Hey, everyone. I'm a frequent lurker and infrequent poster in the old gen forum, but I'm looking at a '94 Legacy wagon (AT), and I'm a little out of my element.

 

What I've heard about the car is that there were some torque bind problems on turns, and the FWD fuse made it go away. Then, according to the owner, they took the fuse back out this winter, and the shuddering on turns went away. I'm trying to find out if she replaced the tires in between (I did some research before posting this) and I haven't found out yet.

 

So my questions for you all are: 1. what could make torque binding go away (besides changing the fluid and tires), 2. can I assume that if I don't see any problems when I test-drive the car the binding has gone away, and 3. what should I look for when I see the car (specific to the transmission worthiness, that is)?

 

The owner mentioned that a mechanic told her the transmission needed to be overhauled, but I'm not sure if I beleive that, especially if the problem really went away. She did say the mechanic didn't know how to fix transmissions, and other stuff he told her made me think he didn't know how to fix Subarus, either.

 

I would appreciate any input on this from this part of the USMB universe!

 

-Bill

If it went away, it could be the road surface is slick and allowing for the tires to slip a bit.

The only things that make it go away is what you said or replacing the clutches.

 

nipper

If it went away, it could be the road surface is slick and allowing for the tires to slip a bit.

The only things that make it go away is what you said or replacing the clutches.

 

nipper

 

Cool, thanks. I mostly wanted to make sure I understood the problem before I looked at the car.

 

I've since found out that they did replace the tires in the mean time, so that might have been the problem. I'll find out tomorrow when I drive the car.

really went away. She did say the mechanic didn't know how to fix transmissions, and other stuff he told her made me think he didn't know how to fix Subarus, either.l

if the seller doesn't know much about cars, sometimes they don't relay information very well either, so it's not always the mechanic to blame...but surely can be.

 

good luck,

Even fater you buy this car (if you do) the first thing i would do is bite the bullit and change all the fluids including the tranny fluid. This way you have a baseline for everything.

Biggest cause of Torque Bind is dirty is a gumed up tranny with old tranny fluid.

 

 

nipper

In agreement with nipper on this- change fluids for a baseline. Changing the ATF usually takes care of torque bind- it has with both of my 95's anyway. How many miles, and what type of condition is the car in?

I consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to buying a car, but I always take the car to Smart Service in Shoreline for a "pre-buy inspection." It's a $100 bill but well worth it. It's no guarantee that the car will be entirely trouble free but they can rule out the most expensive possibilities for you including torque-bind. You're in Redmond so Smart Service is only a short drive for you and I've never found a seller refuse to have the car inspected on the promise that the sale is done if it passes muster.

http://www.smart-service.com/