hi guys , first post here and ive been searching for a while but i couldnt find anythign directlly related ,.

 

im about to but a 95 awd legacy (power windows locks and mabye air)

its an auto with about 100 000 miles on it .

 

heres where it gets fun , im getting it for 400canadian dollars, and i was wondering to myself "why so cheap" so i took a look at it and would have bought it on the spot but i wanted to drive it as he siad the awd wasnt working (they siad it needed a sensor) for the shape of the car i figured it needed more then a sensor .

 

so i drove down some gravel roads and when turnnign around the rear tires spun with no problems (seemed weird to me as i thiough they were fwd first then rwd but im new to the subbies )then after a few turn arounds somthing went wrong .

 

i could hear the front pass side area trying to grab on (the car was barley drivable at this point and the clunking was extremly loud like a wheel was goign to fall of ) so i put it into nuetral to trouble shoot the area , when i go to N the car idels down and then about 1-2 seconds after that i can tell the front diff disenguages and the noise goes away .Upon going back in to drive the noise is back and like i said extremly loud sounded like the case was going to break away. During all this i could feel the rears pushing, sometimes hard and somtimes soft.

 

oh and when i was driveing and push the gas harder the speedo would increase with the nosie but it wouldnt go any where untill the rear end caught up to speed .

 

 

is this a common proble with auto subarus, and worst case would it need a new tranny (i dont mind putting a new one in at this price as long as it wasnt 1000 dollars since i will do all the work my self )

 

as i sida there was definitly somthing trying to grab in the front but had no luck at all .

 

does abs play a role in these awd systems or is it its own system all together

 

thanks for reading and hope you can help me out

 

cya

oh and when i was driveing and push the gas harder the speedo would increase with the nosie but it wouldnt go any where untill the rear end caught up to speed .

 

This almost sounds to me like a stripped/mostly stripped hub.

 

To test this, either take off the hubcap and watch the axle nut or look through the engine bay at the axle/half-shaft. With the e-brake on, have a partner try to drive the car. If the axle turns, the hub is bad.

This almost sounds to me like a stripped/mostly stripped hub.

 

To test this, either take off the hubcap and watch the axle nut or look through the engine bay at the axle/half-shaft. With the e-brake on, have a partner try to drive the car. If the axle turns, the hub is bad.

 

Yup, sounds like a stripped hub on a front wheel. If this is what it is, it's pretty easy to fix. Worst case should be a new hub and a new axle. Might only need the new hub.

thakns for the reply,

i had given it though as well but was confused because the noise completly goes away when driving in neutral . but thats kinda the sound i asimalate it to when people ask me to describ it .

 

is this a common problem . seems like that would be the last part to break , it would be nice if it was

 

thanks again

ive done more searching and still cant get a good answer on how the awd system works

 

 

is it fwd first then rwd and is it a 50 50 split

 

is it torque on demand or is it full time

 

thanks

ive done more searching and still cant get a good answer on how the awd system works

 

 

is it fwd first then rwd and is it a 50 50 split

 

is it torque on demand or is it full time

 

thanks

Torque on demand..Kinda.

 

The front gets 90 the rear 10 in normal driving. when the front slips, the rear is modulated to a maximum of 50/50. It is activated by a magical spirit that lives in teh rear of the transmission. This spirit loves to cause a symptom called torque bind where the rear does not unlock, and allow slip, causing the car to make disgusting sounds.

 

Actually, it's a set of clutches(like a motorcycle) that are modulated with hydraulic pressure depending on what the Trannsmission computer tells it to. If it senses slip, it activates the rear a little more, to a max of 50/50.

 

On older car with those clutches worn a bit, it becomes more like 70/30 because the clutches cannot hold as well.

thakns for the reply,

i had given it though as well but was confused because the noise completly goes away when driving in neutral . but thats kinda the sound i asimalate it to when people ask me to describ it .

 

is this a common problem . seems like that would be the last part to break , it would be nice if it was

 

thanks again

 

It goes away in nuetral because then there is no torque on the axle from the transmission, so it doesn't keep spinning the axle inside the stripped out hub -- they just turn the same speed (if the vehical is moving) and it is quiet.

 

The older subaru's were not unknown for this to happen. I did it on my '82 once. I never heard of it happening on a legacy.

 

I'll let someone else describe how the AWD system works. Subaru had several different versions depending on whether it was manual or auto tranny I think, and I've only owned the four wheel drive ones myself.

 

Z

so they say the AWD isnt working coz of a switch?

 

what magical switch is this then?

 

 

i know of no switch....

 

likely, the transfer clutches in the transmission are toast

so essentially you have a FWD Legacy that is not supposed to be FWD

too much torque to the Front wheels, they cant grab.

 

 

this of course is just an educated guess.

 

regardless, i'd say the tranny needs replacing.

for $400 canadian... why not

Jamie

ill go with the stripped hub,the puter is sensing that the front wheels is spinning so it is transferring more to the rear like it is supposed to do,thats why the rear wheels are driving so much. ed

thanks for all the replies guys ,

 

all of whatyour saying makes sence. and as stated in one of the aove , for 400 can i really go wrong lol .

 

but if all goes well its the hub , worse come to worse its the tranny . wreckers seem to vary from 300 to 700 in my area but the car will probly be worth around 2500+ judging buy the conditon and mileage,

 

 

im sure you guys will be hearing more from me , ill update on what the problem is

after speaking with subaru he seems to think its the front diff, he even made the correct noise lol

 

 

so ill probly be looking for a trany as most wont have the diff separate .

 

he siad it might be serviceable from the tail stock though , is this true

thats like saying you can change a piston thru the spark plug hole. ed

thats like saying you can change a piston thru the spark plug hole. ed

 

LOL. Yeah, don't you have to split the case to change the front differential? And if it's making grinding noises, it probalby needs replacing. I'd still check to make sure it isn't the hub making the noise, before having the tranny replaced.

 

Z

lol thanks guys , trust me the tranny will be the last thing i look into ,easy stuff first .

 

ill post a pic of the car when i get it

]

thanks for the help

well good news.

 

 

 

BROKEN AXEL lol

 

i went and hammered out a price , at that point i though it was the tranny but he wouldnt go to 400 but he siad 500, and thats fine with me , felt bettter when i looked under the car and the axel was spinng and it was comletly out of the boot , im assuming this would be enough to stop the awd from workign ":)