really stupid, should have known better, but I towed a 2000 MT Impreza with a dolly, yep, front wheels up, rear down, in a bind and had no other option, so, at about 5 to 10 MPH no problem, as soon as I got a little spped up the rears screeched and then a loud metalic grind,,,,then the wheels are free, so I get on the interstate and make the 120 mile trip home, then it dawns on me duh, this is an AWD car, the obvious hit home. So this morning I start the car after repairing the first problem the radiator and it goes in all gears and drives fine, I doubt I have rear wheel drive, actually I can live with that, I live in a flat area, but I have a slight noise from the tranny, sort of like baseball cards flapping against bicycle spokes but hardly noticable. I wonder if it will get worse or just stay as it is, I do this sort of thing regularly...sigh

Transfer gears may be chewed up.

 

The center diff assembly is held together with a circlip, and on some years around 99-01 the circlip is known to pop out and cause noise and eventually the center diff falls apart.

Need to pull the tailhousing off and see what's bouncing around in there before chunks go flyin and eat up the rest of the trans with them. Right now, it's about a $500 repair in just parts, if the transfer gears aren't damaged.

Edited November 7, 201510 yr by Fairtax4me

Ya, I think you should definalty not drive it like it is. It sounds like there is some major center diff issues.

I tow on a dolly all the time.  I drop the 4 rear drive shaft bolts to allow the wheels to turn without impacting the trans.  Pretty easy.

 

Yep drop the trans tail shaft and see what's happened.

is the center dif the dif between the two rear driveshafts, or is it part of the tranny, at this point I'm not concerned with restoring back to AWD, just don't want to have a stray piece of a broken tooth or something lock something up, maybe I'll jack up the rear and spin the wheels and see where the "disconnect" is, the dif in the rear or in the tranny itself, thanks

Center differential is inside the trans.

With the MT cars you either have AWD or you have NO wheel drive. If the center diff grenades you're sitting on the side of the road.

LOL. I once was towing an 83' F150 with auto and RWD on a dolly, with rear wheels on pavement. Towed it about 95 miles. Once I got to where it was going, I got out and heard something. Turns out, the damn thing had a somewhat loose column shifter and it slipped from Neutral to Drive, and actually started itself and had been running the entire trip. Never even knew that was possible with an auto, but apparently if you get them moving fast enough it'll start same as pushing starting a manual car and popping 2nd-3rd. Even weirder was my Lincoln Mark VIII was acting as the tow car and it never let on anything was wrong.

 

 

Chalk it up learning the hard way

The older autos in domestic cars had rear pumps and it was possible for them to be push starterted and was a major reason they were such diehards. Rear pumps in auto transmissions we're phased out a long time ago for fuel economy and weight reasons. On an auto car that doesn't have a rear pump towing with the drive wheels on the ground with the engine not running can burn up your transmission.

the '83 wouldn't have a rear pump, would be a front pump, but probably had a lock up converter that locked up once the wheels got up to speed. That could have spun the motor over..

 

 

I had a '51 Chevy with a 1st gen powerglide, and indeed with the rear pump, you could drop it from neutral into gear and it would pop start it if it was moving fast enough

the '83 wouldn't have a rear pump, would be a front pump, but probably had a lock up converter that locked up once the wheels got up to speed. That could have spun the motor over..

 

 

I had a '51 Chevy with a 1st gen powerglide, and indeed with the rear pump, you could drop it from neutral into gear and it would pop start it if it was moving fast enough

 

It had a 302w, so it most likely had the Ford C4 (3 speed) though there was an option of a C6 trans with the small block bell housing pattern, so most likely one of the two. Truck was pulled at 70mph, but not sure what speed got it started or how long it had to be pulled to fire.

yup, either or, were a front pump. The ford fmx was the last ford trans with a rear pump I think. Once the converter locked, it would have fired pretty quick

It couldn't start itself unless it had a rear pump, no way for it to build pressure to fill converter and turn the motor. No rear pump no pull start

Unless it had an aftermatket converter with lockup. 83 didn't have a lock up converter either

Edited November 9, 201510 yr by mikaleda

well then it isn't the center dif as I put 80 miles on it Sunday with no problem, I know somewhere there is a disconnect between the front and rear drives, but for now I have something, amazing little car

It couldn't start itself unless it had a rear pump, no way for it to build pressure to fill converter and turn the motor. No rear pump no pull start

Unless it had an aftermatket converter with lockup. 83 didn't have a lock up converter either

It was definitely a 3 speed. The engine was newer but still carb with mechanical fuel pump. It was definitely idling. It might have slipped into 2, as the shifter was rather loose.