 201412 yr Hey guys, im new here and I've searched around a little and haven't found anything. I just bought a 1990 legacy wagon L it's an automatic with 96,000 miles from my father in law for 400$ he said it ran great but he thought the trans was shot. Well i went and started it and put it in drive and you have to hold it wide open to move, so I put it up on jack stands and the back tires are moving but the front isn't. I put the fwd fuse in and still nothing. I can manually turn the front tires with the car in park so im thinking it may be a sheared roll pin or bad cv axle. But I'm not sure how to tell, any advice guys?? Im completely lost. I checked all fluids and they're all perfect. No lights are on inside except check engine but it's running fine, so if anyone has any idea of what it may be I'd appreciate it thanks!
February 1, 201412 yr Eventually, someone with more first hand experience will chime in I'm sure, but if you can get a buddy to help, I'd imagine if one puts the car in gear and pushes the gas and you look underneath, you'll see the axle spinning but not going anywhere. If so, you found your problem. If there is no movement, you likely have internal issue and swapping a used transmission is likely the way to proceed. It's a bit of a chore but not super complicated. These cars are simple to work on. Someone may correct me or refine what I said further, but it's a starting point.
February 1, 201412 yr do what AdventureSubaru suggested - get a friend to help out and watch the front axles while car is in gear & under throttle - if the axles spin, but dont move the wheels you will need new hubs - the splines in the hubs are gone. If the axles dont spin, then the problem is in the tranny/front diff itself and a compatible used tranny would be the best option. The 4EAT is a relatively robust tranny, so a good used one shouldnt be that hard to find - just make sure you have a compatible final ratio to match the rear diff - 1990 should be 4.111 If you were closer, I would offer up the one in my old car - also a 1990 wagon - but I am in north central Wisconsin, and the car is buried under a couple of feet of snow right now... ok, maybe a little more than a couple of feet...LOL Edited February 1, 201412 yr by heartless
February 2, 201412 yr Author Thanks for the help guys it was the stub axle coming out of the front diff had popped out for it all fixed now!
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