Hey i am on enough forums to know when i see one of the "brains" in a forum.....I am in the bronx and just acquired a 1998 leg brighton 2.2 AT with 138,000 miles on the odo....it needs some help...you may have seen a few of my other posts.

 

1) I changed the plugs (ngk laser plat) wires...generic, also the fuel filter, air filter, pcv and its hose, both accesorie drive belts, and some chevron fuel cleaner in the tank......this thing runs STRONG now.....but the previous owner understated the oil leakage problem, and also FINALLY told me she never did the timing belt change...NOT ONCE...LOL

 

2) I sprayed the bottom of the motor and cats while i was doing an oil change and then took the car to the pressure washer and sprayed underneath.......i drove about 15 minutes home and got a flashlight under there.....i saw the oil on the bottom of the front timing cover AND ontop of the cat below what i assume the rear oil seal area.

 

3) when making sharp turns i notice a bit of chatter from the diffs....i had this chatter in the rear of my f-150 when the tractionlock diff was going on me....

 

 

So.....I would love, at least a reccomendation for a good subie mechanic in long island or the nyc area....OR if you do this work for a living I would love to give a good forum guy the business.

 

Thank you,

 

Ian "pitstain" schwartz

 

this thing i get but the legacy is somehow intimidating me

Does you AT Temp light flash 16 times after you start the car? If so you have a fault code stored in the TCU. Most likely the C solenoid is bad or its wire is broken. You may also want to drain the trans fluid and do a flush of the system. Lots of post on that.

 

The up front oil leak is easy, but the t-belt has to come off to change the seals. You may also want to do the water pump at the same time.

YA it has nothing to do with the diff most likely, your suffering from something call torque bind. I suffered it. The cheapest thing to do is get a used tranny. O and do u have a manual or auto?

WAIT its a 98 leg. I thought they solved the issue of torque bind after 97. Ya so it must be a failed solenoid for the rear transfer case. and or clutch packs.

To see if it is torque bind, put a fuse in the FWD box, located under the hood, right in front of the passenger seat. If putting it in causes the FWD light on the dash to come on, and causes the the abnormality to stop, you have torque bind.

 

If it is torqe bind, it probably isnt neccesary to replace the transmission. One thing that helps torque bind is to have the transmission flushed. First of all, make sure that the tires are all the exact same size. This can sometimes be the only things causing the problem. Otherwise, the clutches for the AWD have to be constantly slipping, which causes wear on them, and cooks the solenoid controlling it. The clutches can go for a little while before any signifigant damage occus, and it sounds like it isnt too bad for you. If you put the FWD fuse in and the FWD light doesnt come on though, it means that the duty c solenoid is shot.

 

If the tires do not have enen amounts of wear on them, make sure you replace them all ASAP. That is what happened to my car, and it fried the solenoid. Cost 1000$ plus tires to get it fixed.

They cured the design fault, that doesnt mean its doesnt break anymore.

First thing, make sure all tires match and are properly inflated. Put the fwd fuse in the holder and see if it goes away. If it does it means electrically everything is working and the clutch pack isnt fused. Second flush the tranny (100 bucks is cheaper then 800-1000). That solves it 90% of the time.

The legacy is simple car, so dont be intimidated. The awd is straight forward on the automtaics, on the manuals they are much more complicated mechanically. The clutch pack is always engaged and designed to handle some slippage (like curves). Constant slip kills it really fast (mismatched tires). The duty c solenoid controls the amount of AWD applied. Putting the fuse in powers the solenoid constantly so there is no awd at all.

 

nipper

 

ok im getting scared, this is the second post that asked for me by name

thanks for the info i will try out the fwd fuse tonight or tomorrow.......it was too nice out last night so i had to take the lightning out to a cruise night....Nipper what about a good reasonable mechanic in the area?

 

and i know how it works with cars

 

 

FAST, RELIABLE, CHEAP.......pick two

Nipper - it's 'cause you are the ULTIMATE AUTHORITY! You are tapped in to the Source of Universal Knowledge -- or at least knowledge of transfer cases...

 

Bwaa - haa - haaa!!!

 

 

 

They cured the design fault, that doesnt mean its doesnt break anymore.

First thing, make sure all tires match and are properly inflated. Put the fwd fuse in the holder and see if it goes away. If it does it means electrically everything is working and the clutch pack isnt fused. Second flush the tranny (100 bucks is cheaper then 800-1000). That solves it 90% of the time.

The legacy is simple car, so dont be intimidated. The awd is straight forward on the automtaics, on the manuals they are much more complicated mechanically. The clutch pack is always engaged and designed to handle some slippage (like curves). Constant slip kills it really fast (mismatched tires). The duty c solenoid controls the amount of AWD applied. Putting the fuse in powers the solenoid constantly so there is no awd at all.

 

nipper

 

ok im getting scared, this is the second post that asked for me by name

charge a small copyright fee, when the ask for you by name!!!!!

 

nipper

 

ok im getting scared, this is the second post that asked for me by name

ok im getting scared, this is the second post that asked for me by name

i'll bet this isn't that new to you. i'd bet you've had similar experiences before...i'm fond of the ones that send emails and PM's asking how to fix something or for advice without ever posting. i usually ask them to start a thread and i'll reply there.

what happened to my mechanic question? LOL:-\

oo yes, for that i cant help you. Maybe if you check out cartalks's website you can find one near you.

 

nipper

changing the tranny fluid on an auto is really easy... just pull the plug out... drain it (i bet the fluid will be nice & black.. chunky maybe?) , once it's empty, plug her up again, dump some more fluid in, and drive around a bit... then do it again... maybe a few times...

it's cheaper than having a mechanic do it

 

Hey Nippster, where did i put my keys?!?! argg......

 

And grossgary.. do you have a spare fuel temp sensor i can buy from you?

 

I get alot of PM's about the stuff i wrote, about the lifts & 4eat clutch pack lockup... always like being helpful

changing the tranny fluid on an auto is really easy... just pull the plug out... drain it (i bet the fluid will be nice & black.. chunky maybe?) , once it's empty, plug her up again, dump some more fluid in, and drive around a bit... then do it again... maybe a few times...

it's cheaper than having a mechanic do it

 

Hey Nippster, where did i put my keys?!?! argg......

 

And grossgary.. do you have a spare fuel temp sensor i can buy from you?

 

I get alot of PM's about the stuff i wrote, about the lifts & 4eat clutch pack lockup... always like being helpful

 

i put the fuse in for FWD and the grumbling went away.......ill change out the tranny fluid and see if it helps......how much is the fix for this if fluid doesnt work

i put the fuse in for FWD and the grumbling went away.......ill change out the tranny fluid and see if it helps......how much is the fix for this if fluid doesnt work

I'll put money on it fixing the problem.

If not the 1st fluid change, the 2nd, and most certianlly the 3rd.

It'll take you say.. 20 minutes max to change the fluid out.. the annoying part is filling it back up through the dipstick hole...

i put the fuse in for FWD and the grumbling went away.......ill change out the tranny fluid and see if it helps......how much is the fix for this if fluid doesnt work

 

Thats a very good sign. that means that nothing is frozen together and elecrically everything works. Change the fluid, drive the car in a full lock circle and that should ungum everything. Still a 5% chance of it not fixing it, but it sounds good

 

nipper

Hey Nippster, where did i put my keys?!?! argg......

 

 

they are right where you left them

 

*slowly backs away with shiney key like objects*

 

nipper

good thing you goofs know you ***************

ALMOST as much fun as Car Talk! And these guys know more about subes....

Hey sorry for raising the dead but forgot to update you guys, the fluid fixed the problem with the tranny, just did the knock sensor tonight, wasnt cracked but has rust on the bottom.

.. the annoying part is filling it back up through the dipstick hole...

Yes indeed! Why is it so hard to fill and is there a trick to it? I had the fill funnel all tight (so I thought) in the dipstick hole and yet the fluid managed to creep out and make fine mess of the floor.

I use Al at Centre Service in Syosset. (516 921-1300)

 

Real good, honest and fair!

 

Highly recomended. He's the man!

An answer to question #3. If you are seeing that much oil on the cat that quick its not the rear main seal but the oil seperator plate. Regardless you have to remove the flywheel to fix. The part is like 11 bucks, they make it metal now.

Thanks guys, I have to put it in for service sooner or later so I am adding all these items to the list....LOL the maintenance is gonna cost more than this car is worth....though I did a 500 mile round trip to PA. and back and averaged about 28 miles per gallon on the way home, as opposed to the 15 I get in the Lightning.....I guess the lil subie earns it's keep.